Black Hole

This is a strange little band, an obscure Italian trio who recorded Tales Of Mystery in 1985 to little fanfare and disappeared soon afterward. Apparently a revamped lineup recorded a second album, Living Mask, in 1988, but that album didn't actually get released until 2000, by which time the band was no doubt long disbanded. The best way to describe Tales Of Mystery is sparse, experimental horror/doom metal, though certainly not doom metal in the classic sense. Church organs make frequent appearances, a forerunner to the funeral doom sound developed by others years later. The vocals are clear, distantly recorded, and oh so indie 80's in style, while the guitars are at times rather muted -- the band is quite heavy, but the heaviness is derived more from mood than simply playing loud guitars. Death SS is acknowledged as a pioneer in Italian horror-inspired doom, and is a fair comparison for this band, though these guys really have their own style, a sound all their own that's strangely addicting. The sound is quite dated when compared to modern metal, but this is still a highly recommended album for 80's underground metallists.

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Discography

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