When you think of death metal, the concept of love doesn’t exactly rush to the forefront of topics that will confront you at the rusted gates. Sometimes it’s woven in mysteriously or as part of a concept record, but it doesn’t get a lot of time in what can be an overly masculine sub-genre. But here we are, looking right in its face today, facing it head on.
It should come as no surprise that Italian death metal dreamers Bedsore are the ones bringing love into the mix, and they do so artfully and brutally on their second full-length record “Dreaming the Strife for Love.” This follow-up to 2020’s “Hypnagogic Hallucinations” is a departure, but if you really explored their debut, it kind of isn’t. They take a hard turn toward 1970s-style greens and browns, even more progressive ambition, and psychedelic death that takes you under immediately. On this record, the band—vocalist/guitarist Jacopo Gianmaria Pepe– classical guitarist, synthesizers/mellotron/organ/keyboard player Stefano Allegretti, bassist Giulio Rimoli, drummer Davide Itri (Giorgio Trombino guests on saxophone and flute, Giulio Guidotti on trumpet and trombone —unleashes a record that takes inspiration from the Renaissance novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphil that recounts desperate love, layers of dreams, and ultimate devastation. It’s a human and relatable tale, once that gets drenched in imaginative death metal that seems to sound different each time you go back. It’s enthralling, enrapturing, and Bedsore’s biggest statement.
“Minerva’s Obelisque” unfurls with dark guitars and organs gliding, the ambiance feeling velvety and ’70s, maroons and golds spilling over the carpet, guest Kariti’s voice swelling as she fills the room with mystery. The keys surge as the bass slips, moving into “Scars of Light” and its fiery front, howls gutting as the playing charges, a psychedelic chill freezing the room. A sci-fi bend curls, the synth blazing, wails stretching into beyond, ending in a cosmic pile. “A Colossus, an Elephant, a Winged Horse; the Dragon Rendezvous” is the longest track, running 11:46, rattling into existence in an eerie cloud. Punches land as the playing gets faster, sax melting into a golden river, the synth and organs taking off and settling into a groove. The pace continually shifts as the cloud coverage works into different shades of gray, screams coating as the guitars soar, calming into a chambery elegance. Growls bury as the keys blind, guitars working into an eternal hypnotic surge.
“Realm of Eleuterillide” starts with keys teasing and liquifying as the ground rumbles, wild howls following and whipping up a jolting wind. The playing slips into a jazzy warmth before the playing enrages again, guitars enveloping and combusting, a synth haze hanging overhead. Raw howls scar, fading into acoustics, strangeness carried by playful leads and rustic notes. “Fanfare for a Heartfelt Love” has organs gasping, crazed shrieks blasting, cosmic synth swooping in and bringing light-dotted darkness. The tempo works into a bank of progressive keys, wailing exploding and peeling back flesh, an ’80s-style dream wave lapping your brain. Closer “Fountain of Venus” runs 9:57, icy keys dripping into a slick puddle, a thaw finally arriving as the synth sends beams of light, wild howls breaking through the surface. Synth strings pulse as sounds zap, the guitars beginning to work into the inches of freezing terrain. Prog bursts, lathered guitars foam, and baked keys drive toward an emotional caterwaul, sounds bending before retreating back into the dark.
“Dreaming the Strife for Love” is not a terribly surprising twist for Bedsore, who already showed a heavy interest in progressive death, with a few tentacles attached for the past. For this record, they go all the way, and wonderfully so, which is a pretty non-brutal way to explain a devastating record. Yes, a lot of other bands are going the vintage route, few pull it off as flawlessly and genuinely as Bedsore.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bedsoredeath
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/collections/bedsore
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 