In Tormentata Quiete - Krononota

Angry Metal Guy 50

What a profoundly odd band In Tormentata Quiete is. Plenty of Italian bands are grand, pompous, cheesy, and theatrical, but few do it like this one, sporting three vocalists in a range of styles but remaining light on orchestral elements. Their first foray into the halls of AMG was shot down with a 1.0 from Grymm for being unstructured and containing baffling, out-of-place elements like rap breakdowns in the middle of their semi-symphonic avant-garde drama metal. Their second, Finestatico, earned them a 3.5 from yours truly, seemingly fixing everything its predecessor did wrong. Krononota sees another change of the guard in the vocal department, but can they maintain the high standard of before?

Well, some of it remains, but the changes this time have not been for the better. The setup is the same: a unique take on theatrical metal, In Tormentata Quiete trades in the grand opera of the Nightwishes and Rhapsodies for a take more akin to a small baroque improvisational theater troupe. The vocals take center stage, a peculiar mixture of the poperatic Samantha Bevoni, smooth baritone Davide Conti and hysterically screeching Marco Vitale. The results are still as unexpected, cheesy, and dramatic as a Broadway musical with that intangible over-the-top Italian flavor. Hyper-cheesy single ”Color Dauni” is like “Cosa Della Vita” (Eros Ramazzotti and Tina Turner) got gatecrashed by Dani Filth. “Lo Sguardo D’Anteo” is interrupted halfway through its running time for a bout of classic accordion straight out of Lady and the Tramp. Stints of saxophone color several tracks including “Urlo Del Tempo,” “Odor Mediterraneo” and “Sapor Umbro.”

Such left field diversions are not just expected when it comes to In Tormentata Quiete, they are very welcome. It’s this bizarre thespianity that makes it more than just another classically inspired band. Which makes it odd to realize that the compositions feel a bit… safe? The tempo is largely the same across the album, a steady mid-pace that leaves the variation to the barrage of vocal styles. There are a few dramatic turns to be found, no stark, whiplash-inducing contrasts in moods. That’s not to say the instrumental portion is bad; not at all. The smoothly echoing riff that’s the backbone of “Abraccio D’Emilia,” the ascending compositions on the back half of “Lo Sguardo D’Anteo,” the way “Odor Mediterraneo” drops sly bits of saxophone in there, it works really well. It just never feels subversive, which was such a key quality of Finestatico.

The shuffling of the vocal line-up is also a small step down. Bevoni has good technique, but her timbre is, unfortunately, a bit generic and her delivery has a significant pop factor. Conti is similarly strong technically, but he is more of a crooner and less of a classical tenor. As such, their individual contributions to the non-symphonic classical sound don’t really plumb the depths. This is highlighted by the changes in the production, too, as the vocals are pushed more to the front and the master has become less dynamic, crowding the instrumentation together. The strength of the band is still in how the vocal styles are mixed and combined, and that quality is still there. Mixing desperate black metal screeching and semi-operatic female vocals together is not a feat many bands can pull off, but for this band, it’s second nature. But the whole is certainly weaker for the stumbles the parts have made.

I had quite high hopes for Krononota after the surprise excellence of Finestatico. Unfortunately, it seems that changes to the line-up have tripped up the band, and they appear to have taken a step back in depth and complexity to readjust. It’s a simplified and streamlined affair, which is not an improvement for a band whose strengths lay in their baroque approach and inventive three-vocal compositions. However, In Tormentata Quiete is still a band not quite like anything else on the scene, and some of their most significant qualities, including the inventive vocal mixing is intact. I just hope that everything around it will manage to pull together for the next go-round.



Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: My Kingdom Music
Websites: intormentataquiete.bandcamp.com | intormentataquiete.com | facebook.com/intormentataquiete
Releases Worldwide: February 19th, 2021

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