Band's List Black Metal Inverno Eterno Póstumo

The last 365 days have proved to be some of the best for one of today’s finest and most reliable labels floating on the Portuguese underground, known as Bubonic Productions (BP). Having released works from the pagans Cripta Oculta, Portuguese doom leviathans Process of Guilt, plague infested Nivathe, among other less known, although equally great projects and establishing partnerships with other interesting up-and-coming labels such as Universal Tongue and Cocainacopia has generated a strong reputation that is undeniably result of a lot of hard work and dedication. Amidst those releases, there is also one that testifies BP’s inherent capacity to discover underground gems and confirms BP’s magnificent taste, something that I was already aware of for quite some time now. This precious release is in fact Inverno Eterno’s debut album aptly titled “Póstumo” (Posthumous, for those who are interested), one of the most awaited releases of the past year. Before the official “release ceremony” which occurred in a small bar near the river Tejo, Inverno Eterno were already owners of a prestige that isn’t commonly associated to such young bands. On that night, Inverno Eterno shared the stage with ritualistic blacksters Dolentia, Sade influenced maniacs InThyFlesh and the hate fueled crew of Irae, in a gig that shall be retained in the minds of several people. Inverno Eterno are an intriguing collective when it comes to define their path, as they garnered a respectable reputation with mere live presentations, instead of earning the respect of people by the quality of their records, which is far more usual. This is due to the fact of having played quite some shows before their first release was even announced to be on development. Therefore, by the time “Póstumo” was revealed, the expectations were pretty high and luckily the final result is more than positive.

The state of the suicidal/depressive black metal scene isn’t surprising for those who’ve been accompanying its evolution ever since Burzum released “Det Som Engang Var” and Strid recorded its self-titled EP, the records that laid the foundations for the genre. Since Shining, Abyssic Hate and Xasthur started making records, a lot of things have changed and the genre has suffered massive and uninspired imitations that diluted the essence that makes those bands so special. Fortunately there are projects that manage to come up with something interesting and special every once in a while (take Austere, Isolation or Hypothermia for example) and Portugal had the luck to witness the birth of three acts which wondrously offered on their first full-length efforts extraordinary takes on the DSBM style. Those specific bands and records are obviously Ars Diavoli’s “Pro Nihilo Esse”, Black Howling’s “Alma… Uma Floresta de Dor” (both records were previously reviewed by me so make sure to give them a reading if you want to know more) and finally Inverno Eterno’s “Póstumo”. Each one of those three records has its own qualities, wether it’s the organic beauty of “Alma…”, the sharp and ruthless tunes from “Pro Nihilo Esse” or the overwhelming dynamism present in “Póstumo”.

Yes, “Póstumo” is by no means a boring album, it is almost unbelievable the large amount of different atmospheres nurtured by this Portuguese quartet, as they travel through so many different influences. What you will first notice is how the vocalist approaches the different segments of the songs with varied vocal styles that comprise remote howls, bitter yelps, placid spoken passages, suffering moans and some more depressive weeping. It’s almost impossible to catalog all kinds of vocalizations but one thing that is absolutely evident is its intrinsic authenticity that reaches dramatic level far more realistic and credible than a lot of other self-proclaimed suicidal bands. It really is very interesting to witness such refreshing action behind the microphone in this genre dominated by the familiar outlying howls, as Inverno Eterno’s vocalist delivers a diverse and unique set of vocal styles with its own robust personal imprint.

Not only the vocals have a great diversity, but the instruments also share this same virtue. The guitar plays riffs that draw a lot of distinct influences such as more heavy metal based tunes, added with a lot of distortion producing an intriguing and curious ambience. While some of the riffs may resemble Burzum in its glorious BM era, there are times where the guitarist supplies the listener with very interesting mixes of chords and tremolo riffs that craft this astoundingly dynamical environment which contains a lot of highlights. However the cherry in the top is undeniably the clean guitar sections that usually appear after a pretty dramatic moment, but where these moments are better exemplified are possibly on “Depois que tu morreste…”, perhaps the best track of the whole album, featuring the most intense moments of the record. The way the track changes between dead calm moments and particularly deep and harsh sections is absolutely mind-blowing and gives me chills the whole time. That fantastic whistling in the background also is a fine detail that adds a lot to the atmosphere and was a great idea and the person who came up with that deserves a great compliment. Back to the guitars, the distortion is fairly high, but the tone is perfect and creates what one once called as a “post-mortem” ambience.

