I've proven on multiple occasions to be able to review material in which I have no idea who made it, and somehow they've all been pretty damn good. Is it the mysteriousness? The ambiguity? Well, whatever it may be, I'd like for the banger-album-from-unkown-artist train to continue with "Of Blissful Strife," the first release by the Italian solo project Warp Rite. Mr. Warp Rite blends progressive and black metal with post-punk, resulting in an elusive-sounding experience of "nature's patterns." Ooh boy.

What initially drew me into this album was the colorful cover. Usually, it promises colorful music, unlike the opener, "Miasma." The gloomy post-punk vibes start almost immediately, but constantly switch with metal. The screeches and speed metal-like instrumentation are of passable quality, and while I like both it and the cleaner parts, Warp Rite seems to struggle to find a medium. I like the nature-y lyrical content, but the weaker clean vocals drag it down. "Honeydew" sounds both uplifting and crushing at times, and I'd rather be picked up or thrown down than whipped around aimlessly. "Wormholes," thankfully, sticks to one mood, with darker lyrics and heavier playing. The short, snippy bursts of guitars during the metal sections give the song a proggy tinge, and the bass-forward post-punk parts supplement the depressing mood well. I had to look up what "Metachrosis" is (an animal's ability to change color), and besides the blatant explanation in the lyrics, it's a filler song. The chunky bass returns to the spotlight. "Metachrosis" is the track that leans the most into prog, so I had to like it.

"Isotopes" is another somewhat positive-sounding track, and the black metal segments nestle in pretty well compared to the first bundle of songs. This would make a great single to build some hype for this album. "Luciferase," or a category of organisms that emit light, emits light just like the previous track. Warp Rite seems to be on an upward, optimistic trend with the second half of "Of Blissful Strife." "Fractals" is the final original composition. I say "original," as the last track is a cover of Nick Drake's "River Man." I'd say that Warp Rite did a good job with incorporating gutturals and screams, and I can say that about the rest of the album, sometimes...

I know my writing sounds like I can't make up my mind, and I don't think Warp Rite can make up theirs. He can execute black metal, progressive rock melodies, and post-punk attitudes fine on his own, but there are some battles when it comes together. I like the idea of "Of Blissful Strife," but I don't really like "Of Blissful Strife."