VILLAGE CRYPT: Opera IX - Sacro Culto

Here at the Sleeping Village, we keep our most revered albums in....a very special place. Their time may have gone, but they are certainly not forgotten. Today's pick: another one of  The Voiceless Apparition's all-time favorites. Read on! ​​

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Written by: ​The Voiceless Apparition

Part III of my retrospective review series! Today's review is brought to you by the highly underrated Italian black metal band Opera IX and their second studio album entitled Sacro Culto, released on April 18th, 1998, on Shiver Records. This album marked an evolution in the band's sound compared to their first album, bringing in more elements of doom metal, gothic metal, classical, and small hints of folk, while still retaining their black metal roots. Does this extension of the bands sound work in their favor? Let's dive in.

Right off the bat, opening track "The Oak" swings out the gate and beats you over the head with a barrage of brutal and heavy riffs, but there's also a strong emphasis on the keyboards being a major part of the band, as they are implemented throughout Sacro Culto as a whole. This song is pretty pummeling the whole way through and serves as a teaser to what's to come, but without showing too much. Followup "Fronds of the Ancient Walnut" is a beast of a track. While still being brutal, there is a lot more atmospheric compared to the previous song.  The stars of this song are the riffs, and the keyboards/piano. They really complement each other so well, the guitar riffs/tone are so heavy and the keys are so pretty and spacious and gothic--all told, it really mixes well together. This is a definite highlight on the album. 

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