Turin’s Ponte del Diavolo has just released their debut platter of occult doom-ish metal. We investigated and came out with a verdict.

Every time I start working on a review of a more mainstream release like, say, the new Bruce Dickinson album or Steve Hackett’s new opus, something more interesting comes along to grab my attention. This time it’s Ponte del Diavolo’s debut album Fire Blades from the Tomb that I just can’t put away. Hailing from Turin, Italy, this is a band that has just put out their debut album and it goes without saying that it’s awesome. I wouldn’t be writing this if that weren’t the case, trust me.

Cut to a lean forty-two minutes, Fire Blades from the Tomb brings you a thrilling mixture of post-punk, black metal, avant-garde, doom, and a hell of a lot more. Counting not one but two bass-players, this is a dark record filled with groove and rhythm, always bringing something exciting to the table when you least expect it. Lead vocalist Erba del Diavolo is leading the feast, alternating from operatic wails to blackened rasps. There will be vocal histrionics along the way and she really carries this thing. Accompanying her at almost all times is the tremolo picking of the band, adding to the black metal feel without ever fully diving into the genre properly.

But it’s dark, this Fire Blades from the Tomb. Listen to the brilliant Covenant, where the main riff is carried out through the entire song only to be replaced in the end by the haunting sound of the theremin replacing and replicating it. Listen to Red as the Sex of She Who Lives in Death for your doomy guitar riffs and broody atmosphere. As the name implies it is a sexy song in itself, sultry and darkly erotic. The way Erba croons lyrics like Like lava burns / Like mars / Wearing horns! / The colour you want / Transform your lips / From mouth and flesh / Into a juicy and dripping fruit and then turns to chanting is impressive and otherworldly.

Highlights from the album, if there is anything to elevate what’s already a beastly record, are the frantic single Demone and the long centre piece that is La Razza, with its whirling guitar riff and haunting melodies. Props also have to be given to the band for their more than excellent rendition of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds version of The Weeping Song, which takes it into even darker territory than the original. Again, the tremolo picking is front and centre here, really turning it into something else.

Ponte del Diavolo’s debut album is a triumph. When Italians turn their gaze towards dark, occult metal, they manage to sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before. The fact that a number of songs are sung in Italian as well helps drive the other-worldly vibe home. Carrying a healthy dose of Messa without becoming messy, Fire Blades from the Tomb is one of the most impressive dark metal albums of the year and a debut album to be immensely proud of. I for one can’t wait to see what these Italians are able to conjure up next.

Label: Season of Mist

Buy it here: https://pontedeldiavolo666.bandcamp.com/album/fire-blades-from-the-tomb

Track listing:

1. Demone (05:00)
2. Covenant (06:56)
3. Red as the Sex of She Who Lives in Death (06:20)
4. La Razza (08:03)
5. Nocturnal Veil (05:17)
6. Zero (05:26)
7. The Weeping Song (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover) (05:33)

Line-up:

• Erba del Diavolo – vocals
• Nerium – guitars
• Krhura Abro – bass
• Laurus – bass
• Segale Cornuta – drums

Review by RP