Eresia
Moto Imperpetuo

May 2002
Released: 2001, Independent
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Michael De Los Muertos

The world of non-English language metal is a wide one, and thankfully, it’s getting ever wider. It usually takes U.S., British, Canadian and Australian metalheads a while to discover and get into metal releases that are not in their native language, but when they do, the results are often rewarding. Such is the case with Italy’s Eresia, and their album MOTO IMPERPETUO. Unfortunately it illustrates a prejudice in the metal world--if the lyrics were in English instead of Italian, this band would probably be signed to a well-known metal label!



Eresia plays fast, crunchy, very ear-catching death metal. It’s more of the “dry” sounding European variety, without as much “sludge” as death metal from North American shores often possesses. The first track after the intro, “Es,” starts out things in a very snappy manner, and the pace continues (at various tempos) throughout the remainder of the album. I liked track three, “Ultima Notte,” the ‘80s-thrash-like rhythms on “Nato Per Uccidere,” the moody and almost doomy opening of the otherwise punishing “Acrono,” and just about everything else on this album. Another highlight is “Sei Solo” which has an almost light-hearted, jocular tone, despite being crushingly heavy. This band is a three-piece, but they sound like they’ve got six or seven guys in the studio! I was particularly impressed with the shredding, technical guitar work of “Max” (no last name given)--it’s progressive, technical and solo-oriented without crossing into the realm of “math metal”--and I especially like how well he and drummer “Bonfy” work so well together. In fact, although it’s a subtle point, the mesh between the guitars and drums may well be the major reason why Eresia works so well as a band. These are not a bunch of musicians who happen to be playing the same thing at the same time. This is a disciplined team who obviously approach death metal with an amount of professionalism that is very refreshing to see in the scene these days.



I don’t often mention covers and CD inserts for independent albums, but I do have to say that Eresia’s was pretty cool. Not the cover so much--although the ominous eyes definitely take a cue from one of my favorite movies, “Cape Fear”--but the APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION-style skull cartoons of the band on the CD itself, and also the “photo album” collage of the band members that appears on the back of the insert. Here you see not only pics of the band, but them clowning with dogs, Dani Filth, King Fowley, and a cool Death shirt. What comes through is that these are obviously ordinary guys, metalheads just like you and me. Nice touch!



I couldn’t understand a word of the lyrics here since they’re in Italian, so I have no idea whether this is traditional gore stuff (chainsaws, butchered bodies, yadda yadda), supernatural spooks n’ goblins, or possibly even satirical or humorous in nature. I leave it to any Metal-Rules readers who speak Italian to determine that! But I would say, if you like good death metal, ERESIA is definitely a band worth checking out.