Gaerea – Gaerea (2016)

Hailing from Italy, today we have five-piece Gaerea and their punishing self-titled debut EP. Featuring over 27 minutes of blistering Black Metal music, this debut showcases a very promising band with a highly atmospheric oppressive BM sound. Filled with cathartic moments, this release sets the bar quite high for any future activities by this young outfit.

Opening with the atmospheric “Santificato”, building up on punishing drumming and imposing vocals, this opener sets a very dark and gloomy mood for the release. “Final Call” continues the onslaught with dissonant riffs and pummeling tempo that quickly escalates the level of aggression. As one of their best skills, Gaerea effortlessly changes tempos while trampling the listener with crushing passages and dissonant contrasts.

With “Pray to your false god” and “Through time” the band steps up their game and delivers the most aggressive tracks in this EP. With a very traditional BM core, the band exploits the atmospheric side to craft uncomfortable passages that creep on the listener and create a lasting impression. The release closes with the more experimental “Void of numbness”, a track where the band experiments with unconventional guitar sounds to create a very unique and harrowing experience.

Overall, this self-titled EP is one hell of a release that showcases the true potential of Gaerea. If you like Black Metal and have kept up with the subtle evolution of the genre over time, this is one release that you can’t miss. While being ravaging and punishing, this release shows a promising approach to the genre, allowing Gaerea to be one of our bands to watch in the future.

Label: Everlasting Spew Records

Release: November 11th, 2016

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Italy