Arpia- De Lusioni

[Eoin McLove]

This Italian doom band are entirely new to me but date back to the 80s. Their De Lusioni demo from 87 has been reissued on vinyl and CD and it sounds really good to me. It has that simplistic and raw Italian doom style with prog or psychedelic touches too- Paul Chain, Tony Tears, Black Hole- it sits comfortably beside these types of bands. I can't quite put my finger on who the vocalist sounds like.  Is it Agyl from Scald or Mark Shelton? They certainly come to mind but I feel like I'm not quite putting my finger on it. I will have to grab a copy and see if I can tease it out.

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/02/arpia-interview.html

[O Drighes]

I can hear where your Mark Shelton reference comes from, but it's more the effects on the voice than the voice itself that sounds like him. The vocal placement reminds me of Annick of Cauchemar, but other than that I can't seem to remember anyone who sounds like him. Good find anyway.

[Eoin McLove]

It's when he hits the higher register his vocals really sound like someone else to me. It's Shelton-esque but that's not exactly who he sounds like at the same time. It's a real head scratcher.

LP and CD ordered. Fuck it, one for the gaff and one for the car 

[Eoin McLove]

LP and CD landed and they look great. I think it's a cool record. It's really catchy in places but it also dips into crawling doom sections that remind me of Reverend Bizarre (a Black Sabbath influence obviously) and which are highly atmospheric. The basic, primitive riffing is entirely Italian, though. I think it sounds timeless and relevant actually.

[Carnage]

Just got around to checking this out, sounds mighty. I know what you mean about the vocals, it's annoyingly familiar

[Eoin McLove]

Glad it's not just me 

Edit. The more I absorb what's going on the more their proficiency as musicians becomes apparent. The riffs are straight forward but the interplay between bass, guitar and drums is very creative.

[Carnage]

There's a lot of Dio in there, and even Rob Rhinehart came to mind, but it's neither of them. Maddening!

[Eoin McLove]

It's not the dude from Hammerfall, is it? Defo a similarity there.

[Eoin McLove]

At the risk of coming off like a broken record- who, me?!- the recent reissue of Requiem's demos, Nunc Et Sempere, from NWN is well worth a listen if you find yourself on an 80s Italian doom buzz, although it's maybe more all-encompassing stylistically than gothic doom.