Artist: Pyra
Country: Italy
Label: Immortal Frost Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2024
In autumn 2022 the Italian Black Metal band Pyra introduced itself with their self-titled 5-track EP, which positioned the band in that smothering twilight zone between Death- and Black Metal. On that EP the band was still the solo-project of Lorenza de Rossi, with her taking care of all strings and vocals, only to be assisted by the talented Gionata “Omega” Potenti (Darvaza, Frostmoon Eclipse, Chaos Invocation, Nubivagant, ex-Fides Inversa, ex-Acherontas, ex-Blut Aus Nord amongst others). On this new offering, the band’s first full-length album, Lorenza has gathered a full line-up around herself, preparing the band for a bright future, or rather, a bleak and dark one…
The thing from that 2022-released EP that stuck with me most, was Lorenza’s capability of being able to weave together the most compelling powers of the Death- and Black Metal genres. While combining those two is of course far from unique, she was able to strike a very a near-perfect balance in which both elements empower each other, propelling the whole thing to impressive heights. And it is actually exactly these dynamics that are have been further deepened and perfected on ‘Those Who Dwell In The Fire’. The dark atmosphere is even more sinister, the thundering guitar and drums are even more overwhelming.
With this well-evened amalgam, Pyra is taking its place amongst the better bands in today’s Black Metal scene. It has all the guitar-intricacies, the mind-blowing depths, the sudden eruptions of aggressiveness and the overall unpredictability of the band’s contemporaries. Add to that the Death Metal-driven power in the overall sound, that tastefully contrasts with the sharp guitar tone, and you’ll have quite the idea of what Pyra is all about on this debut album.
With that startling musical balance on this album, the band will be able to attract both fans of bands like Dead Congregation and Grave Miasma as well as bands such as Ascension, Chaos Invocation, Shrine Of Insanabilis or Dysangelium. With these references in mind, ‘Those Who Dwell In The Fire’ could have been put out by the great W.T.C. Productions label. Yet, just like the preceding EP, this one was also released through Immortal Frost Productions, and, frankly, together with the recent Bloedmaan album, this belongs to the Belgian label’s best output.
