Sokrovenno’s debut album De Rerum Natura (About the Nature of Things) takes its name and lyrical inspiration from the poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius of first century BC. Since formation of the band in 2005 classic literature and nature have been a continuous influence on Sokrovenno’s music. Signed to the Canadian label Bleak Art Records, the album was released to the public in 2009, two years after completion.

Sokrovenno is labelled as black metal, but this isn’t the usual chaotic and aggressive style you’d expect from a band labelled as such. They’ve got a more atmospheric feel to their music with guitar melodies and some acoustic parts; you won’t hear blastbeats and this certainly isn’t another band trying to be the most brutal thing out there. What you have here is basic black metal with a more personal touch, a deviation from the norm, perhaps nodding in the direction of Agalloch at times in terms of the gloomy atmosphere the music tends to take on, or a solitary acoustic guitar playing some desolate tune while keeping those black metal elements ever-present. The only bit that’s bugging me (and this is a personal thing, no fault against the album) are the lyrics – they’re written in Italian and Latin, and being based on the works of a famous philosopher, I’m afraid I’ve missed out on a deeper connection with the music.

The production of the album is fine, nothing to really marvel at or complain about. Overall, De Rerum Natura was far better than I expected even through multiple listens. Being an Agalloch fan myself, I’d recommend them to fans of the same, or if you have a taste for both doom and black metal you may find Sokrovenno very listenable.

7/10

• Genre: Black metal
• Label: Bleak Art Records
• Origin: Italy
• Link: http://www.myspace.com/bandsokrovenno
• Year: 2009