Lvpi Gladivs are an Italian act that did release a full length last year. The interesting Hau Ruck! label released the album Veritas in February 2014 in an edition of 500 copies. But actually there’s quite a pre-history. As a matter of fact, Fabio Vitelli (keyboards), Giampiero Di Barbaro (acoustic guitars, electric bass) and Antonio Losenno (acoustic guitars and percussions) started up this band in 2002, and with vocalist / percussionist Pietro and guitar player / bassist Quirino, Lvpi Gladivs recorded a demo in 2003. But it was never released. The trio then joined forces with Sara Lux, and under a new moniker, Hidden Place, they continued writing and performing Music. However, as Hidden Place they did bring something completely different. Hidden Place, as you might know, bring a rather catchy kind of Synth-Pop / Ethereal New Wave / Space-Electro. No further comment about this outfit. Anyway, in very early 2013, the magnificent German Military Music label Castellum Stoufenburc decided to release that 2003-demo, being the five original songs and two remixes (one by Spreu & Weizen, and one by Waffenruhe; the latter, by the way, is one of the projects by label-owner D.). At that moment, the band decided to resurrect Lvpi Gladivs, and that’s why Veritas became reality.
Don’t ask me why, but the very same label will re-re-release the original demo once again, but with some differences. The compilation still brings the five original tracks, but this edition does not include Spreu & Weizen’s remix anymore. However, it still includes Waffenruhe’s remix for Massacro, as well as three other remixes. This edition will be available in a very limited number of copies (150 copies only!), and it gets presented to the audience with different artwork, i.e. in a six-paged A5-cardboard, including a black-and-white poster on A3-format; once again with eternal gratitude to Cold Sun Arts - ave, glory be!
Anyway, first the original demo recordings’ description. It all started / starts with the introduction Massacro, which I just adore. It is a mixture of martial percussions, cold-esoteric synths melodies, noisy-industrial sounds and dark ambiental atmospheres. Then comes the essence of this Italian band’s raison d’être, i.e. a mixture of Neo-Folk, Military Pop and Neo-Classical. Guerrieri Impavidi, for example, mingles elements from Blood Axis, Strydwolf, (earlier) Ordo Equilibrio (before they became Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio) and even Current 93, Death In June, Sol Invictus, Der Blutharsch, Von Thronstahl or, if you want to, the likes of Dernière Volonté, Argine or Rose Rovine E Amanti. You have the quasi-spoken vocals, martial percussions, light acoustic guitars, accordion, floating keyboards at a distance, and even the sounds of wolves. And don’t ask me why, but Helden, with German lyrics, even brings some of the more esoteric Anne Clark compositions to mind (!). Anyway, Lvcania is a demo that could have revealed a top-project. There was (is) quite some potential, and therefore such re-release needs to be heard!
And then, the addition of remixes… Normally - but that isn’t but my personal opinion - I dislike such things. Often you get an acceptable recording, and then, at the end, there are some electronic remixes that bore the sh*t out of me. Usually I start puking, and sometimes it does influence my final score (for what it’s worth). This time, however, it’s quite different. And no; it’s not because some of the material has been reinterpreted by label-owner Soldat D. of Waffenruhe-fame (though I need to admit that I adore his works); but I’ll tell you why.
First there’s the remix on the track Massacro by Waffenruhe featuring The Day Of The Antler (Soldat D. and Jani Hellén are the guys behind both projects respectively), which is a more oppressive and ominous interpretation of the original intro. Helden too is very impressive in the remixed version, done by Strydwolf, because of the Puissance-alike apocalyptic atmospheres and the eerie spoken words by Michaela Steber – and possibly one of the best things ever done by Strydwolf (???). Argentum contribute with their interpretation of Lvpi Gladivs, which I think is pretty superficial (which is sad!), but finally there’s another remix for Helden, created and interpreted once again by Waffenruhe, and it might be the absolute highlight of this album, I dare to pretend. It’s a mostly militaristic / martial but highly spi-ritual version of the original song (which surely is / was one of the best tracks on the original demo), balancing in between emotional persuasion and symphonic bombast, like Arditi being covered by Les Joyaux De La Princesse, if you want to.
I have to admit that I had to listen several times to this version of that demo (including the bonus songs) a couple of times, before I dared to write this review, but I’m glad, because each time my appreciation did grow. Damn yeah, I am going to listen to it once more right now, I think.