Misteri

Fratello Metallo is easily one of the strangest bands that I’ve discovered recently. Why you ask? Well, first of all, the singer is a monk who looks well into his sixties, that wears a priestly robe as he flashes the horns frequently. Second of all, this normally ridiculous image actually produces some seriously cool Italian metal.

I’ll begin with Cesare himself. The man usually sings in an aggressive, dark tone with a touch of some operatic vocals here and there. There appears to be some spoken sections as well. He also manages to pull off some of the most bad-assingly unique “shrieks” that I’ve ever heard. Lastly, he sings in Italian, which ultimately makes him even more unique for a heavy metal singer. This is very much a solo album though, so unfortunately Cesare’s bandmates don’t try to be anything impressive. Apart from some heavy riffing and the occasional solo, don’t expect very interesting instrumentals.

The album generally sounds like pure Italian heavy metal with some Middle Eastern influence. It is definitely very European sounding and also a bit dark.

The tracklisting of the album contains eleven short to mid-length tracks which are all good at varying degrees. The best tracks are probably Dio and the title track, Misteri. There are also a few ballads on the album, which are thankfully good, and manage to fit in with the rest of the songs.

This is a very solid release and definitely recommended for fans of heavy metal. Extreme metalheads may find this enjoyable as well. (I don’t know about thrashers or deathheads though) Either way, I would check this out if you’re looking for something a little different.