Mirai Kawashima's (Sigh) Top 5 Italian Dark Metal Releases

Posted December 1 by Chris D.

By Mirai Kawashima (Sigh)

Well, I'm Japanese not an Italian. But today I'll present you some Italian stuff. Somehow I've been fascinated with Italy for a long time. It's obvious that the country has a dark side. Probably many of you are familiar with Italian horror movies by Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, etc. And also you may know that the Italian heavy metal has something different. Somehow it's so dark, heavy and occultic. Here are some examples you should check out!

1. Black Hole - Land of Mistery
I paid more than $100 for this 500 copies limited LP about 20 years ago. Back then, I had even never heard of this band, however, I decided to pick it up just because the members’ photo on the back cover was so cool and, of course, they were from Italy. And, yes, my intuition was 100% right. The music on it is so dark, atmospheric and truly Italian. I don't think it's that difficult to find this on CD now, but I'm still proud to own the original vinyl copy!

2. Death SS - Black Mass
I personally think that this album has the perfect balance of evilness and great musicianship. The stuff earlier than this is very raw and evil and the one later than this is pretty much over-produced in my opinion. I do love the earlier stuff too, but I strictly recommend Black Mass for the first experience of Death SS. This is a good heavy metal album indeed.

3. Paul Chain Violet Theatre - In the Darkness
Paul Chain is the original guitarist of Death SS and released lots of stuff under several monikers. He allegedly left Death SS because so many sinister things had happened around him, but still his early works such as this, Detaching from Satan and Life and Death are dark enough.

4. Run After To - Run After To [EP]
Run After To released only one mini album in the ‘80s and faded away, but it's a great example of Italian dark metal stuff in the vein of Paul Chain. I believe it's really difficult to find this now, but it's worth a try. Also they have one demo with the Paul Chain cover, which is even darker and more occultic than the EP.

5. Abysmal Grief - Abysmal Grief
Definitely they're the one who inherits the spirit of Italian dark metal today. The music is dark and the photos are cool. What more can I say?!

Of course Italy had/has a lot more dark bands such as Requiem, The Black, Zess, Jacula / Antonius Rex, Goblin, Malombra, Monumentum, Cultus Sanguine, etc. If you have some recommendations, please let me know. I'm always thirsty for the dark Italian stuff!

** Sigh's new album, Scenes from Hell, is out January 19, 2010 on The End Records. Pre-order a copy here.

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