Published by Davide Pappalardo on November 5, 2017
Petrolio is the brainchild of Enrico Cerrato, already bass and keys player in the band Infection Code and collaborator of Moksa and Gabbiainferno. Here he explores the world of industrial doom with a sound akin to Godflesh, Nadja and Author & Punisher. Slow movements, electronic patterns, piano keys and more create a monolithic, but highly emotional, atmosphere full of different elements and ideas.
Di cosa si nasce it’s his first album, published by the very courageous and experimental Italian label Diodrone. A work made of seven tracks engulfed by grinding synth-lines, punishing drum machines and riffing attacks, with a frantic but severe soundscape. Cerrato manages to give us a personal view of industrial doom orchestrated by almost instrumental episodes where the full attention of the listener is required.
Our journey starts with El coco (do you know babau?), a slow crescendo made of electronic inputs and broken rhythms, one of the more futuristic tracks on the album, underlined by howling effects and redefined by a grandiose finale, characterized by an epic explosion. Eating lights slowly is a piano affair, an emotional episode where eerie sounds are added until we have a distorted and downtuned guitar dominating the scene, and Le spit’s tree returns to industrial territory with screaming and cutting effects supported by an obsessive drone, culminating in a drum attack broken by slower movements.
Los suburbios is a cinematic experience, a crescendo made of suspense and robotic distortions, which grows until more varied rhythms are added to the composition. Then it evolves in a droning sound with creepy voices, an unsettling but charming track. Le bot noir uses an electro-influenced sound mixed with shrilling effects, thunderous drums and apocalyptic atmospheres, while La mater de odio gives space to the doom element of Petrolio’s sound without forgetting spiraling electronics.
The album ends with Vs/us, opened by a sampled dialogue and built of mechanical loops, shrilling feedback, ambient sounds and evocative, cosmic synth lines. A perfect way to find a sense of closure, like the end of a book or a movie.
So, a really interesting take on industrial doom, characterized by unusually emotional and cathartic crescendos. Electronic sounds, really downtuned and distorted guitars, piano keys and more are used in a coherent, but exploratory, songwriting; the listener can really live a personal journey while listening to the music, which never gets boring or indulgent without straying too much from its core elements. A great work people should really give a try, maybe finding a new obsession.
Label: Diodrone
Rating: 8