Everto Signum - Beastiary

Everto Signum is a black metal band from Portugal, who formed in 2010.  Their latest album, “Beastiary,” is their second full-length album; they have also released an EP.  

The band is highly inspired by nature and called their musical style “Elemental Black Metal.”  This idea, this inspiration from nature, translates into the themes of “Beastiary.”   The overall story guides the listener through a chain reaction of natural disasters.  That story is represented through each of the seven songs, seven different cataclysms.   

It’s an interesting concept but, and this is me being honest, none of that matters if it’s not presented to the listener the right way. Well, does the band get their point across effectively?

Everto Signum absolutely nail it.  “Beastiary,” is a very adventurous album with a lot of energy.  Not only that but there is definitely a wild urgency running through the songs that is as infectious as it is dangerous.   The result is an album that is riddled with trepidation, fury, and a dynamic sound that steps outside the box of the usual black metal formula.

The band’s vast range of influences translates well, and if I said this is a progressive metal album, I don’t think I would be wrong.  With that being said, it is also very much a black metal album that blends riff-based structures with potent melodies without forgetting the natural, raw power of the genre.   

The atmosphere of the songs changes as the music ebbs and flows through various sounds, including the aforementioned prog, folk, and even dungeon synth.  Sometimes the tempo is fast as fuck, and sometimes it hangs back when the band needs to be explorative and contemplative.   Regardless of what sounds they play, and how they play it, the album flows smoothly from beginning to end. 

The album opens with the short but blistering 49 second intro “Genesis.”  The fast paced drumming, rumbling riffs, and piercing screams set up the album quickly and effectively.  

Then all hell breaks loose with “Colossus,” and a deep growl that accompanies it.  The drums have a great sound–full, deep, and powerful.  The guitar tone is very thick and empowering—but not overpower; the bass guitar doesn’t have to fight for its space and provides its own killer approach.

I love the bass peeking out from behind the start-and-stop rhythm of the riffs around the one minute mark. The song races towards its best moment at the 3:00 minute mark with the heavy-handed riffs and double bass.  The band settles into a catchy cadence, including the vocals as they ride a wave of an unique rhythmic approach.

“Wyvern,” has moments of frighteningly aggressive passages that arrive in quick bursts in between melodic bass and a subtle atmosphere that steadily rises as the song moves towards its zenith.  There are a lot of proggy moments here, specifically with the trade trade-off-offs between the bass and guitars.  It’s very clever and showcases just how well-written this song, and the album as a whole, is. 

“Dragon,” is a brutal song with a classic, raw blackened feel to it.  It’s mystic, arcane, and more than a little hostile.  However, the riffs oftentimes strike a sterling balance between heavy and melodic textures.  The galloping passage that begins at the 2:33 mark is nothing short of masterful–I had to rewind this part so many times because of how goddamn great it is.  The keys/clean chants highlighting the screaming vocals is perfectly bombastic without it being corny. 

Every song is good but the 13-minute epic “Deinos,” is by far the centerpiece of the album.  Every second of the song is great and the flow is perfect.  Ambient tones begin the song before low, depraved blackened death growls worm their way through the stark distortion. The tempo builds up well, going from a slow crawl to a faster-paced groove as it races towards the halfway mark.  Afterward, the song gives off even more urgency as it blizskriegs towards a jam session around the 8:25 mark which is catchy as hell.  

Everto Signum’s “Beastiary,” is a well-written black metal album that incorporates a ton of ideas and concepts—and pulls off every one of them.  Do you like aggressive black metal?  Do you like melodic black metal?  Do you like black metal that is focused on the songs?  Are you just diving into the genre and need a good band?   If you answered yes to any of those, you need this album.