Release date: May 07th 2021. Label: Various Labels and Formats Listed End Of Review.
Magharia – Tracklisting
1.Celebration of Gloom 04:47
2.Cursed Island 04:01
3.Moonchild's Scream 05:00
4.NecroPass (Instrumental) 01:18
5.Nuraghe 04:37
6.Headless Ghost 04:33
7.The Bridge of Damnation 05:25
8.Sinful Nun 04:07
9.Magharia (Instrumental) 08:50
Members
Ghenes – Guitars
Zagarus – Vocals
Striges – Drums
Janos - Bass
Review
Bretus are one of Italy’s well known and long-standing Doom Metal bands. As they’ve been going since 2000 and are still rocking within their 3rd decade of existence. The band have just released their 5th album with Magharia and it’s a record all toe top sounds and ideas that we’ve come to expect from the band. 70’s based Doom Metal with Occult Rock Swagger with the welcome additional sounds of Psychedelic Rock and modern based Stoner Metal.
The album starts very strongly with the creepy and hard-hitting opening song – Celebration Of Gloom – and there’s a lot to celebrate especially if you like your Doom Metal overflowing with cool ideas from the last 50 years of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Bretus cover a lot of ground on this song with their eerie lyrics and gloomy sounds bringing a thrilling style of Doom/Stoner Metal that old-school fans of Saint Vitus and Candlemass will no doubt admire.
Second song – Cursed Island – carries on the twisted and gloomy “DOOM METAL” imagery from the opening song but brings a more modern Stoner Metal flavour to the mix. The vocals are OTT but they add a cool “Occult” atmosphere to the song with Bretus finding the time to play a wild and varied style of different guitar solos along the way.
Third song – Moonchild’s Scream – is a more classic offering from Bretus with slightly OTT vocals and lyrics allowing the band to focus more playing heavier and sinister grooves. The song starts very slow and is quite cautious at the beginning but soon builds up to become one of the most creatively interesting songs on the album. The Psychedelic vibes remind myself of Uncle Acid earlier studio output but Bretus perhaps bringing a more mature and violent style of music.
The first 3 songs allow the listener to see how Bretus will play out the rest of this superbly entertaining record but the band have more than enough tricks up their sleeve to keep the everything interesting and more varied on the later stages of the record.
Bretus bring more a more “Experimental” attitude on this record with excellent Psychedelic Sounds being some of the best ideas I’ve heard from the band recently. Magharia allows Bretus the opportunity to go slightly off-script for a Doom Metal Band and play things that you shouldn’t really expect to work so well.
Other great songs on the album include: Nuraghe, Headless Ghost, The Bridge Of Damnation and the fantastic instrumental title track – Magharia.
Magharia is an album with Bretus showing their fans that Doom Metal can be “FRESH, EXCITING and FUN”.
If you’re looking for a Doom Metal album that isn’t afraid to rewrite genre conventions from time-to-time, well BRETUS would like you to join their Demonic and Groovy Doomed Out Congregation.
Words by Steve Howe
CD out for The Swamp Records
VINYL out for Overdrive Records
TAPE PREORDER on Burning Coffin Records
Links:
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