Freedom of the Dark One

It’s been more than ten years since Septerra saw the light of day, but somehow a full length hasn’t followed suit until now. An EP was released in 2009, but still it took another seven years to finally release a debut, titled Freedom Of The Dark One. Now this is a country ‘n’ western orchestra like you’ve never heard, mainly because they play progressive power metal with a distinctly sinister atmosphere.

I’m guessing intro ‘Nightfall’ is on here just because they liked the name, because it flows flawlessly into ‘Nightmare (The Terror From Within)’. Right from the get go, there’s creative riffing happening across the board, and the embodying darkness is felt right away. Axe man Bruno Maistrello doesn’t get away easy, as he has a lot work from the start. ‘The Well Of Nothingness’ sees him mix massive, dark riffs and slow, acoustic passages in a song that pushes inexorably onward; shifts in tempo and a shifting atmosphere fills the first half of the song, only to then explode into an orgy of riffs and a blistering solo.

The slightly thrashier ‘Forlorn Hope’ and melo-thrash hit ‘Dark Symphony’ tells the same story; Septerra won’t sit still and won’t let even a single track stick only one line. Tempo shifts and fast progressions with massive riffs turns into slow, haunting bits filled by Renata Salles effectively used voice. His darker style, slightly raspy reminds at some bits of Patrik Johansson of Bloodbound and ShadowQuest, while at others he’s decidedly his own. The best aspect of Salles is that he knows to find the expressions in himself to match to feel of the music. Another aspect that Septerra seems to nail, is the incorporation of Diego Felix’s keyboards. ‘Beneath My Skin’ sees a slight increase in that department, but they’re constantly subordinate of Maistrello’s guitars, and rightly so. I’d however liked to have heard more of it in small interludes, some parts dedicated to the keyboard, as it can be very effective in building atmosphere.

I have two more tracks to mention. First, Russian electro-polka something something in ‘Sacred Gates’. A complete mindfuck of a song, with a weird rhythm section and a surprising effort by Salles, who shows what he can do during the course of this stupid and otherwise ruined song. Second, ‘Keeper Of Dreams’, with a haunting crackling intro that soon turns into a melodic acoustic tune with clear folk-y veins. Then with a growl from the depths of Hell, it bursts and then flows between a behemoth like vessel in the sky, and something hauntingly cool in motion. In itself, it’s slightly indicative of what to expect of this debut; the unexpected.

Freedom Of The Dark One challenges on several levels, and it works. It’s competently put together, with a keen understanding to the strengths of the band. A bit of filler to reach a full hour could easily have been cut off - and definitely skip ‘Sacred Gates’ if you hold your sanity dear - but all in all, this debut is capable and recommendable to anyone who is into dark progressive metal. It walks in the path of darkness, and I hope the terror from within is only the beginning.

Standout tracks: Keeper Of Dreams, Dark Symphony, Nightmare (The Terror From Within)