ALCHIMIA is the Italian solo project of musician Emanuele Tito. According to Tito, the album's style can be described as "a mix between Mediterranean Folk Music and Gothic Metal." The album "Muse" here is his first release, and contains ten tracks, with a total running length of forty-nine minutes. "Orizzonte" is really a tale of two distinct sounds. One has a pleasant element, soft and breezy, with acoustical guitars and clean vocals. In the other, guitars become slightly distorted and a deep Death growl blows in for a spell. It's hard to put into words the style here, but it does not strike me as either Folk or Gothic...more Post-Black for me. "Lost" is considerably shorter, and more in the realm of Hard Rock, but with a darker edge. Perhaps this is some of the Gothic element he speaks of here. Some of the phrasing reminds me of the band NOVEMBRE in their more subdued moments.

"Exsurge et Vive (Alchemical Door)" is a second four-minute track, with whispered clean vocals that bubble under the surface of harmonized legato vocal notes that are held across all four bars of the stanza. A distorted guitar riff leads the transition to a bit of a harder sound, with chanted shouting in the background. The final minute is a beautifully done sorrowful acoustic passage. "My Own Sea (Fading)" is nearly eight minutes in length. The opening sound is Post-Rock-ish in nature, with a focus on ambiance. Even when it picks up in decibels it still stays pretty low on the spectrum. The vocals are soft laments, and it is quite a pretty sound indeed. I like the choice of the instrumental "Whisper of the Land" around the half way mark on the album. It's a simple acoustic melody but also one that resonates. "Waltz of the Sea" has a Folky/Indie type of feeling, like a man with his guitar being the only earthly possession he has left in the world and all his hopes, fears and pain are reflected though his fingers.

"Leaves" is a bit more traditional in the sense that a single heavier riff drives the sound, with harmonized clean vocals, and those harsh vocals coming around again, in various styles. The interesting thing is that it's hard to tell how well they work with the sound of the song as a whole. It works in Post-Black Metal and I am always a fan of unorthodox music but it's hard to say how it fits in. At the very least, it's personal for sure. "Oceano: Tempesta" is an introspective and relaxing song, akin to how the waves in calm seas gently pulse in a circadian rhythm. "Assenza (Memory)" closes the album. Bask in its warm glow as it passes by you gently, with some biting elements of double bass and heaviness at times to go with it. This is a very good closing song that seems to wrap up many of the different sub-styles that the album presented.

Overall, I still feel this is more Post-Black than anything, though without as many of the traditional harsh vocals that often accompany the style. In that sense, Emanuele is blazing his own trail. It might not be heavy enough for some of the more ardent Metal fans, but that never was my reason for getting into music in the first place. What he does do very well is create an atmosphere and a mood of various emotions that are just so easy to listen to and connect with. Genre labeling be gone, just listen for yourself and I think you will enjoy it.