Label - Prosthetic Records
Release Date- 14th July 2023
Ah, the difficult second album. Many have tried and many have failed to capture the spirit and essence of their debut. Not so Calligram. Indeed, the London-based five-piece may have conjured the best black metal album released from the UK this year with their sophomore effort Position|Momentum. It is icy cold, dark, claustrophobic and venomous.
From the moment you press play on this album you are greeted with visceral vocals (sung in Italian), a wall of harsh guitars and battering blast beats. The second track ‘Frantumi In Itinere’ starts with a four-count snare (a magnificent sounding snare at that) before riffs, grimacing vocals and yet more blast beats hit you in the face like a particularly violent blizzard in the mountains of Norway. The outro is also pure joy and delivered by a band who clearly has such passion for the music they are creating. It spills over into a neck-snapping head-banger of a riff which will have you wanting to raise your fists in the air.
Not to stick to one genre, the third track ‘Eschilo’ opens with an Opeth-ian style melodic guitar passage, building slowly with drums before shifting to a latter-day Behemoth-esque riff. Even ‘Ostranenie’ has a post-metal Downfall of Gaia feel to it, whilst also incorporating brass instruments to go with the slowly plucked guitars during the lulls of the track.
The songwriting has evidently progressed since their last album - 2020’s The Eye Is The First Circle - and the tracks are more expensive, although that’s not to take anything away from their excellent previous body of work. It’s also important to call out the bass on this album. Bass that is actually audible, which is, if you excuse the pun, unheard of on albums from the genre. It’s nice to hear the bass so high in the mix and not drowned out by the vocals, drums or guitars.
The closing track ‘Seminario Dieci’ is the icing on this glorious and bleak offering. The slow ebbs lean towards Swedish black metal band Shining from their The Eerie Cold-era. They throw everything into this track and leave nothing behind- a triumphant way to end this near forty-minute ride of pleasure and pain. Although not wanting to pigeonhole the band against other artists, if you are a fan of Shining (Sweden), Downfall Of Gaia and White Ward then it’s worth your time checking Position|Momentum out.
8.5
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