Clavicvla – Sepulchral Blessing (Album – Cyclic Law)

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, ritual, black-ambient.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.
Background/Info: Clavicvla is an Italian solo-project, which released the debut album “Sermons” in 2018 on Sentient Ruin Laboratories. The project seems to be inspired by evil forces, which probably explains the link with ritual music and the ‘black-ambient’ label. The new work has been now released by Cyclic Law on CD format while the cassette and vinyl formats have already been released by Sentient Ruin Laboratories.
Content: The opening part has something ghost-like, but is just a warm-up for what’s coming next. Quite progressively you’ll perceive dark growls mixed with multiple noises. The atmosphere is hostile and even disturbing. Monstrous sounds are emerging while other passages are more into mysterious, breathing sound waves.
+ + + : If Cyclic Law has a nose for dark-ambient artists, this album definitely belongs to the darkest productions that has ever been released by the Canadian company. The work stands for an impressive collection of noises and overwhelming sound effects. The work has something monstrous with a strong visual appeal. We can’t really speak about vocals here; it rather appears to be a tenebrous expression of lost souls. That’s why this work also has a strong visual appeal.
– – – : The visual work appears to be more ritual than the music I’ve heard and that’s maybe a little regret I have about this album. I’m also convinced this project still has the potential to do much better than what I’ve heard.
Conclusion: Clavicvla enlarges the already dark horizon of Cyclic Law by adding an even darker touch to the label’s roster. This album is an interesting discovery.
Best songs: “Insorcist Will”, “Apocryphal Truth”, “Angra Mainyu”.
Rate: (8).
Artist: www.facebook.com/Clavicvla-1446770148892004
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw
About Clavicvla
Clavicvla is an Italian solo dark-ambient/ritual project that released its debut album “Sermons” in 2018 on Sentient Ruin Laboratories, followed by “Sepulchral Blessing” on Cyclic Law (CD) and Sentient Ruin Laboratories (vinyl and cassette). Side-Line covered the project again in 2022 when it returned with a new album, “Degeneracy of…”, again released via Cyclic Law.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
