Hailing from the land of intrigue and the Visconti, Mascharat’s debut album brings with it a great deal of promise. From the haunting melodies of the introduction, the darkness of the piano, to the fierce growling and riff monster that is Bauta, the band show within the first two songs that they are here to stay and make an impact. Médecin de Peste is slower and ominous with the guitars and drums combining to create hell on Earth, the quickening tempo adds to the atmosphere. Mora is slower, darker, more brooding and melodic and brings some serious kickassery to the fore. Vestibolo, is slower, melodic, haunting and changing, with the guitars and the instrumentation making this seem like the interlude to some great battle.
Simulacri is driving, with a big riff and a pounding rhythm, it carries through and makes the second half of this album interesting from the get. Iniziazione is haunting, dark and grooving with the guitars providing the melodic darkness to the screams of the war. Rito is dark, thrashy and completely heavy. Outro is softer, more melodic and a nice little change from the rest of the album.
A brilliant effort, and out now via Seance Records.