The Italian one man band Obscurum Malum was born in 2000 producing the first demo “Crypta Vox”, recorded in an abandoned church.

The basics of black metal are inspired by introspection and local culture. The next work, “Effatà” is dated 2002 in which the inspiration is the awakening.

After a very long pause Obscurum Malum releases “Regina Noctis” in 2019, a work dedicated to the goddess Hekate, six songs born after a long study through myths and legends, university lyrics, which I could be the most truthful about the figure of the goddess herself.
In “Regina Noctis” the only element missing is the drums which is replaced by the shaman drum, the artist’s ritual instrument.

Partial with the title track that immerses us in quells that is the dark cavern in which we will spend about half an hour, at the mercy of very introspective notes. A good mood in the distortion of the Sunni for this Peter with a decidedly claustrophobic spore, with heartbreaking vocals and spoken parts.

The even darker “Oscuradivina” follows and in this medium we can taste the very entity of the goddess, the demons, the night, the ghosts, the dead and the Necromancy of which Hekate was reigning. If, as I think, the intent of Obscurum Malum is to give a musical personification to this figure, I would say that it has succeeded completely.

“Ekate Trivia” remains on the same line of the previous track, accentuating the essence of an avant-garde black metal that ranges between desperate sounds and moods, with accent growl.

Let’s move on to the shorter and more airy track “Divinanotte” that continues in addition to the sound of cam pane Tibetans, also a light glimmer in this hellish abyss.
Tornado in the infers with the sounds contained in “Ekate Phosphoros” in which we can find various percussion instruments and always many dark tonalities.

In closing we find “Ekate ailomoros” which reminds us of the opening track, in which is very much presents the metal vein and creativity death, orphic fragments not that infernal.

“Regina Noctis” unfolds in lyrics sung in Greek and Italian, taken from Argonautical or other sources on the goddess. A work deliberately improvised in some points, with the aim of giving that rough impression that a patinated version would have affected both the theme itself and the sound deliberately raw.

Valeria Campagnale.