Progenie Terrestre Pura Starcross

Consistently one of the best bands when it comes to pulling in the potential listener with some absolutely outstanding visuals for cover art, StarCross makes more progress for the band, delivering a concept EP that was so compelling that the band chose to take the lyrics from Italian to English for the first time to ensure a more broad appeal. Last year's oltreLuna saw some significant jumps from the band, and starCross continues to prove that Progenie Terrestre Pura are happy to make alterations that only feel like improvements. The more immediate and direct approach of the last album is still here, with some fittingly brutal black metal moments to counteract the more floaty, space-y ones that initially brought the band into light. The story here is one that fans of multimedia such as Alien or Dead Space will find familiar, and it's ripe for picking from the band's perspective. Never shying away from their use of electronics that range from more industrial and heavy in tone, to more ambient and even dance-able, q[T]p know how to make the celestial black metal vibe their home. Due to the short length, starCross does stay readily appealing and tightknit - where many bands of this ilk tend to spread things out and meander, there's near-constant forward motion that is rather appreciated. It never condenses too far, but driving moments such as The Great Loss capture a cinematic feeling that is never diluted from a visceral edge, and likewise the more atmospheric moments scattered in Toward a Distant Moon let your imagination capture some wonder while imparting some blackened riffs and blasts. Setting the sci-fi stage once more, Progenie Terrestre Pura have crafted some wonderfully cinematic elegance with starCross. Inserting a bit more 'horror' than they have in the past, it broadened their horizons in a logical way, making for a gripping experience in both music and story.