Artist: Hesperia
Country: Italy
Label: Hammerheart Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Hesperia’s history goes back all the way to the mid 90’s, when this one-man band arose out of the ashes of an underground Black Metal act from the middle part of Italy at the Adriatic sea. Yet, although that the band has been releasing albums on a regular basis over the last two decades, we have never really crossed paths properly. Despite the fact that the last two albums saw their vinyl editions through a Dutch label, it is only now with this eighth and newest album that I really get to know the band.
While, judging from the cover art, you might expect something along the lines of Satanic Warmaster, the musical offering on ‘Fra li Monti Sibillini (Black Medieval Winter Over The Sibylline Mounts)’ couldn’t actually be much further away, at least within the framework of the Black Meal genre. Instead, Hesperus, the man behind this band, aims for much grander picture. That was also the problem with the majority of previous albums: the vision was clear but the execution was rather lacking. Listening back through the man’s discography it quickly became obvious, the ideas were much larger than the musical and production capabilities allowed.
In part, that is still the case on this latest feat. But it quickly becomes clear that a different approach was taken for this album released by Hammerheart Records. Whether it lies in putting extra time into the compositions and the recording process or maybe even something as flat as a budget, that of course remains uncertain, but ‘Fra li Monti Sibillini (Black Medieval Winter Over The Sibylline Mounts)’ sounds many times better than all its predecessors combined.
Musically, the whole thing is firmly rooted in 90’s Black Metal with a strong German character. However, it is graced (or marred) with a multitude of interludes and other interruptions that bring to light Hesperus’ love of local Folk music. This actually brings the music closest to what could be described as a blend between (very) old Eisregen and the first few records by Stille Volk. Overall, the Alpine Folk part is made to fit into the Black Metal concept, but where it really touches the music it comes closer to the earlier Finntroll records than serious Black Metal in terms of frivolity – something you would not expect from the cover art. The amount of interruptions is also something you do have to get over, as on more than one occasion it breaks the natural flow of the music and even hits a certain irritation.
However, Hesperus does not only serve himself with Folky passages, there are also pieces with Gregorian chants, medieval instruments and/or melodies, field recordings and other samples. This makes you as a listener to be tested quite a bit in terms of your sense of direction. This is something you can find attractive, or, on the contrary, very annoying. In any case, it is certain that because of the rather loose musical ground under the band, the coherence of the album is far from solid.
Sumptuous folky Black Metal is, of course, nothing new, even in such an emphatic form, but the way it is presented here it is not as charmingly exaggerated and almost dilirious as, say, on the first Hollenthon album, nor as well executed as, for example, the more recent Heltekvad.
However, with ‘Fra li Monti Sibillini (Black Medieval Winter Over The Sibylline Mounts)’, Hesperus did demonstrate his increasing ability to realize his musical vision. This complex mixture really requires multiple listens, which may seem a bit unappealing considering the nearly 80-minutes the album clocks in at. This not flawless but entertaining album is well worth that. When sufficient attention has been paid to the album, the essence of the music does unfold. Fans of the aforementioned acts as well as fans of bands like (early) Haggard would do well to give this album at least one chance.
