Brass Brilliance: Ottone Pesante's Distortion-Free "Apocalips"

October 29, 2018

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Ottone Pesante, the world’s foremost (and perhaps only) all brass metal band, return on November 2nd with their second full-length, Apocalips. The title, a reference to the carnage bestowed through their mouths, builds upon the foundation laid in their debut album Brassphemy Set In Stone while still entering new terrain. Opener “Shining Bronze Purified In The Crucible” slays from the onset with blistering sections of speed and a heavy repose, while “Bleeding Moon” is a trip from start to finish, oscillating between epic grind and hardcore breakdowns. Elsewhere, “Angels of the Earth” poses serious composition that switches on a dime, and “The Fifth Trumpet” features their first song with vocals courtesy of Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation. They even manage to squeeze in a great bossanova break during “Seven Scourges.”

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The album’s production, and lack of distortion, allows drummer Beppe Mondini’s seamless moves between various types of blasts and thrash beats to puncture in a manner often lacking in modern metal. Trombonist Francesco Bucci and trumpeter Paolo Raineri round out the Italian trio with a natural approach to their instruments that allows them to fully encompass metal yet compose from a entirely different perspective. It’s difficult to imagine what they would sound like with traditional instrumentation but one cannot deny their visceral nature and technical yet focused melodies that entirely eliminate the need for strings.

Ottone Pesante have leaped in songwriting since the amazing Brassphemy Set In Stone and produced an album worthy of study and meditation. They continue to create some of the most interesting metal today and dismiss any notions of novelty from their unique instrumentation. You can stream Apocalips below in its entirety before its Friday release:

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