ZORA

Too many people who listen to extreme Metal have filled their mouths with Antonius Rex and Jacula without ever having listened to them. Antonius Rex (Antonio Bartoccetti) is a strange character that I have always compared to Arthur Brown only that Antonio Bartoccetti is more extreme and occult. Besides, Arthur Brown was simply a singer ... OK, from a group he was the leader of. Bartoccetti, on the other hand, is also the guitarist, composer and depositor of the band's satanic creed. That said ... What to expect from Antonius Rex? Simply something extreme for 1977 but, today, really normal and a bit outdated. More than on music (a little Hard Rock and a little baroque music) we should focus on the atmosphere. Which do not always manage to emerge, since the recited parts do not hit the mind and seem superfluous/ useless at different times. Interesting the organ in "Spiritualist Seance" which is really effective in transporting us to a Gothic cathedral in a dark night where a human sacrifice is imminent. The part recited (by the talented Doris Norton) is in Latin and is really occult... It makes everything really satanic. "Necromancer", the original opener is a dry and uninteresting piece, the opposite of "Zora", a New Trolls piece but without that magic. Unfortunately, "Zora" would have had another appeal on an album like New Trolls "Ut". But here it is simply long and unoriginal. Even in the Hard Rock parts that seem a little too simple and not very furious, as they should be... In Paratically they are too symphonic. The album closes with a new version of "Death in power" (also known as "U.F.D.E.M"), an extraordinary example of unconventional Doom Metal due to the "evil" structure of the song which is an attack without filters to the corrupt system. Doris Norton's singing is really excellent.

"Zora" is not a difficult album. It is simply an excessive album for the spasmodic search for atmospheres that are only partially created. As O.S.T. of a horror movie would be a masterpiece. As it is, it's just a great album. However "Zora" is listened to with pleasure and, after all, hits the mark.