Review: Ottone Pesante ‘Scrolls Of War’

Ottone Pesante, a power trio from Faenza, Italy, have established themselves as a truly unique and captivating force in the world of experimental music over the past nine years. With an impressive discography that boasts four full-length albums and two EPs, they consistently push the boundaries of what is possible within the realms of noise, jazz and metal.

Ottone Pesante 'Scrolls Of War' Artwork
Ottone Pesante ‘Scrolls Of War’ Artwork

Their sound is unlike anything else currently being produced, blending the bombastic energy of a small-town brass band with the visceral, free-flowing intensity of avant-garde experimental music and the breakneck speed of the most uncompromising heavy metal.

Listening to their early works, one can’t help but be struck by the similarities to the rehearsal sessions of a rowdy local marching band – the brash, unrestrained honking of the trombones and trumpets creating a sense of chaotic, off-kilter energy. But this initial impression quickly gives way to something much more complex and challenging, as the band’s twisted, unconventional instrumental interplay takes the listener on a wild ride through the fringes of sonic possibility.

The addition of the relentless, almost frenzied drum work binds these disparate elements together into a cohesive whole, pushing the music into realms of free experimental speed metal that are truly visceral and immersive. Ottone Pesante‘s music is not entirely instrumental either – they have enlisted the talents of high-profile guests like Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation, Sara Bianchini of Messa, Shane Embury of Napalm Death, and the experimental ambient artist Lili Refrain to lend their unique voices to select tracks.

This collaborative approach further enhances the band’s ability to confront musical boundaries and craft intensely compelling, genre-defying sonic experiences that leave a lasting impression on the listener. In the nine years since their inception, Ottone Pesante have proven themselves to be a true force of nature in the world of experimental music, carving out a singular niche that is as thrilling as it is challenging.

With Scrolls Of Wars, which is also the title of a track from their 2022 album …And The Black Bells Rang, and now serves as the title to this, their latest album, Ottome Pesante has crafted a truly mesmerising and unsettling sonic landscape. The music they have conjured up is a primordial eruption of explosive and chilling jazz-infused metal and noise, capable of immobilizing the listener in a state of obscene and hallucinatory torpor or sending shivers of senseless madness coursing through their body.

intensely compelling, genre-defying sonic experiences that leave a lasting impression on the listener…

This is the uncompromising, quasi-demoniacal sonic realm that the band inhabits, a relentless assault on the senses that emanates from the very depths of some primal, cosmic chaos. The sheer amount of progression the band has undergone is palpable in every jarring, dissonant tone that seems to reverberate with the weight of ages. Take the track Sons Of Darkness Against Sons Of Shit – imbued with a pure, visceral intensity both musically and vocally, it is enough to render the listener paralyzed and transfixed in a state of awe-struck bewilderment as the music violently contorts and writhes, seemingly intent on tearing both the mind and body asunder.

The epic, monumental, and darkly cinematic Men Kill, Children Die is haunting and heartbreaking, reminiscent of a medieval funeral march, catapulted into the sad events of today’s despicable wars. This enthralling track serves as the linchpin of the entire album. Yet, for all its jarring, uncompromising nature, there is an undeniable power and conviction to Ottone Pesante‘s auditory onslaught that goes beyond mere gratuitous noise. Theirs is a music borne of a deep, primal well of creative expression – a torrent of sound that channels the most unsettling, unhinged energies of the human psyche.

The frenetic, unrestrained brass work of Teruwah evokes a sense of feral, unbound intensity, while the jagged, disjointed rhythms and textures conjure visions of a world on the brink of total collapse. The magnetic, sensorial sound of Battle Of Qadesh with its religious dark vocals courtesy of Rome’s Lili Refrain, brightens the dark sky with luminous lightning. And the deliciously obscene Slaughter Of The Slains with its trashy speed metal infused by an otherworldly roaring voice reminiscent of Napalm Death’s Scum is a testament to the band’s refusal to be ignored.

This is music that demands the full, undivided attention of the listener, even as it threatens to overwhelm and consume them. In its relentless, uncompromising sonic assault, Paolo, Francesco and Beppe evoke the experimentalist spirit of kindred sonic visionaries like Kevin Martin’s God, whose own work in the realm of noise-infused jazz has carved out a similarly intense, hallucinatory sonic universe.

Yet, even amidst the seeming chaos, there is a perceptible coherence and intentionality to their approach – a sense that, beneath the roiling, turbulent surface, lies a deeper, more primal logic at work. This is music that refuses to be easily categorised or pigeonholed, that exists in a realm of its own making – a realm of indomitable, lacerating noise that nonetheless retains a visceral, almost transcendent power to captivate and unsettle the listener.

Label: Aural Music
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Caccamo