As I am not ashamed to say it, DUIR is another band I have just discovered. Hailing from Verona, Italy, the quintet officiates a rather traditional, melodic, atmospheric Black Metal loaded with dense and extremely dark tinges of sound. The kind that roams through somber, open and gray fields. It reminds me of certain things from CRADLE OF FILTH. The tempos. The rhythms. Some characteristics of the vocals. I walked the streets of DUIR through their discography a bit and I noticed that their paths have the same soundscapes, release after release. DUIR is a band for the senses. For the mind. To be listened to with the lights out, eyes closed, a beer and a mind ready to delve into a deep journey into the darkness. The band brings a quite well-defined structure since they “opened their doors” in 2014 with the demo “Tribe”. Since then, they already knew what they were here for. They have always sounded the way they sound, and here on “Catarsi” all they do is consolidate their position. Right from ‘Manifesto’ you know the intention of the Italians: to transmit that aura of mysticism, in line with the themes of their lyrics, always introspective, always revolving around day and night, forcing us to look inwards, to step back from the world and contemplate the void. ‘Impeto’ (feat. L.G. of ELLENDE) is the climax of the album and represents the maximum expression of depth and sound in “Catarsi”. ‘Della Notte’, ‘Del Giorno’ and ‘Oltre L’Alba’ are like a triad, a philosophical treatise that gathers the main message the band hid in this album: as always, a Celtic paganism deeply rooted in the culture of Northern Italy. Which is not (at all) a cosmetic adornment of the band. The Celtic element is connected to their roots. The album has fascinated me because these kinds of bands are always my favorites. The more atmosphere there is, the more connection I will have with the bands. DUIR is more than recommended and “Catarsi” is more than recommended, an album that comes to light this 2026 under AOP Records. More information here: www.facebook.com/duirofficial, www.facebook.com/aoprecs