ALBUM REVIEW: Golgotha – Bleeding Eyes

A relatively unknown band on the wider rock scene, Italian sludge outfit BLEEDING EYES prove they really have what it takes to break into the big time with their third full length; a cacophonous, cathartic outpouring of rage, frustration and strength – making Golgotha an incredibly satisfying listen.

In the liner notes of this album, it says that BLEEDING EYES took inspiration from the “heretic gospels of the apocalypse” in writing the first two tracks on this album. The thunderous sound with which first track, In Principio, explodes, makes the meaning of this abundantly clear – this is music for the end times. Inspired in part by the aftermath of Vaia, a storm which destroyed the band’s hometown, the songs on this album are a cathartic and brave look at the grief surrounding this kind of tragedy, a raging scream in the face of humanity’s disarming weakness in front of an untamed force of nature.

The songs make use of lots of building and foundation-laying, paying homage to the sludge-tradition with which this band aligns itself. But to reduce this album to pure sludge would be to do it a disservice – there is a fair amount of gothic elegance in its drudgery, and, despite some disappointingly lower value production, this album really stands out amongst metal releases of 2020. Le Chiavi del Posso sounds like it carries healing energy in all its destructive noise. The purging of demons in the form of Simone Tesser’s powerful and raw vocals screaming in Italian might just be the most satisfying thing you’ll hear in 2020.

The first song on the album to depart into more traditional territory (at least in terms of song structure) is 1418, which is nothing short of a triumph. The song makes use of interesting dynamics, changes in tempo and, at the end of the day, it’s fun to headbang to (sometimes that’s just what you want isn’t it?) They also prove their instrumental chops with Dell Posso Dell’Abisso, creating an interesting and bleak soundscape which teeters on the edge of dark ambient territory.

Golgotha sees the band try their hand at lots of different genre elements, but it rarely sounds cluttered. Instead, the wealth of influences and flavours at their grasp seems more exploratory than anything else – and they always mix a sense of grandeur in with the gritty nastiness of the sludge. Even in the more tender moments, there is an edge as we wait for the explosion of noise and destruction, much like in the calmer moments before the storm which took so much from them.

Rounding things off with La Verita and Inferno, the album hammers home its exorcising nature with a fresh injection of energy at the eleventh hour. Inferno is the perfect album closer, solidifying this as a really promising addition to the sludge genre and a promising move from these Italian rockers.

Overall, Golgotha isn’t just an example of what Italian metal can sound like. It’s extreme, pushing boundaries of what metal from any country can express – the hurt, fear and determination of human spirit in the face of adversity. It’s heavy, beautiful and raw in turn, and unapologetically site-specific, with lyrics in their native language and taking inspiration directly from their lived experiences in Italy. This is a fantastic album, and you would be a fool to skip it.

Rating: 8/10

Golgotha is out now via Go Down Records.

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