Fuoco Fatuo - The Viper Slither In The Ashes Of What Remains - Album Review

Year: 2014

Whoever claims that making slow music is easy, is clearly an ignorant fool. When music is robbed of it’s pace, there are a lot of elements that must be added to it, in order to compensate for that loss of pace. If done poorly, the resultant could be a monotonous drone capable of boring the heck out of anybody who listens to it. So evidently, a lot of skill is required to make slow music that is captivating and enjoyable, and not boringly monotonous. There are quite a few bands capable of this feat and the newest addition to the list is Fuoco Fatuo from Italy.

Hailing from Varese, Lombardy, Italy, Fuoco Fatuo is a young three piece that knows how to effectively combine elements of funeral dirge with death metal. The effectiveness of this combination is evident in the band’s debut full length, ‘The Viper Slithers in the Ashes of What Remains’, which was released on 17th February, 2014 through Iron Tyrant Records.

Just like the album title, the songs themselves are long affairs, with the album spanning almost 53 minutes with only five tracks. In such circumstances it is very easy for the songs to overstay their welcome. But simple riffs combined with a dreary and dark atmosphere makes sure that this is not the case here. The band brings heaviness in spades. The dirge-ish riffs of Milo Angeloni, in combination with the massive sounding bass of Giovanni Piazza ensure that the listener is crushed to crumbs.

Though the album mostly follows a very dragging tempo, there are bits and pieces where the music picks up pace to a mid tempo range. These are perhaps the only bits where the drummer Fabrizio Moalli gets to show off his fills. In the slower sections his role is limited to merely keeping the tempo. This is not essentially a bad thing, considering that it is a common limitation within the genre.

The growled vocal work of Milo Angeloni brings a rough edge to the table and it suits the dark theme that the band is trying to showcase. The band successfully manages to add variety in their riffs, without leaving any room for monotony. This is quite a feat considering the length of the album and the tempo of the music. The production gives prime importance to the gloomy atmosphere and this works very well in the band’s favour. All elements are heard clearly, while also sporting a raw and organic side.

‘The Viper Slithers in the Ashes of What Remains’ is a very laudable effort that is likely to win over a lot of new fans for the band. Make sure to pick this one up if you are in the mood for something slow and heavy.

Rating: 89%