'Icon', the second album from Lento, a band their label refer to as 'Italian monsters of slowness' is certainly not short on heavyweight meat, but there's a lot more in between the super-dense riffs and relentless, bludgeoning percussion, with jazz-tinged math-rock breaks providing texture and welcome respite from the bleak landslide of doomy guitars. Not that I'm likely to complain about a landslide of bleak, doomy guitars, especially when executed with such totalitarian brutality. Like a collision between early Earth and 'Cop' era Swans minus the vocals, the power chords roll like lava and with no mercy.
And yet the moments that diverge from the battering-ram 35bpm drone riffery are moments of beauty. Yes, there are dark, sinister undercurrents, but beauty is in the eye - or ear - of the beholder, and as such, doesn't have to be all sweetness and light. From the opening strains of majestic strings of 'Then', before the devastatingly weighty guitars of 'Hymn' reign down, through the feedback maelstrom of 'Limb' and the shifting, tweinkling drones of 'Throne', 'Icon' is an album of depth and rich in atmosphere.
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It's not all slow, either: 'Still' is built around a looping guitar riff that would have been quite at home on Nirvana's 'Bleach'. So while this album may find itself lumped into many categories from Post-Rock to Metal by reviewers and probably many listeners too, 'Icon' is a complex and layered album that incorporates elements of both, and much more besides. The simple fact is, however you classify it, it's a powerful and solid record.
Lento on MySpace
Listen to ‘Icons’ for free at the Denovali Website
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