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Album Review – Cadaveria / Emptiness (2022)

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After almost eight years, one of the torchbearers of Italian Dark Metal is back with a fantastic, multi-layered work that seals the artistic and human path of the band.

Almost eight years after the excellent Silence, Black/Gothic Metal entity Cadaveria, the creative alter-ego of Italian-based frontwoman Raffaella “Cadaveria” Rivarolo (one of the first women to hit the Extreme Metal scene in the early 90’s), is back with an exciting new album entitled Emptiness, a fantastic, multi-layered work that seals the artistic and human path of the band currently comprised of the aforementioned Cadaveria together with bassist Peter Dayton and drummer Marçelo Santos, plus guest guitarist Kris Laurent (Cadaveria, The Providence) and additional guitars by Pier Gonella (Athlantis, Necrodeath, Mastercastle). Recorded and mixed at Rrooaarr Sound Studio, mixed and mastered at Shadows Studios, produced by Cadaveria and Pier Gonella, and displaying a stylish artwork by Roberto Toderico, Emptiness represents a rebirth for Cavaderia after a three-year long pause from the scene during which Raffaella had to be treated for cancer, containing four singles digitally released between December 2020 and June 2021 alongside seven previously unreleased songs which combined will smoothly penetrate deep inside your mind in the name of rock and metal.

The band wastes no time and begins their sonic attack in The Great Journey, with Cadaveria’s raspy vocals being accompanied by the classic beast by Marçelo and the rumbling bass by Peter, followed by Shamanic Path, blending their core Gothic Metal with Death and Doom Metal nuances while Cadaveria does an excellent job with both her she-demon screams and anguished clean vocals. Then in the title-track Emptiness our beloved Cadaveria declaims the song’s poetic lyrics in a dark and sinister way while Kris fires traditional riffs that match perfectly with her voice; and Marçelo adds endless fury and heaviness with his drums to The Woman Who Fell to Earth, feeling utterly electrifying from start to finish. Cadaveria sounds truly possessed on vocals supported by her bandmates in Divination, with Marçelo kicking some ass behind his drums, while Matryoshcada is more sluggish and somber than its predecessors, with tons of groove flowing from Peter’s bass while Kris’ riffage sounds inspired by old school Black Sabbath.

In Silver Rain we’re treated to pensive words declaimed by Cadaveria (“The children of my thoughts are running / Away naked up to the hill / Your seeds will sprout inside me to enjoy new Springs together / My mind is clear I carry no weight, no pain on my shoulders / Your seeds will sprout inside me to enjoy new Springs together”) amidst a mesmerizing fusion of Dark and Gothic Metal, whereas Cadaveria and her henchmen continue to explore the realms of Dark Metal in The Cure, with her she-wolf roars walking hand in hand with the piercing guitars by Kris while also presenting the rawness and fury of Black Metal in its core essence. Strident riffs ignite the melancholic, sinister tune Life After, where Cadaveria flawlessly alternates between her raspy gnarls and mesmerizing clean vocals, therefore resulting in a beautiful creation by the band that depicts everything Dark Metal stands for; while in La Casa dell’Anima the fact the lyrics are in Italian is awesome, although the music is not as exciting as the rest of the album. Lastly, the band offers more of their darkened sounds in The Sky That Screams Above Us, a sluggish composition where Marçelo brings forward pure doom through his beats.

You can have a very good time by streaming Emptiness in its entirety on Spotify, and also by following Cadaveria on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and so on, by subscribing to their YouTube channel for not only more of their music but mainly for their top-notch official videos, and above all that, by purchasing a copy of Emptiness by clicking HERE or HERE. Our beloved diva Raffaella “Cadaveria” Rivarolo didn’t only beat the shit out of cancer, but she did that while at the same time she worked on the awesome music found in Emptiness, proving metal is and will always be the best treatment for any type of disease and also highly recommended for filling that emptiness we all have inside us. Thank you, Cadaveria, and may you keep embellishing the airwaves with your beautiful fusion of Gothic and Black Metal for many decades to come.

Best moments of the album: The Great Journey, Divination and Silver Rain.

Worst moments of the album: La Casa dell’Anima.

