Crusty Italian black metalists laCasta have been at it for more than a decade but are only now following up their 2020 debutIn Aeturnvm with a new batch of sonic ugliness calledOlibanvm (aka Frankincense). This relentless quartet—Marino Martellotta (bass), Sbrough (drums), Mario Morgante (guitars), Alessandro Donnaloia (vocals/synths)—are offering here a sneak peek of the nine tracks (in 34 minutes) that comprise their latest effort. It’s a suffocating and wretched concoction of black metal savagery and crusty hardcore intensity, traversing from blast beats to thudding, mid-tempo crunch, all accompanied by Donnaloia’s enraged, primal exortations.
Olibanvm was recorded, mixed and mastered by Sebastiano Lillo and Paolo Palmieri at Slap Studio in South Italy, 2025. It’s set for release on CD and digitally via Argonauta Records on May 8. Place your preorder here.
The band discussses the origin of the album title here:
“Frankincense (olibanum), the true incense, embodies the sacred and the cruel, summed in a powerful triad: Ancient as Egypt, Red as Blood, Precious as Gold. Born from deliberate wounds in the resilient Boswellia tree, its milky sap hardens into gem-like ‘tears.’ Once burned for pharaohs and deities, now it rises in funeral rites, each wisp of smoke carrying prayers, guiding souls and lingering as the scent of farewell and the mystery of death.”