‘Silhouette, ombre scadenti, sguardi inesistenti, è più facile incolpare chi si ama, che indistinte figure, apprezzare ciò che non esiste’ (Ombre Scadenti) / ‘Silhouettes, decaying shadows, nonexistent gazes, it’s easier to blame those we love than indistinct figures, to appreciate what doesn’t exist’ (Decaying Shadows)

Astio (Hatred) make a thoroughly welcome return with their debut album, Tempio Inganno (Temple Of Deceit), and follow-up to the 2023 EP, Bocche Stanche (Tired Mouths).  Hailing from Trento in northern Italy, Astio fuse rhythmically surging, melodically sombre post-punk with semi-shouted, anarcho-punk leaning vocals to infectious effect.

Conceptually, the album builds on the themes of their debut to construct the notion of Tempio Inganno.  It speaks of the devices, both consciously and subconsciously, that we construct to allow us to turn a blind eye to the realities of our world.  The veil that enables us to ignore that our comfort is frequently rooted in the suffering of others.  A cognitive dissonance that protects us from our own complicity, normalises inequity, and justifies our inaction.

What emerges is an album of starkly competing tensions.  Taut yet fluid, uplifting yet unsettling, an intrinsic conflict further amplified by the warm clarity of the production versus the angular agitations at the heart of Astio’s energy.  Personal highlights include the swirling, almost Middle Eastern-tinged melodies of Poco Di Me Ricordo (I Remember Little Of Myself), the mournful escalation of Carezza Violenta (Violent Caress), and the skronking saxophone lacerations that fuel Astio Totale (Total Hatred).