Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

From the mythology of ancient Rome and Greece to 21st century Hollywood, one wonderful idea has dominated true storytelling: No hero without a hero’s journey! Whether it’s the Odyssey of Odysseus, which once defined the principle of the hero’s journey, or, at the other end of the spectrum, the losses, horrors and victories of Ellen Ripley, still considered by many to be the best example in the history of fantastic film: If we don’t witness the character of a hero or heroine being created, broken and reshaped, we don’t develop a belief in heroism.

Today, in a time of hectic clicks and puddle-shallow narrative depths, in which once epic cinematic universes are withering away, this longing for the ancient narrative power and the fascination it is capable of arousing in us is resurfacing among critics and fans alike.

And in the form of DEA VELATA, it has now reached music – at several different levels. First of all, with the very own instrumental hero’s journey of New York guitarist Gabby Abularach, who, as a trained classical and jazz guitarist with metal genes, refined the studio recordings and world tours of NYHC legends CRO-MAGS and later continued the same as a founding member of VOODOOCULT. In addition to these energetic wrecking balls, Gabby also brought his six-string magic to legendary recordings by the likes of CARLOS SANTANA, EVERLAST, KORN and JOHN SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION.

His secret love, however, lies in the art of antiquity: Gabby, who over the years has increasingly specialized in filigree-sporty flamenco playing, often imagined what the musical underscoring of recited stories might have felt like in ancient times. The explorative guitarist was in the middle of an ongoing phase of researching ancient Greek and Roman music when, in the summer of 2017, he met Stefano Losi, an Italian poet and visual artist also based in New York, who had just published a poetic work in Imperial Latin. Together, they began composing and pouring the many eureka moments of their musical and now also poetic journeys into material for an album unlike any other. The British soprano Angela Hicks, who is also drawn to ancient music, joined the duo as the angelic voice of the work DEA VELATA, and not just in a figurative sense. Despite her young age, Angela can look back on an eventful career: She made her operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano under the direction of Thomas Guthrie and has subsequently appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Palace of Versailles, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berliner Philharmonie and the Berlin State Opera, among others. She also made a guest appearance on the big screen alongside Emma Stone, Rachael Weisz and Oscar winner Olivia Coleman in the 2018 movie “The Favourite”.

A very first piece from DEA VELATA is now available as a video single with OBITVS, which infuses ancient and classical music with a touch of progressive metal:

The luscious guitar, which sometimes finely chisels an uplifting flamenco into the steps of a stage of epic breadth, sometimes strives towards the warm elegance of a harp and sometimes unfolds into the full weight of symphonic metal, is combined with an always respectfully discreet metal drumming (performed by Mike Podber) and a voice that resembles God’s rays on a Tuscan painting. And together they create a soundtrack that, behind closed eyes, lets Odysseus’ ship sail from a gentle lull into a mystical storm.

The full album DEA VELATA will be released October 16th, 2024. On ten tracks, it will feature contemporary poetry in Imperial Latin – all woven in a fabric of ancient Greek and Roman music with neo-classical coloring and threads of symphonic metal. 

DEA VELATA online:

https://www.facebook.com/deavelataofficial
https://www.instagram.com/deavelataofficial/
https://www.youtube.com/@DEAVELATA
http://deavelata.bandcamp.com/