Ah, Rome, Italy. City of enchanting culture and ancient architecture. A divine, beautiful, and historical place that just so happens to be the stomping grounds of Melodic Death Metal upstarts BLACK THERAPY. They have a new album out, a four-song EP released October 17th, 2014 entitled "The Final Outcome". However short, it provides a glimpse into the skill and focus this band have. Unfortunately, four songs is not going to cut it in my book or make much of a contribution at all to anyone's playlist. It does however leave me anxious to know what they're currently working out and how long it will take them to put together a full-length title.

Brief as this release is, it still gives plenty of reason to enjoy it. The title track, a MACHINE HEAD-esque heavy hitting song, expresses the solid metal foundation this band has as a collective. The music isn't just riffs and notes played for the sake of making sound either. I got a distinct sense of focus the more I let myself become part of the music. There is a raw emotion that is palpable and would give me the encouraging motivation to mash the accelerator pedal so the speed I was traveling matched the tempo and ferocity I was hearing.

Along with "Black Crow" there is a fairly unusual and haunting cover of the Gary Jules cover of the TEARS FOR FEARS song "Mad World". Featuring FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE's Francesco Ferrini, it is overall a slower, more melodic dirge than the previous two songs. With a piano tracking in the back, providing the primary tune, the wispy notes of the lead guitar set the mood as a very somber, melancholy extension of the sadness faced by the lyricist. I'm not a big fan of covers in terms of expecting artists to publish original material, but with the raspy high growls and screams of the dual vocalists, this is among the better.

To touch briefly on the last song "Sunset of the Truth" I'd just like to say I enjoyed the acoustic work done on this. Being from a country with extremely classical influences, those very influences ring out note-for-note and give the album a proper closure. Bravo!

All in all, I'd say this album puts off a very clean, atmospheric vibe. Everything comes through nicely and this band is very talented at their instruments and songwriting. That being said, I'd like to see BLACK THERAPY put together at least a seven or eight-track album to get a full sense of their style and technical capabilities. This is a pretty good start, so the foundation is set for them to build upon.