HEILAGMANOTH

Dunwich is the brainchild of keyboardist and composer Claudio Nigris who started to work on this project back in 1985... The present line up was assembled in 2004, after three albums released in the nineties and a long pause. Along with Claudio Nigris, Dunwich now features Francesca Elayne Naccarelli on vocals and Roberto Fasciani on bass. In studio they got the help of a large number of guest musicians (including a choir and a string quartet) who provided an extremely rich musical texture. The result is a very interesting blend of dark metal, classical music, Celtic and Medieval influences that every now and again could remind of Rhapsody (Of Fire).

The excellent artwork describes with images the musical content... Most of the pieces have been inspired by the esoteric literary work by writers such as Gustav Meyrink ("La casa dell'alchimista") and H.P. Lovercraft ("Escape from Innsmouth") or by legends and myths. Lyrics are in Italian, Latin and English and words seem "swimming in the dark", sung by the beautiful operatic voice of Francesca Naccarelli, often backed by a powerful "church-like" choir. Keyboards and electric guitars perfectly interact with acoustic instruments like flutes and strings all along the album. My favourite tracks are the dark and mysterious "La casa dell'achimista" and "Il falso principio" that features an obscure and Medieval atmosphere and was inspired by the character of Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600, Italian philosopher burned at the stake as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition) who was victim of a false principle and of his quest for knowledge... "Blind is who can't see the sun / Fool is who can't know / Ungrateful is who don't thank such as great light...". Good also "Terra di Ambra, Neve e Fuoco Nero" (Land of Amber Snow and Black Fire), conceived as a mystical musical journey through a forgotten frozen land... Anyway, the overall impression I got of all the tracks on this album is very positive.

On the whole if you're in dark symphonic metal atmospheres and you love the fantasy imaginary of bands like Rhapsody of Fire I'm sure that this album will be an excellent addition to your collection...