Darkness, despair, brutality – these are the coordinates between which the Italian formation LENTO, with the help of down tuned guitars, versatile riffing, intricate rhythms and exhausting slowness, builds a massive wall of sound. Brutally sludgy and monotonic parts, with their savvy, endlessly repeated rhythms, convey the impression that one is caught in a time warp. Playful noise offshoots, as well as ambient-like passages that repeatedly appear seamlessly between all the brutality, serve as moments of arousing from this sonorous hypnosis. The meandering between different moods and sound structures is what makes ‘Icon’ pleasantly varied and diverse. This is progressive sludge metal, reminiscent of the early creative stages of ISIS and CULT OF LUNA, without being a mere imitation of those classic bands. With interesting ideas, delicate details and exhilarant variety LENTO have managed to develop a quite distinct tone of their own.
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Lento-Icon.mp3|titles=LENTO Icon (2011)]
‘Icon’ by LENTO was released in spring 2011 by German label Denovali Records. CD comes in a gatefold digipak. The gatefold LP version (180 gr vinyl, three different colourings) is limited to 500 pieces. The album can be streamed in its entirety on denovali.com/lento.
Kon
February 1, 2012 at 5:58 am
Yeah, you are right! It’s definitely one of the better genre releases of all time. That is because it’s typical sludge, but not merely imitating antecedent, I suppose.
Tyler
January 28, 2012 at 4:02 pm
This is by far one of my favourite sludge albums of all-time, and that’s saying a lot, considering how new it is. The dissonance and heaviness of the riffs on Icon are practically unparalleled.