The kings of giallo metal have unleashed their tribute to the genius that is Dario Argento.
For those who aren’t deep in the underground, Tenebro (Italy) are the darkest and most putrid when it comes to death metal—merging the gore-soaked brilliance of Necrophagia with the brutality of Mortician & Impetigo.
Formed originally in the early 2000s by Il Becchino, but with the addition of Hannes (a.k.a. Il Beccamorto) to the group in 2019, the band started to release more material. After two disgustingly mammoth albums & a handful of splits & EPs, the band are taking on their biggest album to date—the perfect tribute to the master of the sexy, macabre & bloody Italian film Director Dario Argento.
Opening “Una Lama d’Argento” AKA ” A Silver Blade” is a great piano piece (by the great Freudstein) that would fit right at home within the Goblin discography, which eerily opens the album’s first track “Inferno”.
Right from when the band unleashes this track, it is a monster. It has a swampy yet punishing guitar tone, with riffs that grab you straight away. The classic yet heavy drum sound that gives that early ’90s gore death metal feel is here in full swing.
Feeling like a chainsaw to the cranium, “L’angelo Caduto Tra Le Luci Del Teatro” has a foot-tapping, brilliant opening riff that is infectious. But what Tenenbro does best is draw you in before the nasty kill. As the track ramps up, the tremolo riffs pick up the pace & make the pulse race. Once the band finally has you where they want you, the brutality begins. Grinding blasting that sounds like a saw cutting flesh, but also bringing back the hypnotic opening riff, gives you the best of both worlds. The chaotic but also keeps you engaged with the tight riffage.
If you’re like me & love knuckle-dragging death metal, “Piume Rosse” has that for you. Its huge opening riff section gets you pumped. Reminding me of early Incantation, this track is like pure armageddon. It’s also drenched in a great melody with its dissonant guitar leads. But all around it’s a thumper of a track & my favourite vocal performance from Hannes (Il Beccamorto).
His vocal approach is fantastic & works so well with the band’s style. A great blend of Killjoy & Will Rahmer, which is our style throughout the album. A powerhouse of a vocalist that’s for sure.
The album’s closing track, “Jennifer”, is a five-minute epic. This mid-paced tank of a song has a great build from the beginning; a huge, chunky, chugging guitar drives you through, while the band sprinkle some great film samples in to set the mood. As the track hits the halfway mark, they step on the gas & increase the speed & intensity enough that it works really well & makes the track even more driving. This track feels like a great way to close the album. Still bringing those uneasy feelings & effects-soaked melodic parts, while also keeping the heavy, gore-soaked riffs going, is the perfect pairing.
Tenebro might be a band drenched in the darkest parts of the metal underground, but as a band, their songwriting is some of the best in the extreme genre. Being so heavily influenced by film composers such as Fabio Frizzi, Goblin, Piero Umiliani & Riz Ortolani has allowed them to write an album that is not only heavy & brutal in tone, but they have also been able to weave the dramatic feelings from the films that inspire them. This album feels like it could be in a modern horror film that is going for that 70s giallo style. When an album can make you bang your head & paint a horrid picture in your mind, I think it’s done its job… don’t you??
Review: Joseph Mitchell
Una Lama d’Argento is out via Time To Kill Records on 12th December 2025
Tracklist:
1. Inferno
2. L’angelo Caduto Tra Le Luci Del Teatro
3. Impiccata
4. Sangue Sui Muri
5. Lo Specchio… Omicida.
6. Il Corpo Come Spartito
7. Piume Rosse
8. Appare ala Bambola, Poi La Lama
9. Larve Affamate
10. Nel Sonno Della Veggente
11. Jennifer
Line-up:
Il Becchino – Guitars, Vocals
Il Beccamorto – Bass, Drums, Guitars
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https://tenebrohorror.
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