Release Date: January 03rd 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Nightscape - Track Listing:
1.Silver Moon 06:33
2.Placid Lake
3.Mirrored
4.Floating in Silence
5.Moonflower 04:12
6.Blue Moon
7.Nightscape
Members
Guglielmo Allegro - Everything
Review
Nightscape is the new instrumental project from Guglielmo Allegro who is the creative mastermind behind Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal outfit Void Sinker. This time round Guglielmo focuses upon a quieter sound with a more obsessive Psychedelic groove for Nightscape’s self titled debut album. There’s a deeply emotional Shoegaze or Doomgaze sound with Guglielmo admitting he was influenced by the works of the legendary band EARTH.
The record is unapologetically slow at times which entices the listener into Nightscape’s dark realm. The instrumental sounds have a slight Drone delivery to them which transforms into a heavier style of Spaced Out Doom with overlapping sound effects in places. The opening track of Silver Moon embodies a hallucinogenic and aggressive style of haunting melodies which has a grand CINEMATIC approach. Ambient textures are added along the way for a slight Shoegaze effect.
Nightscapes does have its fair share of chillout movements but Guglielmo still delivers a heavy Drone Rock/Metal sound which drifts further into the Stoner Rock/Metal abyss when the heavier grooves appear. Long drawn out notes take time to fully appreciate and absorb which is the main way for Nightscape to grow and evolve naturally.
Songs such as Placid Lake, Mirrored and Floating In Silence have an ethereal Post-Rock element to them with distorted Drone/Doom progressive sounds allowing Guglielmo to leave the shadow of Void Sinker a distant and long forgotten memory. That’s one of the main strengths of Nightscape with the listener being able to differentiate between the two projects. Both projects can definitely live side-by-side with each other with Guglielmo having all bases covered for folks who like their music that is a little bit more brutal and intense.
There’s quite a meditative quality with different overlapping grooves, sounds and ambient effects paying homage to acts such as EARTH, BORIS, SUNN O))) and BONG. The record is a complex and long drawn out listen but it’s the journey that makes everything worthwhile with Nightscape reaching an epic conclusion within the final two tracks of Blue Moon and Nightscape being the standout tracks of the whole album.
I should advise to be prepared with a ton of AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and FUZZED OUT grooves that can be quite aggressive and deafening in places despite the soulful and peaceful intent that Guglielmo originally sets out to do with Nightscape.
For a debut album, Nightscape is a richly observed, highly captivating and emotionally rewarding record where I’m looking forward to hearing the next exciting chapter. This is another superb record from Guglielmo Allegro and if you haven’t heard his musical projects now then I recommend you change that now.
Words by Steve Howe
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