Genus Ordinis Dei – The Beginning

Symphonic death metal from Italy might bring to mind the obvious choice of Fleshgod Apocalypse. Now there is another name to add, Genus Ordinis Dei who are based in Crema, Italy. They have a new album entitled “The Beginning,” which is the fourth release in the twelve years of their existence. I am now left wondering why I have not heard of these guys until now.

Inspired by the pandemic and all the other woes of the world, the band presents this metal symphony. It explores extremes such as blood and light, cannibalism and familial ties, betrayal and love, barbarism, and magic. The rhythms are powerful and primal with a symphonic undercurrent, and this belies the fact that they are a three piece.

The guitars are handled by Nick K and Tommy Monticelli with Nick also performing the vocals and Tommy providing the orchestration. Those primal rhythms are hammered out by Nico Pedrali.

The opening track ‘Aeternus’ lays out exactly what to expect from this album. At over 7 minutes long it is heavy and alternatively symphonic. The band have produced a series of four videos that tell part of the story running through the album. Episode 1 is ‘Changing Star’ and the video stars Nick K as the main character. It is quite gruesome in places and the accompanying music provides the perfect soundtrack. Specifically, I mean suitably aggressive but tempered with melodic hummable choruses.

Episode 2, ‘Genesis’ delivers a catchy riff, which appears throughout the track, punctuated by other pounding sections. On screen the actors play out the next chapter in this short story and again the soundtrack fits the brief.

The first of two short interludes follows with ‘Chant of the Water.’ It is less than a minute long but provides a short mellow respite. There are then five tracks before the next video episode, and they keep the storyline going. Each one of these has many changes of pace and intensity. One in particular stands out as the mellowest amongst them and that is ‘Shamen’. Following that is the much heavier and fast paced ‘The Dragon and the Sword.’ So, plenty to get your teeth into as the band serves up one great track after another.

Nearing the end of the album episode 3 now appears with the track ‘For a New God.’ After a moody start, it continues in emotional fashion, getting slowly heavier before finishing as it started. This for me, is one of the best tracks on the album.

The second short interlude comes in ‘Chant of the Wind,’ sandwiched between episode 3 & 4. By the time you finish the fourth and final video ‘The Fortress Without Gates’ you have watched a short movie. Albeit without normal dialogue but using lyrics instead, which makes it thoroughly engaging. This is also the last track on the album, concluding a violent but interesting journey, both visually and audibly.

This album grew on me the more I played it. There is much more variety within its 12 tracks than it first appears as well as melody. It has been three years since their previous release. Whilst that is not too long compared to some bands, I hope they are already working on the next one.

Track-list:

1. Aeternus
2. Changing Star
3. Genesis
4. Chant of the Water
5. The Divine Order
6. Blackstone
7. We are the Strangers
8. Shaman
9. The Dragon and the Sword
10. Chant of the Wind
11. The Fortress Without Gates