The bass opted for a quite discrete stance, unlike the guitar, but although its lines are a tad unostentatious, they still remain audacious at times and form some interesting and underlying textures behind the more exposed guitar riffs. It also doesn’t just follow the guitar, it has its own path to tread, culminating with a few important and palpable segments. Sometimes the bass work reminded me of Svarti Loghin’s debut “Empty World” also released in the past year, which contained some highly interesting bass wanderings. I also happen to appreciate the work on the drum kit, as the band’s drummer plays a lot of varied patterns that fit the mood very well, without constraining or forcing him to do overly predictable beats that would easily jeopardize the mood. Regardless of playing some pretty easy beats, his fills are incredibly tight and add this human touch that computer programmed drum machines don’t have. Speaking of human, this characteristic is also noticeable on some frenetic guitar riffs, which sound a bit different every time they’re played and remind us that this is no technical record where everything seems to be played by surgically precise machines.

So, basically the instrumental department is almost flawless, at least concerning the way it builds the atmosphere. In addiction to that, there is another detail I’d like to point out, as it’s sure to go unnoticed for a lot of people. Portuguese is the mother language for several millions of people (Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and some other provinces spread around the world such as Goa, Macau, etc.) but the truth is that musically speaking, only a scarce part of the metal listeners understand this language. To fully appreciate Inverno Eterno (which by the way means Eternal Winter), knowledge of the Portuguese language is mandatory, because listening to the music without understanding what the vocalist is singing would be a major loss. The lyrical themes deal mostly with Death and the way it influences the Time, as the Past also has a preponderant meaning on the interpretation of it. They are sorrowful and written with poetic passion which reminds me a lot of Fernando Pessoa’s most melancholic poems written under his heteronyms. The themes also suit as a reminder of the famous traditional Portuguese music Fado, in its most somber style, revealing great emphasis on the lyrics creation. Someone once pointed this style of music and themes match perfectly well with the typical Portuguese fatality and this couldn’t be more right, as Portugal holds a nation that is fatalistic, negativistic and bucolic by nature, which is quite interesting even though this style was initially influenced by bands practicing it in a far away place that ultimately ended up finding a match in this rather unknown tiny strip of land, as I like to call it.

Whereas Inverno Eterno was already an act worthy of respect way before “Póstumo” was released, this only happened for a reason that is quite simple actually: Their live gigs are incredible, for they manage to transport the audience into a lugubrious and mourning realm like few actually can. I’m not going to describe extensively how their live shows are, but I can assure you it is something you will not easily forget, nor will you notice the time flying by. The limbo where you are put while listening to Inverno Eterno live is almost indescribable as it is an experience you must see to understand and to truly feel. The pain and suffering is almost palpable and although this is very well portrayed on CD, it is a thousand times better when witnessed live.

Bubonic Productions has once again released another great album which this time closes the fabulous trilogy started with Black Howling in 2007, continued by Ars Diavoli and finished by Inverno Eterno in 2008. All tracks are remarkable in its own way (except maybe for “Prólogo” which carries the same riff with slight modifications for a bit more than 4 minutes), but if I had to choose a favourite, I guess it would be “Depois que tu morreste…” (something like “After you have perished…”) for the reasons mentioned above. Still, the last four tracks are the best of the bunch, without withdrawing any of the other tracks merit that also present some finely crafted black metal. If you’re looking for varied and bucolic black metal with astonishing song writing, dynamic vocalizations, excellent riffs, wondrous bass lines and interesting drum work then try Inverno Eterno, because it will surely won’t disappoint you. Naturally, one of 2008’s finest.