Artwork by: Dema Novakova

Style: Gothic Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Black Metal (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Rolo Tomassi, Faetooth, Messa, Oceans of Slumber
Country: Italy
Release date: 28 October 2025

---

We all have random pet peeves. Some of them are understandable, like having to clean up others’ messes. Some are less so. Like the one I’m about to lay on you: It’s annoying when a band takes a woman’s name or implies a measure of femininity, yet is composed entirely of dudes. I’m talking about acts like Molly Hatchet, Abigail Williams, Last of Lucy, Alexisonfire, (Baroness will return to this list if Gina Gleason ever decides to leave), et cetera. Expectations get set, I’m looking forward to some diversification in this sweaty, testosterone-fueled genre, and then wham! It’s Five Guys Guitars and Lies. That’s not to say I throw my hands up in a huff and abandon all hope (okay, sometimes) but such a revelation certainly dents the initial excitement.

Luckily, Italy’s Bianca court no such deceptions, featuring as they do one β on vocals. Her haunting performance across their self-titled sophomore record taps into a sirenic quality that’s equal parts ethereally beautiful and viscerally terrifying. Fusing doom-y heft, death metal aggression, and an atmospheric vein of post-black reminiscent of Silhouette (whose album Les Dires de l’Âme was a favorite last year), Bianca appear to be peddling wares worthy of emptying my coffers. I’m an eternal sucker for grand, aphotic compositions that can blend metal’s more violent front-toward-enemy tendencies with sublime passages of decadent beauty, especially when pulled together around an absolutely bewitching voice. Neither Bianca, the band, nor Bianca, the album, disappoint here.

Case in point, “Abysmal”, which, after a moody little opener, erupts into an avalanche of pummeling drums and grinding death metal riffage, while β unloads a bevy of savage screams before transitioning to hazy cleans amidst a melancholic chorus. Guitarist ES finds subtle, often quick ways to transition, employing a buzzing guitar tone and razoring leads to ratchet up the intensity and build anticipation. Sathrath’s drums set the pace, moving from ripping double bass and blast beats to more measured strikes, with bassist Ͷ providing a proper undercurrent for everyone to feed on. On tracks like “Somniloquies” and “Nachthexe”, ES adds to the haunting atmosphere set forth by β’s occult cleans with scene-propping trems and an invoking riff as the rest of the band provides a ritualistic backbone. One can almost picture the raging bonfire in the pitch-black of some northern night, tattooed visages flickering in and out of the gloom as ancient rites are observed and parleys made with the dark, illustrious forces of Mother Earth.

Bianca is at once relentless, filled with double bass and blast beats aplenty, but also surprisingly listenable even during its harshest moments. The mix is such that the drums occupy an almost “softer” space, despite the absolute battering Sathrath is giving his kit. As such, Bianca avoids the pitfall of many a heavy band by refusing to overload the listener. ES’s guitar is similarly cushioned, audible and effective yet never grating on the ears despite cleaving to black metal’s fondness for abrasion. And while some could find β’s monstrous highs unwelcome, I’d have to refer them to the door; she stands as the highlight of the album, her voice in just the right places every time, commanding attention at every turn. If I had any complaint about Bianca, it would be a complaint leveraged at many a metal album: I wish Ͷ’s bass had a tad more presence to it, as it tends to get lost whenever the band ramps up into full-on chaos. However, when he’s needed, he’s there, as on the scorching closer “To The Twilight”, which perhaps encapsulates the band’s sound and skill better than any other cut on the album.

This year has been pretty fetching for me when it comes to, pardon the gimmicky term, female-fronted metal: Aephanemer, Forlorn, Pupil Slicer, Dying Wish, Calva Louise… a venerable treasure trove of offerings, and that’s only counting favorites. Now, Bianca join the ranks of this hellfire club, and I couldn’t be happier. Only two records into their career and they’ve already dropped a work of near-perfect quality, a multifaceted obsidian gem whose infinite depths inspire moments of enrapturing beauty while its edges cut sharp as glass. Small defects though there may be, there’s little dimming Bianca’s glow. I’m looking forward to wandering their dim and gloom-addled halls once more.

---

Recommended tracks: To The Twilight, Somniloquies, Nachthexe
You may also like: Forlorn, Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches, Silhouette
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Avantgarde Music Records

Bianca is:
– Ͷ (bass)
– Sathrath (drums)
– ES (guitars)
– β (vocals)