Blizaro, Strange Doorways: Leading to Stranger Places
Spanning years and creative spaces in kind, Blizaro‘s Strange Doorways is a consuming document of doom that one might be tempted to call “traditional” but for the force and individuality put into its presentation. A 2CD out through Italian imprint I, Voidhanger Records, it encompasses four separate Blizaro releases from 2012 back to the band’s beginnings in 2006 and is from the very first note and really even before that a work of deep, abiding passion. Cover art by Costin Chioreanu adds to the otherworldly bleakness of the extended offering, and laudatory liner notes from John Brenner of Revelation/Against Nature for the accomplishments of Blizaro spearhead John James Gallo — also of Orodruin — set a tone of appreciation that serves as the reasoning for the compilation in the first place. That is, Strange Doorways — which pulls together 2012’s Black Majicians demo, 2009’s The Old Wizard of Winter demo, 2008’s Blue Tape demo and 2006’s Horror Rock demo, two on each disc accompanied by other bonus tracks, three on the first disc and five on the second — is clearly not a piece for the uninitiated. For Blizaro, it’s not where you start. That might be the 2010 full-length, City of the Living Nightmare, but at just a hair under two and a half hours, Strange Doorways is for those who genuinely want to lose themselves within Blizaro‘s doomscape, which back to its origins the better part of a decade ago retains a cinematic mood and sense of synth-fueled drama that distinguishes the band both from Gallo‘s work in Orodruin and from the glut of traditional doom worldwide.
To put names to it, the most constant influences Gallo — who’s joined in Blizaro these days by his Orodruin bandmate Mike Waske on drums and bassist Mark Rapone while he handles guitar, synth, vocals and more than that on some of these recordings — seems to be under are those of Paul Chain, Reverend Bizarre, Goblin and Candlemass. Not bad places to start, and since Strange Doorways begins with the most recent material, we hear Gallo‘s vision at its most cohesive, pulling together a Leif Edling-style chorus on “Voyage Beyond Space” and adjusting his vocal approach accordingly after the cavernous metal of “Slave of Chaos” earlier on or the mournful lead work on the instrumental closer “Projections,” which follows. Synth and organ come more into focus on The Old Wizard of Winter, but the mood and overarching purpose is consistent, even as “White Frijid Mass” eases its way past the seven-minute mark and church organ meets with swirling, windy effects. This release, which Gallo says in his extensive song-by-song liner notes, was originally composed as a holiday gift to his family, but after being pleased with the results, he decided to make it public. It is the most atmospheric stretch of Strange Doorways, and knowing the circumstances of its creation — one night, lots of synth, little guitar — it’s easy to read a touch of the Xmas album in “Sulumucca” or “Shadow Walk,” though any such perceivable whimsy comes tempered with an atmospheric darkness fed into by the surrounding material, the artwork and the rhythms themselves, which retain a mournful, doomly pace. Gallo does not wassail, it would seem.
Disc one’s bonus tracks run from the more rocking “Beyond Mystery” to the creeping “The Watcher” — which according to Gallo was kind of a toss-off, but winds up one of the most atmospherically satisfying pieces included — and disc two kicks off with the ’70s rock of “Sphere 1 (The Mirror),” which bleeds in from the organ/guitar battle on “Entrance” and sets an immediate groove for the rest of Blue Tape to maintain. It’s about as close as Gallo brings Blizaro to Against Nature‘s approach, with a focus on strong riffing and serenely brilliant leads, pulling back overall on the synth (certainly from The Old Wizard of Winter) for rolling grooves and a full-band feel, even on “Sphere 2 (Shifting through Trapezoidal Vessel)” or the funky bass of “Driving back the Senses.” Vocals are less of a focal point than on Black Majicians, but the sense of mood and desire to be more than just riff-based is clearly evident, and that holds true for Horror Rock‘s material as well, that earliest demo opening with the longest cut on the whole of Strange Doorways, “Sea of Darkness,” a slow but progressive otherworldliness that unfolds over 10:30 and sets riffs and synth in direct contrast to each other before eventually pairing guitar and keys side by side in a final, more wistful movement. Synth pushes air through on “Solar Drone” and takes a more purely Claudio Simonetti progressivism on “The Opening Death,” but what Strange Doorways ultimately proves is that even back to the band’s very origins, Gallo knew the spaces he wanted to explore with Blizaro, making the project the outcome of a genuine vision.
It’s not until the final round of bonus tracks after the jazz-spazzy metal of “Demonhenge” and burlier “Plague Resurrector” that the title-track arises on a bed of slow drums and lead guitar, the penultimate song on the release. Perhaps that’s meant to be emblematic of Blizaro‘s drive toward the obscure, toward making an impression and carving its individuality from intricate sources. Maybe it’s happenstance. In either case, as “End Worlds” leads Strange Doorways out on a suitably dramatic march every bit worthy of rolling credits, what remains is that sense of purpose Gallo brings to every moment of these demos, the feeling that each one, even if its just an experiment playing out in a home studio, has a reason for existing. That likely won’t make Strange Doorways more accessible for casual listeners who happen on it at a merch table, but it does give justification to the scope of the release and to the scope, still evidently expanding, of Gallo‘s craftsmanship and performance. One might do best to take it in pieces — remembering that these songs apart from the bonus tracks were originally issued over the course of six years — but Strange Doorways thoroughly rewards exploration.
