Tomydeepestego

Rome, Italy's Tomydeepestego only formed in March 2006, so it's definitely worth a mention how cohesive and well-done their full-length is. Odyssea was released this past November, only 20 months after the band's initiation, yet bears a very decent version of the powerful, metallic and heavy instrumental concoctions made popular by Pelican and Isis, as well as hinting at the smoldering coating of early Envy.

Odyssea clocks in at a whopping 65:22 over the course of eight tracks and during the first few listens, the use of some sort of string instrument really jumps out at the listener. In fact, it morphs the light drama of the thick air into an overblown, borderline cheesy moment ("Liver"). Yet the strings oddly seem to integrate themselves perfectly after repeated listens of Odyssea, and the listener soon finds the band's pounding hum a consistent and confrontational one without any real bumps along the way, with a strong recording to back it up.

The relatively upbeat "Euskadia" is a refreshing mood for the style, beginning with throbbing start-stop riffage and then a transition into lighthearted territory. It feels weird using a word as "lighthearted" in describing a band of this nature, but that's precisely the feeling this opener conveys. "Renovatio" is an interesting number, with pretty, slow arpeggio riffs lulling the listener into thinking a solid groove has been established; but the song then breaks into the band's traditionally heavy and distorted foundation and later breaks down to start a more simply executed buildup. Much of the album retains a fair interest throughout even without too many moments jumping out.

Not quite remarkable, but pretty promising -- Odyssea is as solid a debut as can be expected for such a young band. Now it's up to time to tell if the band lives up to its masterful and equally epic influences.

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