Hesperia is ready for a new chapter.
Approaching its 30th anniversary, the project led by Italian multi-instrumentalist Hesperus (formerly of Sulphuria) is already back to present its ninth album, titled Picenum (True Marchigian Black Metal Renaissance), in collaboration with Hammerheart Records.
Divided into three parts (and a prologue), the album is incredibly dense and rich, recounting stories, myths, and legends from the Marche region – the musician’s homeland – which he is keen to portray in the first two parts before linking the third to his previous album, titled Ritorno Fra Li Monti Sibillini (“Return to the Sibilline Mountains” in Italian). Clocking in at nearly an hour and twenty minutes, the album naturally remains rooted in Black Metal, the icy, uncompromising style of the ’90s with medieval influences, but also features a few interludes blending Folk and Renaissance music, a fact the project clearly affirms in the album’s title. Unsurprisingly, I don’t know much about this last part, but the interplay between two waves of biting riffs and sinister growls, backed by majestic keyboards, is perfectly executed, making the whole thing very theatrical, much like silent horror films, and it’s easy to let the musician lead the way. I personally let the album play while listening intently, and the different phases feel so natural that it would be almost impossible to view the work as a collection of individual tracks. Although there’s a noticeable difference in atmosphere between the three parts (and I’m personally drawn to the second, which includes the tracks Lu Lupu Mannà and La Sdrega), I believe the album can only be listened to in one sitting.
Whether you’re a fan of icy Black Metal, dark and oppressive atmospheres, or Italian history, you’ll find something to love in Hesperia. Picenum (True Marchigian Black Metal Renaissance) is far from being the most accessible album of the year, but it is undoubtedly among the most accomplished, given its richness.
80/100