Eva Can't
Gravatum

It is album number four for Italian band Eva Can’t and it is called Gravatum. It is described as “dramatic metal” by the label and one has to wonder, why the need to keep inventing all these new genres? Italians have knack for it with the “Epic Symphonic Hollywood Metal” as the biggest accomplishment; it was how Rhapsody used to describe their style. But returning to Eva Can’t I learn from the press sheet that they come from the lush underground metal scene of Bologna, the same as bands like In Tormenta Quiete and Malnatt. And from the same press sheet I learn that they play on the theatrical, extreme and progressive, if I read between the lines as the press sheet goes on for much longer than that. It is sort of theatrical progressive extreme metal with vocals in Italian – perhaps the most beautiful language spoken in the world, è bellissimo as they say themselves.

There are many atmospheres to be found in this album, it gives a dramatic, theatrical feel to it, like a journey through the songs. Some songs are bit long though, especially the first and last, and the album itself feels a tad on the long side despite being pretty varied. I like the sound; it is diverse and interesting – great production is how I would describe it. And I also think the vocals are quite strong even though I could do without the growling that I don’t really think add anything to the picture.

It is a fresh sounding album, the vocals in Italian both adds a sense of drama and novelty to their music – that’s a positive, mi piace! And overall I think they do very well, even though I think a little more tempo wouldn’t hurt as the tempo feels quite low overall making the album seem slow and uneventful at times despite interesting variation and dramatic atmospheres. It is an album that has you thinking in many directions but perhaps not one that really grabs you and keeps you fully immersed in the music, on the other hand it doesn’t make you want to turn it off either. It is a solid effort, fresh and fairly unique – and one has to applaud bands that dare to make it outside the established boundaries and make something that feels more interesting than the everyday rubbish that falls into the mailbox.

Eva Can’t does most things right and I think it is an album that can be worth checking out, it has quite a few things to offer. And though it may not fully shine in my opinion it is still fascinating and a lot more memorable than most albums, even better ones. I like the album but would admit that it lacks that little extra that makes a good album great, perhaps it is not quite as exciting as it could have been – but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t exciting. Un bel viaggio musicale is a pretty good description of Gravatum.

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