The Call of the Wood

Opera IX is a cult in the extreme metal scene of Italy. Together with Mortuary Drape and Necromass they represented the best that black metal could offer ‘till the end of the 90s. Actually, the two bands from Piedmont were a bit different in style and lyrical themes (Mortuary Drape were an occult, raw black metal act with early death contaminations, while Opera IX started off like a sort of black/gothic one to develop the sound is something always more acoustical) but they contributed to the scene like few did in that period. Their albums were something mythical and they were very hard to find and even this contributed in creating a certain strange, foggy aura that embraced both the acts. The Call of the Wood is the debut album by Opera IX and still nowadays, after 14 years it is still regarded as a milestone in the Italian scene because it brought in something particular, personal and also damned fascinating. This album features some of the most occult and mysterious songs ever done in Italy, taking influences from the early doom metal acts (Italy had the great Black Hole among the others, without forgetting Death SS and Dark Quarterer), filtrated through the black metal and something concerning a very first embryonic form of folk. Don’t get me wrong, with “folk” I just mean a few overtures and nothing more because the overall atmosphere is incredibly gloom and occult.

The very first song Opera IX decided to show us is the great, unique “Alone in the Dark”. The long introduction with weird noises leads us through a dark wood at night as the violent black/death sections come in. They reminded me the very first Cradle of Filth because they mix these two genres in a very good way, and the keyboards behind give the right atmosphere. The heaviest traces can be found in the guitars riffage and its incredibly low-tuned style but we must also spend a few words for Cadaveria, maybe the very first female singer in an extreme band. This was ahead in Italy for this period. The doom moments are incredibly obscure and often they let some more instrumental moments come in to add more atmosphere. “Esteban's Promise” features the dynamic, hammering drums work of a young Flegias (later, the Necrodeath singer). Once again, the guitars are constantly between the black and death. The more atmospheric moments are always present and the keyboards contribute in a perfect way to the music because they are not invasive at all, but they only give the right touch to add more darkness. “The Call Of The Wood” features more of them, especially by he beginning and they give an incredibly good occult touch. It’s like being in a pagan celebration in the middle of a wood and this is great because this style goes on even when the other instruments come in to bring more heaviness.

On “Al Azif”, the occult, odd style of the keyboards is even more present and this perfectly clashes with the heaviness of the guitars and the animal-like growling by Cadaveria. Again, the lead lines of the guitars and the soloing are very important because they more or less follow the same style of the keyboards, passing through the dark, mysterious doom moments. The fast restarts are out of the blue and the medieval style melodies are just awesome. You cannot relax even for a moments because Opera IX are always able to maintain incredibly high levels of songwriting, passing through lots of structures and influences. The last “Sepulcro” features a long introduction made of gloomy arpeggios and the unmistakable keyboards to support everything. The slow progression gives us the idea of going inside a dark place, without lights. There are a few faster sections, like the up tempo ones but they are just short and the general style is doomy, privileging the occult aura and ending an excellent, mythical album for the black scene in Italy. Opera IX debuted with a semi-masterpiece of occult black metal and this album is highly recommended, apart from being one of the immortal milestones in my country.

This debut from one of Italy’s most unique bands in the black metal scene never ceases to amaze me. Not only because out of the three I’ve heard (this, Sacro Culto and The Black Opera), it’s easily the best, but also because of how it stands out of the usual pattern in BM with its epic feeling. The songs are all lengthy, especially the first track, but what really gets the listener is Cadaveria’s vocals, which are completely unique and add a lot of depth to the already unmistakably atmospheric music. In that way, and in many other ways, Opera IX stands out from the stream of generic black metal acts in the mid-90s. Another thing that strikes me as original is the number of mellow, clean parts. When the tempo isn’t going down for some slow and heavy power chords, you can expect some awesome acoustic parts, often combined with a soft bass line and even a flute (!). The flute parts are beautiful and add a very special touch to the music, like everything else anyway. All these aspects make The Call of the Wood such a creative release with lots and lots of variety within it. Now, to the songs:

Alone in the Dark – Obviously the longest song with it’s 18 minutes, but you wouldn’t notice it because there are enough ideas here to make six or seven reasonably good songs. But this one is spectacular. After a very strange one-minute intro that sounds like a woman moaning, the song starts in a blast with blast beats and tremolo riffing. One can easily be fooled by this and think the rest of the music will be like that, but two more minutes later, it all stops for a piano solo. It’s pretty good, not gorgeous, but it sets the atmosphere for the rest of the album, before heading into some nice slow riffing. The keyboards often have a cool and “mysterious” sound, though not cheesy by any means. The solo that follows is quite slow, and probably nothing that’s going to blow your brains out, but it heads into a very mellow part. I don’t know who plays the flute but that combined with the arpeggios played on acoustic guitar makes a truly mesmerizing atmosphere. It goes on like this for the rest of the song: some fast parts succeeding slower parts. There is almost always a good layer of keyboards to enhance the mood of the song.
Esteban’s Promise – This song is essentially a fast one, not bad to bob your head to (though banging your head against the wall to this might be a bit, um, strange). At 2:21, there’s another pretty slow solo (yes, they CAN play fast ones too), and it fits even better with the mood of the song. After it’s over, the bass starts another riff, soon followed by the main guitar. The “chorus” section is pretty chilly, thanks to Cadaveria (Esteban’s… prooooomiiiise!). More riffs, more greatness. The last minute of the song is probably the most metal part of the album; the tempo speeds up, the drumming is more pummelling and the riffs kick more arse. Now, you can headbang.
The Call of the Wood – Wow, this is atmospheric. Cadaveria’s great vocal skills make the acoustic parts on this song really fucking special. I have never heard anything like this before. The flute once again appears and you know you’re not in your bedroom listening to Opera IX, but rather lost in the woods and there is a melody guiding you to an unknown place. That’s how I feel about this song. Or at least the first and last part of it. The middle section is more repetitive. One riff is repeated many times during a few minutes but it’s actually not bad at all. Eventually the music will calm down again for another mellow part, this time more bass-driven.
Al Azif – The fourth song is very much like Esteban’s Promise. Less slow parts, more metal parts. More riffs, too. It’s also longer, therefore better. There’s only one bad thing, Cadaveria’s vocals sadly don’t stand out as much as they did on the previous song; my ear is more inclined to follow the riffs, which are pretty badass here, when they do not utterly destroy. As always the bass is very loud in the mix, something not so common among black metal bands. But, like the riffs, it’s so good it would be pretty damn stupid to complain about such a thing, especially for those who are so fucking grim and necro that they cannot stand good production like this. One thing I must say, though, that I don’t like about this song, the keyboards are sometimes a bit annoying. I wouldn’t have minded less of them. But no big harm done, it’s still a great song.
Sepulcro – Probably the most atmospheric song on The Call of the Wood, Sepulcro starts out softly with the acoustic guitar. After a few chords, the synth and bass are added to make a sort of dark intro, probably evoking an esoteric ritual of some sort. The result is a bit cheesy, with the keyboards sounding too much like they were meant to be played at the black mass or something, but damn, the atmosphere is there. It goes on like this for a few minutes, with eventually the electric guitar and drums joining only to enhance this ambiance. The second half of the song is not too different; you only see that song progressing towards its inevitable end, once again with a mix of intense parts and quieter parts. It’s probably my second favourite track.

If you’ve been reading all this, you’ve probably realized this is a very special release of atmospheric metal. I understand if it’s not pure grim black metal from the very first second to the last, but that won’t stop The Call of the Wood from being a great, creative and unique piece of music. Go buy it if that appeals to you.