EARD – Melancholia

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7.0

• Bands:
  EARD
• Duration: 00:43:49
• Available from: 11/29/2024
• Label:

• Avantgarde Music

Streaming not yet available

After the debut “De Rerum Natura” in 2021, the Eard project by MK – aka Mirko Albanese – already the mastermind of Duir, returns. “Melancholia” continues the path followed since the debut, also involving again two guests already present in the past: Déhà (Maladie, Wolvennest, Slow and a thousand others) and Sara Tocchetto (Vallorch), while a novelty is the participation of Andy Marshall of Saor.
The musical proposal itself is born under the sign of continuity, given that these new six pieces expand what was heard in the past, somehow refining the songwriting and production. It's quite easy to frame Eard in the trend of atmospheric, naturalistic and thoughtful black metal which is now very widespread on the market: specifically, ours keep the 'post-' factor quite low and instead highlight the pagan/folk one, even if they stay away from any pub excess in vogue in recent years.
“Melancholia” can be analyzed and understood without a doubt starting from its title, as it is a profoundly solemn but equally sad record.
The first notes of the intro “Idyll” and the long “An Hymn To The Earth” (where Andy and Sara host) are enough to realize how intimate the atmosphere created by our MK is.
The bpm almost always remains low in “Melancholia” and, apart from some truly black metal rides often positioned so as to be the result of crescendos, the Eard trademark is certainly not fury. Instead, the notes of piano, keyboards and harp emerge forcefully, which are the true recurring element of the total forty-three minutes of the album, which is also virtually divided into two parts by the (almost entirely) instrumental “The Elegy” built on an intensely dreamlike mood.
Reiteration is another important element of this work, given that the pieces are very linear and divided into movements that often become progressions, starting slowly and then growing both in speed and orchestrally: if this is Eard's merit, it is also his main limitation, as in the same Avantgarde catalog or in the Northern Silence catalog there are many other bands who have followed this path.
Therefore, fans of atmospheric black metal cannot help but feel a certain deja vu starting from the models created by Saor, Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room, but it is also true that in “Melancholia” one perceives a certain underlying sincerity and a care capable, all things considered, of making it a more than enjoyable album.
Two final notes: the artwork is beautiful – simple but genuine – while we are sorry that a piece themed around our country is missing, as in the past was the beautiful “Lessinia” which we remember with pleasure.