Before I have said that Italy is home to a burgeoning Symphonic Metal scene, however it is also true that it is home to a prolific Death Metal scene as well. As you can imagine, today's NERODIA are a (Blackened) Death Metal band hailing from Rome, Italy. Having originally been a Thrash Metal band who moved to Blackened Death metal in more recent years, yet their Thrash roots are still apparent in their music, as well as the lyrical content would have been right at home in the 80's Death Metal scene, full of references to hatred, bloodbaths, occultism, and death. Without further ado, I present their second full length album, "Vanity Unfair."

The first song on the album, "Necromorphine Awakening" notwithstanding, which is a short prelude, is the namesake song "Vanity Unfair". With a solid drum beat, some decent vocals, and some riffs ranging from good to great, this song does a decent job at opening. This is by no means the best song on the album, nor the worst, but it does have bits here and there that are admirable. The solo bits of the song do very well, however being so close to the end kind of works against the song overall, as it isn't the most enjoyable thing to listen to a pretty good song largely in anticipation of one part. However, "The Black Line" definitely redeems the song. With a much more solid set of beats and riffs, this song does well to make up for the lukewarm introduction "Vanity Unfair" gives off a bit. The solo is also well done, albeit their thrash roots show more heavily in it (which isn't a bad thing per se, just something that is pretty obvious). "Souldead" continues on strong too, with some great riffs that transition extremely well between each other. The solo is also well done, though again it is worth mentioning that it has a heavier thrash sound. There is a bit of a common trend throughout the album. The next song, though, is not one I can speak fondly of personally.

"Pussywitch 666" has some moments that are enjoyable like some of the riffs, but overall it has a very Punk-ish sound, especially the opening and closing. With a sort of shouting chant and very Punk heavy riffs, I personally felt it detracted from the song. It didn't feel well done but, more importantly, it felt highly out of place. Some may peg this down to personal taste and they may highly enjoy it however, but overall the song is decent with an opening and closing that seemed to work against the flow of the song. "Anti-Human Propaganda" at times has similar punk-esque riffs, however here they don't sound so out of place and sound more like inspiration than stylistic theme. The solo is also worth mentioning for its melody. It isn't the most technical but there is a sense of melody that makes it very easy to like. Overall too the song has some riffs that are easy to like, but they more stand out on the album than stand out compared to other metal artists.

Closing with "Channeling the Dark Sound of the Cosmos" (which, intentional or not, is one of the most Lovecraftian names I have heard without being overtly about deities like Yog-Sothoth) is a somewhat random and abrupt conclusion that is an instrumental track that intertwines some decent riffs and beats with an ever present piano track playing, and it seems as if it is trying really hard to sound foreboding and ominous. Overall, it is just really out of place and feels like it is a bit cliche and works too hard to achieve a sound that it doesn't meet. The album could have happily closed on the last track, and throwing this in doesn't really fit the album.

Overall, "Vanity Unfair" was a decent album that very clearly showed the band's thrash roots, but never really seemed to pull you in. It had moments where it shined, but it didn't feel unique. Also worth mentioning are my two cents on the vocals by Giulio Serpico Marini. Overall, they aren't really interesting. They feel somewhat amateurish at times and could be worked on. As said before, it is a decent album but nothing that really catches your attention. It is worth listening to largely because it will almost certainly be hit or miss in terms of those who love it versus those who don't really get anything out of it. The potential is there, but for today NERODIA falls short of the mark.