Those are the two covers of this great album, titled
De Vampyrica Philosophia, by Lord Vampyr.
As I mentioned in my previous post about Theatres des Vampires, this is Alessandro Nunziati's (aka Lord Vampyr) solo band.
It's very reminiscent of Theatres des Vampires, and fans of Alessandro's former band will very likely find a lot to like here, but don't be fooled. It's reminiscent; not a carbon copy. This band has its own sound and offers different things that TDV.
In relation to my previous post, I'll also state that this album is much heavier than
Nightbreed of Macabria.
To those reading this and not having a clue what this is about: this is very well-played symphonic and melodic black metal, with gothic undertones, and a persistent lyrical theme about vampires and related subjects. This album in particular follows a story.
While I'm not one to demand that lyrics are good or have certain characteristic to them, I value lyrics I find enjoyable.
While Lord Vampyr doesn't seem to speak English with absolute dominion (quite far from that, actually...), a trait he seems to share with many of the more well-known Italian bands (Dark Lunacy, anyone?), if one looks beyond the evident grammatical errors, the lyrics paint interesting pictures. They are very well-expressed, in a way. And some people have stated that they find a certain charm in them. If you're a grammar nazi, then perhaps at the very least, you'll find it somewhat amusing.
Another point about this album that I value a lot, is Lord Vampyr's versatile vocals. He uses clean vox in various ranges, as well as black metal-like vocals, and a few spoken parts. That probably doesn't sound particularly varied, but there's a very clear difference between his melodious mid-high pitch clean voice and his deep, low clean voice.
Additionally, while the band is composed by the usual instruments for this type of music (guitars, drums, bass, keyboards & vox), the music feels varied. There are pianos, harpsichords, symphonic keyboards, acoustic guitars... there are blast-beats, slow piano parts, a weird keyboard solo at some point, and so on. I find that in metal, there's an endless amount of albums that have a sound. A whole album, a single sound. This is one of the reasons I had such a hard time getting nito the more extreme sub-genres like death, black and doom metal. I personally enjoy very much when I don't get that from an album, and this is one those cases. Perhaps to the average Madonna fan, a song like Die Herrschaft Des Bluts and a song like Morgana sound very much alike, but to the average metalhead, the whole composition style of the two tracks feels like a very big contrast. Indeed, the credits will reveal different members were involved in each song, and it's refreshing.
In conclusion, if you like melodic/symphonic black/gothic metal that doesn't feel like it's on one of the major labels, that doesn't give off that Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth commercial vibe, you're probably going to love this. If you're a fan of Theatres des Vampires, particularly the early/mid period, you'll likely dig this too.
However, I would generally recommend this very much to anyone who likes metal in general.
Lastly, if you like this but it's new to you, you may want to check out
Theatres des Vampires.
Lord Vampyr - De Vampyrica Philosophia
Tracklist:
1. De Vampyrica Philosophia (Intro)
2. Carmilla...Whispers From The Grave
3. A Sad Litany Of Vampires
4. Nocturnal Vampire's Orgy
5. Blood Lovers
6. Morgana
7. The Ophelia's Ghost
8. Die Herrschaft Des Bluts
9. ...Now...Sleep...
