AITA – I

vote
6.5

• Bands:
  AITA
• Duration: 00:42:21
• Available from: 01/11/2024
• Label:

• Earth And Sky Productions

It certainly cannot be said that the atmopsheric black metallers of the Capitoline Aita lack the gift of perseverance: born in 2016 as a side-project of the pagan black metal band Dyrnwyn, a band of which all the members of Aita are or have been part, the group has in fact had to face numerous vicissitudes (not least the limbo of the Covid period) before being able to arrive, in this final part of 2024 and thanks to the interest of the Earth And Sky label Productions. to the publication of his first full-length, the present here “I”.
Starting from the evocative artwork, created by the talented artist Elisa Urbinati (already seen at work with Blaze Of Sorrow and Insubria, among others), and then scrolling through the titles of the four long songs of which the work is composed, it is quite simple stylistically frame our proposal: atmospheric black metal deeply influenced by the Apennine naturalistic context and related archaic suggestions, an irreplaceable crucible into which to pour all the declared passion for mythology Etruscan that animates the work of the Aita (the same moniker refers, in fact, to the homonymous Etruscan god of the afterlife).
From the initial “Il Nome Del Vento” to the final “Oltre Le Nevi” (song taken from the band's first demo of the same name dated 2017, presented here in a new, entirely re-recorded version), passing through “Artume” and “Tages “, the band puts the utmost effort into being able to immerse the listener in the dense atmospheres of their artistic imagination, between enveloping guitars, glacial screams, evocative female voices, effective orchestrations (the flute inserts played by guest Jenifer Clementi were particularly successful) and often cadenced rhythms, although there are moments of pure impact useful to give the whole thing greater dynamism.
Influenced in a rather evident way by tutelary deities such as Saor, Eldamar, Negura Bunget and the very early Ulver, Aita seem firmly intent on avoiding the excessively pompous and orchestral tendencies of their own genre, much preferring a more sparse and essential approach, avoiding thus the 'once upon a time' effect and giving everything a more 'true', intimate and radical connotation. This, if on the one hand represents, in its best moments, one of the album's strong points, on the other hand also constitutes one of its greatest limitations: the absence of superstructures in fact lays bare a riffing which, at times, appears far too sparse and scholastic, whereas a greater richness and stratification of the same would have allowed this work to make a notable leap forward from the point of view of the immersive experience.
Having said this, it is however undeniable that this “I” can be listened to with a certain pleasure from beginning to end and that there are numerous moments in it that will be able to give something to enjoy not only to fans of the genre, but to all fans of a certain 'old-school' way of understanding black metal.
If the band manages, in the future, to take a decisive step forward from a personality point of view in the construction of riffing, we could expect really good things from these Aitas.