Italian musician/producer Gabriele Gramaglia has been making a name for himself over the last few years. Between his acts Cosmic Putrefaction and Vertebra Atlantis, along with his adept music production skill, it’s no wonder many underground bands are turning to him to seek his talents on their albums. He’s also very prolific, having released albums under each of his projects since 2019. This year, Gramaglia has released the follow-up Vertebra Atlantis album, A Dialogue with the Eeriest Sublime. Combining harsh, gnarled riffs and hypnotic dreamscapes, this specific blend of Progressive Death Metal may just be his magnum opus.
While the last Vertebra Atlantis album was refreshing, it never resonated with me the way Dialogue… does. Gramaglia hates repetition, and in pursuit of that, each song on here constantly changes up the flow. No specific riff or passage is used too frequently, instead electing to keep the listeners on their toes with a general sense of unpredictability. This is very evident in tracks such as “Frostpalace Gloaming Respite”, which features an unexpected-but not-unwelcome guitar solo early on in the song before proceeding to crush the listener’s skull with pummeling, almost dissonant Death Metal riffs. The riffcraft across this album is overall stellar. Gramaglia has other tricks up his sleeve though. Transitions from dreamy Progressive passages to fiercer, more vicious Death Metal ones are all over the place, a technique found frequently on the most recent Cosmic Putrefaction album as well. The major highlight of this album is its closer, the title track. In this piece of emotional catharsis, Gramaglia recruits two guest vocalists and strips away the harshness into a calmer, somber lament that transports the listener into the figure on the striking album art, slowly trudging towards the ruin-like structure in the distance, with themes of regret among abstractness. Out of all of the albums I’ve reviewed this year, this is one which has me reluctant to leave it alone. The expectations for Gramaglia to out-perform himself on the next Vertebra Atlantis are now sky-high, and I cannot wait to see what’s next.
