Ava Inferi - ONYX
Its good to see such diversity from Rune Eriksen departing a bit from his well known past and present works (Mayhem, Aura Noir, Nader Sadek and more). I mean most musicians do strive to progress forward musically and I think this has been very much the case with Ava Inferi. With this band it would probably be good to know that it's not going to be anything like Aura Noir, the last Mayhem album, or the technical madness of Mezzerschmitt. Not really even close.
When I listen to Ava Inferi's previous albums there does exist of course the gloom and somberness of what we all appreciate from Doom Metal, but with this album it really shines through. One thing that really stands out are the vocals which are done exceptionally well by vocalist Carmen Simoes. It is my belief that she has one of the most intriguing and beautiful voices heard in the metal world today. Her voice conveys a very great sense of power and emotion.
Onyx also very much lived up to the hype I was going insane about for quite sometime I mean I was playing the band's last album Blood of Bacchus almost non stop since it came out which about 2 years ago. So Onyx's arrival was so anticipated, that I even bought a digital copy from Amazon a few weeks before the US release. I was stoked to hear such a killer production, great songwriting and even more stoked that the band showed no signs of weakness. Usually by a bands 4th album its either total failure or brilliance. Luckily failure is nowhere in this band's reality.
I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something fresh in the metal world right now. It very much offers a lot of good quality musicianship and great memorable songs. Highlight tracks for me are Onyx, Majesty, and The Heathen Island. Overall this album really fucking peaks its head about more than the norm and embraces all of the good things doom and gothic metal has to offer. Go buy this album, some red wine, and have a listen for
