Formed back in 2008, this Italian trio releases their debut album of melodic Black Metal, which also has quite some old school Swedish Death Metal touches here and there, sounding in parts like UNANIMATED / LORD BELIAL / DISSECTION, with obvious EMPEROR / IMMORTAL / DARKTHRONE references. Well produced and very well executed, with the right dose of melody, VENEROR is not doing anything new or original, which at this time is not exactly needed or expected, but they are doing it with conviction and quality. The vocals are good and powerful, more in the Death / Black vein, and probably for my tastes the drum sound could be a bit louder, as well as the band could benefit a lot from a thicker guitar sound. Still, for a debut album, this is way above most bands of the same style, and are one of the very few able to conjure melody in their songs the right way without losing that dark and evil aura. There is something with many Italian bands that has a distinct sound, and VENEROR is no exception. Although the label compares them to MORTUARY DRAPE or NECROMASS I find almost no relation to those bands, besides the place of origin and their dedication to play great Black Metal. Look out for the vinyl version as rest assured the visual part of this debut album is up with the quality of the music. venerorhorde@gmail.com, www.new-era-productions.nl, www.hexencave.wz.cz