Marea is making new waves.
Led by its founder Matteo Balzarini (vocals/guitar/bass), who is still joined by drummer Alessandro Mori (Entirety, Hanormale, Total Death, ex-Devoid of Thought), the project released its second album, A Caress of Autumn for All the Lost, in 2026 via Hypnotic Dirge Records and Masked Dead Records.
We start off gently with A Caress of Autumn, a calm acoustic introduction that intensifies slightly as it builds toward The Beauty of Broken Things, which explodes in our faces after a brief silence, immediately plunging us back into the visceral intensity of this multi-influenced blend of Black Metal. The vocals remain as raw as ever, offering a gripping experience, especially during the most lively and intense passages, and although the track is very long, it’s highly varied and easy to follow, particularly during the extended final harmonics. We then continue this journey with Eremita, starting off gently before delving into compelling DSBM roots. The moans are blood-curdling in how sincere they sound and how they contrast with the hoarse growls, and we won’t find a semblance of cheerfulness in the leads again until Still Horizon, before the dissonance catches up with us. The track is, however, peppered with acoustic passages, or at least much calmer ones, especially the one in the middle that lets us catch our breath before the final wave propels us toward Aurora, which takes on Blackgaze tones to captivate us and carry our minds away on this dark journey before encountering more aggressive elements. It’s easy to sense the abrasive Old School influences, while For All the Lost is more firmly rooted in Post-Metal, especially with its very gentle introduction, which certainly builds to saturation, but we notice this contagious tranquility that washes over us, lingering until Night Birds returns to violence, notably with its heavy vocal parts. The song’s atmosphere also shifts over time, moving from a dark cloud to far more piercing moments before finally fading away, leaving Absence of Self to close out the album with its ever-ethereal approach – at times almost dreamlike, as the sounds seem to come from another world, whether in calm or oppression, always leaving room for the opposite to merge and create these haunting tones, even in the midst of rage.
I first discovered Marea with a debut album that was already very strong, but this one is even more intense and heart-wrenching. A Caress of Autumn for All the Lost takes us through different layers of Black Metal, but also and above all of suffering, with an approach that is as sincere as possible.
95/100
