There must be something in the water: the hardcore, metalcore, and screamo scene in Italy is absolutely crushing it. This year alone has already seen outstanding releases from Ashen Hands, Benthos, and the Reverie / Put Pùrana split, on top of the physical release for tragedie | VIVERE by dagerman, which came out digitally last year. To say nothing of La Quiete announcing the 20th anniversary reissue of their classic La Fine Non è La Fine supported by a reunion tour. Che bello!
Heavily influenced by their countrymen La Quiete and Raein, Stormo have a take on screamo that echoes the sounds of bands like Loma Prieta and Birds In Row. Stormo have returned with their own contribution to this wave of Italian excellence on their new album Tagli / Talee. Their second outing with Prosthetic Records, following up 2023’s magnificent Endocannibalismo, and fifth album overall, Tagli / Talee cuts a little different. Written exclusively whilst travelling across the European continent, the record is best viewed as a collage or series of vignettes. The places they visited and experiences they shared with the bands they performed alongside made their way into the songs themselves, almost like a travelog in musical form. What little the album sacrifices in cohesion is more than made up for in variety and organic spontaneity.
After the short intro title track “Tagli” gently meanders through a few guitar notes, a touch of feedback foreshadows the sandstorm of the first track proper “Sabbia”. With punishing blast beats and swift tremolo the prominence of black metal on this record is apparent at the outset. Possibly an influence of their time spent in Norway, but in any case it absolutely rules and makes for a strong start to the record. Toward the end of the track things slow down significantly and lead into part 2 of “Sabbia”, which is like an industrial nightmare. Just about a minute long the track forgoes all the blistering drums and guitar opting instead for huge punches of fuzz and harsh electronica. Only a few minutes in and it’s clear as day that Tagli / Talee is going to be kind of all over the place.
Roughly translated as ‘Cuts / Grafts‘, the album is ‘an autobiographical account of a band out on the road creating art.’ Exploring different aspects of life and humanity through addition and negation, both the separation from loved ones and the familiarity of home and new connections rooted in novel experiences. As vocalist Luca Rocco put it in an announcement for the album:
‘This album is about cuts; about the importance of making room for things to grow. It’s a record that speaks about paying attention to what’s around you, about staying silent and observing yourself that mirrors the world around you. It’s about the importance of taking care of the empty spaces we fear most, because in those spaces something can blossom if we give it a chance.’
I love the imagery of cutting, both as a knife isolates a section or slice of life and as an opportunity for growth or new beginnings; just as the blade cuts into life to take away a cutting only to be transplanted into new soil.
“Kallitype”, the only song title on the album that isn’t Italian, is in reference to a photographic printing process that produces images using iron and silver salts, known for its unique warm tones which produce images with a rich depth of blacks and subtle gradations of gray. What (if any) significance that has I haven’t the foggiest, but this has been your fun fact of the day. The song “Kallitype” is much more the straightforward screamo and hardcore we’ve come to love and know from Stormo. Intense and hard-hitting, with a touch of the noise rock they’ve been known to delve into as well. All of these elements come together to make “Kallitype” one of the highlights of the album.
The strength of Tagli / Talee is its range. Mirroring the vast distances traveled and differences in cultures and environments trekking across Europe, Tagli / Talee is also an exercise in various styles and sounds. “Rami” has the punk rock sweetness dialed in with its bouncing bass line and melodic guitar lines, while “Bordi” once again hits those dark black metal notes. But instead of the blast beats of “Sabbia”, it’s much more of a pummeling slap about which perfectly matches the zippy guitar lines that have a touch of thrash to them; this stands in contrast to “Alte Mura” near the end of the record, which brings back those tasty blast beats and sweet cymbal hits. “Riva” delves into post-hardcore with a stripped-down guitar and echoing vocal section offering a glimpse of tenderness. One of a few interludes, such as the title tracks, that allow for moments to breathe during what is otherwise a fairly relentless assault.
“Come Fauce Che Divora” (roughly ‘Like the Maw That Devours’) is aptly named. The closing track dives even further down the black hole of industrial and noise previewed on “Sabbia pt. 2” from the beginning of the record. Coming back around to a disjointed and highly experimental sound in a way ties things together quite nicely. These final chaotic moments showcase the journey in overview and fine detail. Stormo employ a range of the soundscapes utilized throughout while also lingering on moments magnified by intense focus. Tagli / Talee cuts as it binds new life out of old decay. A brilliant sonic journey with a frenetic energy that is palpable.
