Embark on an exciting journey across the stars with the new concept album by this Italian Atmospheric Black Metal act, representing a further evolutionary step in their distinct career.

Initially announced as a complementary EP to last year’s album oltreLuna, the new album by Italian Atmospheric Black Metal act Progenie Terrestre Pura (which translates as “Pure Terrestrial Progeny”), entitled starCross, turned out to be an even more powerful and impressive opus than this Veneto-based band comprised of Emanuele Prandoni on vocals, Davide Colladon on guitars, drum programming and synths, and Fabrizio Sanna on bass could have imagined. Featuring a classy artwork by visual artist Kuldar Leement, starCross uses its 30 minutes to tell a precise story, as the EP is an all-round concept release based on a tale written by the band’s mastermind Davide Colladon.

In order to make the release fully understandable beyond the Italian borders, the band decided to use English for the first time in their career. The music, either, is very different from what could be heard on everything Progenie Terrestre Pura (also known as “q[T]p”) ever released since their inception in 2009. “starCross represents a further evolutionary step for qTp”, says Colladon, “its sound is extremely connected to the story it tells, which is pretty dark. My intention was to recall thrilling sci-fi masterworks such as Ridley Scott’s Alien, Grant Morrison’s Nameless and the Dead Space videogame saga.” In other words, get ready to embrace fear, madness and despair in the darkest Progenie Terrestre Pura release to date, and prepare yourself for what might be your last trip across the stars.

The band wastes no time in starCross by offering us Chant of Rosha, an atmospheric, futuristic intro from outer space, enfolding us and taking us to the whimsical world of Progenie Terrestre Pura, warming up our senses to the breathtaking Toward a Distant Moon, an explosion of the most disruptive elements from Black Metal led by the razor-edged guitar lines by Davide, with Emanuele’s enraged growls creating an electrifying paradox with the excellent background choir, remaining vibrant, ethereal and aggressive from start to finish for our total delight. And that electricity keeps permeating the air, as the music builds a cinematic connection with the also impactful Twisted Silhouette, starting in an eerie manner with a dark narration before all hell breaks loose, with the song’s demolishing beats together with Davide’s crisp riffs and Fabrizio’s thunderous bass building the perfect stage for Emanuele to fire his harsh growls, also adding tons of progressiveness to its core. In the end, you’ll get deliciously lost in all the madness, wicked noises and flammable sounds blasted by the band throughout the entire song.

Progenie Terrestre Pura starCross A5 Digipack Edition

The Greatest Loss also showcases a modern and creepy intro that morphs into a blend of Atmospheric Black Metal with Industrial Metal, with all mechanized elements and nuances bringing an extra touch of lunacy to the overall result. Furthermore, Davide does a superb job with his guitar and synths by generating a menacing ambience perfect for Emanuele’s growls, with the last part of the song being a heavier version of the industrial music played by bands like Ministry and KMFDM. And finally, q[T]p’s last blast of obscure, futuristic movie-inspired music comes in the form of a bizarre outro named Invocat, where future meets past with electrified and cold, mechanic sounds being complemented by a background Gregorian chant.

Do you have what it takes to join q[T]p in their metallic space odyssey? If the answer is yes, you can get to know more about the band, their tour dates and future plans on their official Facebook page, and purchase starCross (available for a full and detailed listen on YouTube and on Spotify) from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the Avantgarde Music’s BandCamp page or Big Cartel as a very, very special A5 Digipack CD, showcasing a brand new  artwork (courtesy of Italian artist Ballak., who gave a face and a spaceship to the main character of the starCross concept, Robert I.C. Cross) and including the storyline of the EP in its entirety. You can also buy it from other regular retail places such as iTunes, Amazon and discogs (in vinyl or CD format), but if I were you I would certainly go for the A5 Digipack edition of the album, because if you’re going on a musical voyage through the stars, you better be armed with the best weapon and soundtrack available at the same time, right?

Best moments of the album: Toward a Distant Moon and The Greatest Loss.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Avantgarde Music

Track listing 
1. Chant of Rosha 2:22
2. Toward a Distant Moon 6:41
3. Twisted Silhouette 8:02
4. The Greatest Loss 7:50
5. Invocat 4:31

Band members
Emanuele Prandoni – vocals
Davide Colladon – guitars, drum programming, synths
Fabrizio Sanna – bass