HANDS OF ORLAC - Figli Del Crepuscolo CD

As I see it, Figli del Crepuscolo hits a sweet spot precisely because the band needn’t choose between musical ambition and atmospheric tension. On this album, everyone is pretty much a lead player (the bass gets less focus though isn’t ignored) and they take turns to shape the experience, either through simple and stark application of their talents - as with the flute leads and some of the riffs - or busier behaviour that turns the intensity up a few degrees, generally the prerogative of the drumming and lead guitar. Due to the degree of involvement in each song, it’s not terribly straightforward to name different types of effect with reference to titles, since every cut contains a variety of features. The introduction of the album is a bit more concrete however, what with the instrumental title track playing around with those creepy ‘70s European horror synths, then ‘Last Fatal Drop’ kicking in as not only slightly the briefest but probably also the most energetic of the main songs, reminding me of Portrait at times. I think I’ve made it clear already, but just to restate: I spot no weak link among the songs.