Review: Novembre – Words of Indigo
Style: Gothic metal, doom metal, death metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Katatonia, Opeth, Anathema, Woods of Ypres, Novembers Doom
Country: Italy
Release date: 7 November 2025
As Toronto heads into autumn, with the leaves changing colour, the temperatures steadily dropping, and the darkness arriving sooner each passing day—and as I grow ever closer to having to put my motorcycle away for the season—I feel increasingly mournful. Solitary, even. Truthfully, I’ve never enjoyed the fall like many of my peers do, and Canadian winters are notoriously harsh around these parts. I struggle to feel the wonder that others around me seem to express in seeing the foliage turn to ember orange and scarlet red, or the joy of smelling the aroma of cinnamon and vanilla emanating from every café; the anticipation of the first snow, of pulling scarves and boots out of the wardrobe.
To me, the return of the cold weather and the anticipation of dead winter days is a grim reminder of the life I left behind in sunny Sicily many years ago, where at any time of year, you could go out to meet your friends without having to check for wind-chill values. Where having a beer on a patio wasn’t restricted to three, maybe four months of the year. Where the climate wasn’t actively trying to kill you (but maybe, depending on your part of the island, the volcano was). In some ways, then, Novembre’s music has always been somewhat cathartic to me, as the perfect soundtrack for these gloomy, desolate fall and winter months. Now marking 35 years since their inception, the Rome-based quintet are back at it again after an almost 10-year leave of absence since their 2016 album URSA1. A stark contrast to the uptempo, cheery power metal albums that the summery Italian peninsula is typically known for, the band’s moody, pensive soundscapes on newest release Words of Indigo portray a more restrained, somber side of the country’s metal scene that is no less captivating.
Novembre’s gothic death/doom metal blend comes alive again on Words of Indigo with atmospheric, reverberant arpeggios, cutting lead guitars, and haunting vocal passages over tight and capable rhythm sections—their sonic landscapes often textured with piano and string backgrounds for character. The compositions intensify from dramatic, melodic epic movements into vigorous, aggressive sections, blending into one another like light and shadow. Tracks like “Statua” and “Neptunian Hearts” start off at a ponderous, establishing pace, picking up the tempo and energy as the pieces go on, then pulling back for more intimate moments. This is a sound typical of Novembre’s style, polished to a shine.
Words of Indigo’s pacing is stately, the track listing moving you through the runtime like waves ebbing and flowing against a shore; moments of contemplative reprieve found in tracks like the short acoustic piece “Intervallo” (“half-time”) are contrasted with the solemnity and aggression of “Chiesa dell’Alba”, and the double-kick and tremolo-picking and shredding lead guitars of the album’s instrumental track “Ipernotte”. The writing tends towards sprawling pieces that play effectively with tension and release, delicate melodies reaching for light while the crushing riffs pull them back down into the dark; a poignant struggle, exemplified in songs like “Your Holocene” and “Post Poetic”. Each track is like a movement in a larger suite, an undercurrent of melancholia guiding the transitions and providing the foundation they build on.
The production on Words of Indigo is helmed by Dan Swanö of Edge of Sanity fame, and is lush and sonically dense. This style of production lends itself well to a genre that often emphasizes tension and grandeur: the wall-of-sound character of the guitars and background elements make even the silence feel full, adding a sense of weight to the mix, and contrasting nicely with the inclusion of the acoustic, palate-cleansing “Intervallo” which sits at the album’s center. Also of note, the album features a guest appearance by Norwegian opera singer Ann-Mari Edvardsen, previously of The 3rd & The Mortal, whose evocative and delicate soprano tone elevates “House of Rain”, and makes it one of the best choruses on the album.
Novembre have put out a grand effort with Words of Indigo, where momentum isn’t a priority; presence is. Every song structure is deliberate and resonant, where verses linger like smoke instead of fading towards resolution, and occupy the space between intimacy and immensity without losing composure. In a regional metal landscape somewhat oversaturated with speed and intensity, Words of Indigo finds its strength in knowing restraint, where momentum builds like a storm forming above a lake on a late summer’s day, and songs taper off like daylight in November; beautiful, inevitable. This is music for the hour when the sun slips below the trees, and the air finally turns. As I quietly resign myself to watching the first frost form, Words of Indigo will be the soundtrack to my last few motorcycle rides of the season. And likely one of the best Italian metal releases of the year.
Recommended tracks: Statua, Your Holocene, House of Rain
You may also like: Oceana, Helevorn, A Dream of Poe
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Peaceville Records
Novembre is:
– Carmelo Orlando (vocals, guitars, keyboards)
– Alessio Erriu (guitars)
– Yuri Croscenko (drums)
– Fabio Fraschini (bass)
– Federico Albanese (guitar)
With guests:
– Ann-Mari Edvardsen (soprano vocals)
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