(Epic Doom Metal) Thunderstorm - Nero Enigma - 2010, MP3 (tracks+scans), 320 kbps

The epic Italian Doom band are back again with a new album called "Nero Enigma". Still a very underground band despite starting way back in 1992 under the name "Sad Symphony". If you are a old school Doom Metal fan and never heard the band, you have missed out on some good tunes over the years. Fans of Candlemass, Sabbath, Trouble, Solitude Aeturnus and Count Raven should like most of this band's material. However, Thunderstorm have always been far from the perfect band and i still have some issues with them that i will bore you with later. Now onto this, their fifth album and their most well balanced album to date. The concept of the album is based on what the Italians call "giallo" which is nothing more than what is widely known as "crime fiction" or "mystery" literature, a movement that is popular in Italian classic cinema with directors like Dario Argento among others. So basically the lyrics describe a crime scene mystery and its up to the listener to solve that mystery or that is what i understand it all to mean.
The album begins with "Nero Enigma (The Beginning)" and "When April Dies", both these tracks contain some classic old school riffing and melody lines. Its good stuff but very generic and predictable, almost too predictable at times but the third track really hits the mark. Its a 8 minute mini-epic called "Ophrys". Classic spine chilling riffing that is very similar to Solitude Aeturnus best work runs throughout the track and the extra sublime riffing in the middle section is the stuff to give you goose bumps. The album needs more tracks like this but sadly it doesn't happen really. The next track, "5o25" is more upbeat and almost like a happy form of Doom Metal. "Shallow" is a odd track compared with the rest, the melodic middle section sounds strangely like new wave band Visage from the 80's, beats me how but it does. "The Trial Of Life" features one of the strong points of the album and that is the bass playing from Omar Roncalli. This guy has a remarkable warm, organic sound, so much so that i always find myself listening to his bass lines more than the rest of the band. On "The Trail Of Life", that bass playing and sound is totally mesmerizing and the rest of the track is good too but the bass guitar steals the show. The last three tracks, "Mechanical Delights", "Monologue" and "Modus Operandi" are all by the numbers Doom Metal, all of which are good but also instantly forgettable.
The good side of this band is the guitar work of Fabio "Thunder" Bellan and the incredible style and sound of the bassist. The drumming is also very solid and this band is a well-oiled, super tight machine. The negative side for me is still the vocals from Fabio which sound powerful one minute and weak the next, there is times where it sounds like his vocal chords are about to fall apart completely. Having said that, this album is the best recording that Thunderstorm have ever done, it shows the band is forever moving forward in technical ability and song-writing prowess. Its a very easy album to listen to, nothing gets too annoying or monotonous but its hardly ground-breaking or original but there is enough tempo-changes and versatile guitar breaks to keep it listenable throughout its 50+ minutes. Try it out. 7.5/10