I’ve rarely heard a band as strange as Ponte Del Diavolo.
Formed in 2020, the Italian band featuring Elena « Erba Del Diavolo » Camusso (vocals), Alessio « Krhura » Caruso (bass), Andrea « Kratom » l’Abbate (bass), Stefano « Segale Cornuta » Franchina (drums) and Rocco « Nerium » Scuzzarella (guitar) released three EPs before joining the Season of Mist stable in 2024 for the release of Fire Blades From the Tomb, their debut album.
With the heady sound of Demone, the band starts with Black Metal influences before welcoming expressive vocals and leading us towards their heavy Doom roots, quickly creating a natural contrast. The sound blazes steadily to the rhythm of the lament before Covenant unveils its hypnotic dissonance, welcoming Andrea l’Abbate (synthesizers), Lucynine (theremin) and Vittorio Sabelli (clarinet, Dawn of a Dark Age, Incantvm, Notturno) who bring a psychedelic touch to the composition, also letting the vocalist diversify her appearances to feed or soothe the oppression. The band follows up with Red as the sex of She who lives in death, a disturbing composition with vaporous harmonics that gradually intensifies before becoming a veritable haunting saturation populated by choirs. Silence finally leads us into La razza, the longest track, which progresses almost imperceptibly through misty notes before letting the ferocity reappear, creating a real disparity between the jerky rhythm and the lively vocal parts, before Nocturnal veil envelops us in its darkness. The band takes care to inject its unexpected touch, reserving a place for Vittorio‘s macabre clarinet to accentuate the suffocating Old School tones, then allows us a moment’s respite with Zero, whose quiet introduction is violated by sharp leads, ferocious blast and vocal eruptions. Davide Straccione (Shores of Null, Zippo) joins the band to give life to The Weeping Song, the last of the seven tracks, creating a plaintive, natural duet that will accompany us through the album’s final moments.
Ponte Del Diavolo exposes us to a unique sonic experience. Fire Blades From the Tomb may be lively and extremely spontaneous at times, but it also knows how to place more impressive waves of dark suffocating tranquility that nuance the band’s progression. An interesting piece of work.
80/100