This must be my lucky month ... this is like the 3^rd horror doom band from Italy in as many weeks that my intrepid editor Lior sent me to review for The Mighty Metal Temple. ZOLFO(2016) is from Bari, Italy just down the eastern coast of the Adriatic from the lovely city of Barletta. The lads in ZOLFO create a sludgy and thick scream-core emulsion of grand cinematic soundscapes, wholly rendered into Apulian putrefactive doom. Right on ¡! Fun Fact: ZOLFO are Spikerot Records label mates of Ennio Morricone, who has scored over 450 films - a true cinema legend.

"Neural Worm" pulls back the sonic portière with vague digging noises and heavy ghoul breathing thusly proceeding to the screaming and groaning by lead voxer Dave - this guy gets my vote for Sandpaper Throat of 2020.  He must get illegal Swiss embryo treatments to keep his larynx from erupting into flames. Check out "Inner Freeze" ... this ditty is just absolutely mad with screaming.

Track #3 " Existential Prolapse" (krist on a stick, what a song title) sees Dave get his low roar on and chant for us. This lovely tune taps out a bit more depth than anything on this release, spotlighting Piero's exquisite double bass drumming. These songs take some time and space to reach their sonic boil. There is nothing to the point with these compositions ... and that is the "point".

Strophic scream-along cut "Delusion of Negation" moves in with Saverio looping a bass stanza for most of the song before it utterly collapses from its own weight at about the 11 minute mark, breaking down into madman shrieks signaling a regeneration. Now if that ain't heavy metal I don't know what is. This song and the whole release has been lovely mixed and mastered highlighting Piero's swinging rhythms, drums that hang time beautifully while the guitars of Fabrizio and Nicolò beckon us to dance around the bonfire with them in this 14:24 of song. Hang on until the last 2 minutes if you can. This is the critical mass screamo zenith ascension that leads into the slight opening adjournment of "The Deepest Abyss" where we are found and bound, cast in auricular cement 'round the ankles to take us down, down into the trench.

Performance art captured in a bottle. You don't just listen to this music, you experience it and groove on the undulating harmonics of doom. Fans of Iron Monkey, Ufomammut and Bongzilla will dig it; though this release is not possessing of the Ufomammut depth and their ability to change up their stylings. I gotta see ZOLFO play live. Is there an Italian Horror-Doom festival this summer?

'DELUSION OF NEGATION' was recorded and mixed at Molotov Recording (Bari, Italy) by Andrea Lenoci and Mastered at Skyhammer Studio (UK) by Chris Fielding. Bang on job mates ¡!

For you cool kids that want some music to empty a bag by, check out my Spotify playlist which includes my reviewed bands.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/272H3UBARsuksY3BqU0CzP?si=eDq8Lx9hQduaysAAx8nd3w