Year of release: 2018
Label: Helter Skelter Productions
Rating: 8,3 / 10
The Belgian scene pleasantly surprises. I don’t really know much about it, but most of the local bands I know are very strong, and they also share something in common (a mob like AGATHOCLES or ABORTED, of course, doesn't count).There is some special kind of dark spirituality permeating their music.
ITERU is a freshly baked formation that released its debut on cassettes, but soon (after selling 3 editions) realized that it makes sense to make a deal with some label. The group was picked up by Swedish Helter Skelter (a division of Regain Records) and Blood Harvest. Together they provided a full set of options - CD, vinyl, tape, digital - and I strongly recommend you to get a copy. The personalities of the band members are not revealed - they say, there are musicians of cult Black Metal formations, and that’s all. But I'd stake my hand on that among these musicians there is someone from ANCIENT MOON - another Belgian formation, which may not be a cult one, but deserves to be such. “Obsidian glow” (a very accurate phrase from a press release), characteristic of ANCIENT MOON, is also inherent in ITERU. The music of the Belgians is shrouded in this deep cosmic blackness that can easily absorb all earthly things. Listening to “Ars Moriendi”, it is simply impossible not to stray on poetic phrases, because the album sometimes stuns with the dark power hidden in it. This is not the mourning sorrow of MY DYING BRIDE, these are not the depths of the subconscious of ESOTERIC. It is something otherworldly, cold, existing outside of time and space.
Also “Ars Moriendi” is simply good music. It has excellent dark melodies, it has a high mobility and a variety of creative solutions. It does not allow itself chords stretched for 40 seconds, or human emotions. It is self-sufficient and arrogant. If you listen carefully, you can find some small limitations... but I do not recommend you to do that. I think ITERU care little about what others think of them.
English (UK) 
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