ALBUM REVIEW: Endocannibalismo – Stormo

To save you a Google, ‘endocannibalism’ differs from what you might call regular cannibalism in that it refers to the practice of consuming the parts of deceased relatives, not for sustenance but essentially for spiritual purposes. It was considered a way of mourning, honouring and celebrating the dead, and for one reason or another this fascinating yet somewhat morbid concept has proven the inspiration for the fourth full-length album from the Italian post-hardcore quartet STORMO (until recently more often stylised as STORM{O}).

Titled in the band’s native language, Endocannibalismo thankfully centres not on a grim and grisly study of the ins and outs of endocannibalism, but rather it uses this as an entry point into a weighty exploration of death, not just of individuals, nor even of the entire human race, but of the world as we know it. The lyrics are written entirely in Italian, but through the translations provided one gets a glimpse of a deeply poetic and tortured streak very befitting of the band’s sonic intensity. “What matters does not die / It envelops us, feeds on us” declares the title track, while closer Sopravvivenza e Forme asserts that “The ocean you admired now welcomes your ashes”; even where meaning is vague, it’s hard not to be stirred by lines like these.

It helps of course that the band deliver all this with such great musical urgency too. It takes them just 29 minutes to hurtle through all 11 tracks on Endocannibalismo, and at their best they really do evoke something of the emotive power of the likes of BIRDS IN ROW and LOMA PRIETA as mentioned in their press notes. Fourth track Spire is a particularly compelling flurry of winding riffs and untethered blast beats – the kind of piece that crams so much into its three-minute runtime that it feels simultaneously full yet fleeting. Elsewhere, Frame brings more of the band’s noise rock influence to the fore, its angular break only ensuring that the maelstrom which surrounds it spins ever faster; while the title track soon follows with a lumbering groove that helps it stand out among the album’s generally more breathless offerings.

To get a little harsher for a second, some listeners – especially at first – may hear what one might call a degree of post-hardcore by numbers in parts of Endocannibalismo. That is to say if you are familiar with the work of those bands mentioned above then STORMO don’t exactly show you anything you won’t have heard before. They should be excused though really, because the force with which they throw themselves into this album means it never struggles to captivate. Even the penultimate track Vipere, Ombre seems to arrest its listeners with renewed vigour just when the band could’ve easily coasted to the finish, its sub-two-minute whirlwind of angular screamo teeing up the aforementioned closer Sopravvivenza e Forme for a riff-heavy sprint down the home straight.

And that final track really does come around so quickly. Endocannibalismo refuses to settle for even a second, and the band have definitely mastered that kind of nervous, chaotic energy that makes a short record feel shorter still. That’s one of the album’s greatest advantages, as it means you can really give it the repeated listens it deserves and even requires for you to start getting a grip on every idea that STORMO send flying past you here.

Rating: 8/10

Endocannibalismo is set for release on February 10th via Prosthetic Records.

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