“4 LPs, 400 shows across Europe and UK, shared the stage with Converge, Full Of Hell, La Dispute.“ That‘s the short self-description given by Stormo (formerly known as Storm{O} ) on their own Bandcamp page. Usually these short tidbits do not help too much to find out what to expect, but in this case it is quite accurate. Italy’s Stormo deliver a record that is as much Hardcore, Noisecore and The Wave. Even more important – all elements are very well-executed!
When we get a record with eleven songs in less than 30 minutes, that can indicate a certain kind of “punkish” background and Stormo from Northern Italy between Austria and the Mediterranean coast close to Venice have certainly listened to their share of Hardcore. Not only the classic NYHC of the 80s and 90s but also much more than that, more modern stuff – in the vein of Full of Hell or, on the other end of the spectrum, La Dispute. Furthermore, it seems as if playing with these Hardcore-heavyweights has left its mark on the sound of Stormo, who still keep their native tongue as their means of transporting their ideas of what is going awry in this world. And man, there surely is a lot wrong!
The title of the record is a clear indication of it: “Endocannibalism” is a practice of cannibalism in one’s own locality or community. meaning, people eat parts of the deceased members of their family, clan or tribe. Stormo found out about a Brazilian tribe named the Yanomami tribe, which practices the ritual not out of necessity but rather as part of their culture in order to mourn the death and to free the soul of the deceased from its mortal coils. Stormo take this idea of eating your loved ones after their death and use it in lines like ”Ci sono esseri / che abiteranno il mio corpo” (“there are beings that will live in my body”) - in this line taken from the opener ”Valichi, Oltre” cannibalism is not a metaphor, but meant literally! A spine-shivering idea but one that somehow seems pretty significant in our secular world – we celebrate life, disdain death and therefore do not know how to handle our mourning. A further notion comes in the title track itself: ”Ciò che conta non muore / ci avvolge, si nutre di noi” (“What matters doesn’t die / it enfolds us, fed by us”) - maybe we just need to let go of our fear of death and decay? Maybe we can then live more in peace with our surroundings? Maybe we can accept death as an inevitable part of life? Maybe we need to be more in peace with all that surrounds us – instead of killing it all?
Musically, the record is a brilliant mix of noisey storms – check out the ending of ”Vivere, Ombre” - blastbeat drumming on most of the tracks, and sometimes short but wonderful, simple little tidbits (remember The Wave’s affinity with adding many little twists and elements in order to maintain a certain unpredictability): ”Anabasi”, for example, has a short but effective guitar intro, which gives some room for taking a breath, before the storm rages on, and yet, after a few moments this calmer element is rediscovered, but this time carried onward by the bass, which then also propels the song into the next ravaging part.
Some other comparisons for this record might be Birds in Row or La Quiete, Suis la Lune even or Italian veterans Negazione – and yet, these guys do not need these comparisons, because with this fourth record they have become the comparison for future newcomers! Rejoice, Hardcore community, for Stormo is passing on the torch from now on!
The video for “Valichi, Oltre”