Released in 2022 Scarlet Records

Track listing
1. The Great Journey 4:55
2. Shamanic Path 5:10
3. Emptiness 5:00
4. The Woman Who Fell to Earth 5:52
5. Divination 3:07
6. Matryoshcada 5:09
7. Silver Rain 4:24
8. The Cure 4:52
9. Life After 4:35
10. La Casa dell’Anima 4:55
11. The Sky That Screams Above Us 5:33

Vinyl Edition bonus track
12. Return (Deine Lakaien cover) 4:04

Band members
Cadaveria – vocals
Peter Dayton – bass
Marçelo Santos – drums

Guest musicians
Kris Laurent – guitars
Pier Gonella – additional guitars

Album Review – Cadaveria / Silence (2014)

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A sinister parade of heavy music led by the reigning succubus of Black and Doom Metal.

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cadaveria_silenceI got to know Black/Gothic Metal band Cadaveria a couple of months ago while listening to The Metal Moose Show, and basically after that I had to go after more of their excellent obscure music. The band is led by the diabolical Italian beauty Cadaveria (aka Raffaella Rivarolo), known for being the former singer of Symphonic Black Metal band Opera IX. Now, after over ten years in action, the band releases their fifth full-length album, Silence, a sinister parade of Black and Doom Metal, with Gothic influences from the 80’s and the unique feminine touch by Cadaveria.

Despite being extremely hard for bands to stay relevant in Heavy Metal doing this type of dark music, more due to their demanding fans rather than to the music itself, Cadaveria somehow manage to reinvent their musicality with each release, avoiding that feeling of “I’ve heard that before a million times” from any person that gets in contact with their music, no matter if it’s a diehard fan or a brand new listener. Of course the music by Cadaveria is not light-hearted or commercial at all, so do not expect to listen to it anywhere, but only where it really matters: in the underground music world.

The opening track, Velo (The Other Side of Hate), which by the way is probably a play on words with “LOVE”, is the perfect representation of Melodic Black Metal with devilish feminine vocals (can I say Cadaveria is like the reigning succubus of Black Metal?), alternating traditional Black Metal with more symphonic parts and with Frank Booth and Dick Laurent doing an awesome job on guitars. Following that great start, as the name of the song says Carnival of Doom has an awesome Doom Metal punch, being brutal but delicate at the same time, with Cadaveria’s clean vocals redefining the meaning of the word “mesmerizing”, while in Free Spirit there’s a slight change in the band’s approach, with its guitar lines and vocals focusing on a more melancholic tune inspired by Gothic/Doom Metal from the 80’s.

cadaveriaThe Soul That Doesn’t Sleep emanates despair and darkness, with Cadaveria beautifully switching between harsh and clean vocals while the rest of the band maintains a morbid rhythm, solidifying the overall result, followed by Existence, which gets closer to apocalyptic Black Metal with drummer Marçelo Santos conducting the rhythm. In the modern and amazing Out Loud, the band offers us a heavy and furious tune with hints of Thrash and Death Metal, sounding like an even more wicked version of Arch Enemy and making it a perfect choice for circle pits, while Death, Again, which begins in the darkest and most melancholic way possible, has that type of hypnotizing melody, with Cadaveria making it even more enjoyable.

The last part of Silence brings to the listener an interesting mix of good, bad and, of course, dark tunes, starting with Exercise1, too generic compared to the rest of the album; Almost Ghostly, a feminine version of Paradise Lost blended with Tristania, with highlights to its amazing vocal lines; Loneliness, another excellent technical track with Gothic elements dominating the entire song; and finally Strangled Idols, again a more melodic and dark song, with its raw Rock N’ Roll vein being very beneficial to the overall energy of the song.

You can check the official album trailer HERE, visit the band’s official Facebook page, and of course buy their music and merchandise at their webshop or on iTunes. If there was a parade of Black and Doom Metal, Silence would definitely be its sinful and delectable soundtrack.

Best moments of the album: Carnival of Doom, The Soul That Doesn’t Sleep and Out Loud.

Worst moments of the album: Existence and Exercise1.

Released in 2014 Scarlet Records

Track listing
1. Velo (The Other Side of Hate) 4:14
2. Carnival of Doom 3:28
3. Free Spirit 4:44
4. The Soul That Doesn’t Sleep 3:34
5. Existence 4:56
6. Out Loud 3:16
7. Death, Again 5:04
8. Exercise1 3:54
9. Almost Ghostly 4:22
10. Loneliness 4:42
11. Strangled Idols 5:00

Band members
Cadaveria – vocals
Frank Booth – guitar
Dick Laurent – guitar
Killer Bob – bass
Marçelo Santos – drums