Country of origin:Italy

Location:Fiumefreddo di Sicilia (Catania), Sicily

Status:Active

Formed in:2000

Genre:Atmospheric Black Metal

Lyrical themes:Melancholy, Mysticism, Occultism

Current label:Twilight Records

Fear of Eternity is an one man band raised in 2000. Andrea Tilenni is the only member and plays all instruments in this release. The first self-produced CD, "Toward the Castle", was created after a hard work during various years.
His music is a solitary project created after his experience with Sinoath (he was the drummer in the album "Research"), and he follows the same draw of other people ...

NausikaDalazBlindaz, December 7th, 2014

Increasingly there are black metal projects that, though faithful to the BM ethos and composing and playing songs or extended works with BM structural elements, nevertheless eschew guitars and drums, long considered the essential instruments for playing BM or indeed metal of any genre. One such act is Italy's Fear of Eternity whose sole member plays all instruments, all of them keyboards. "Toward the Castle" was the project's debut album released in 2005.

The atmosphere on the album is certainly very cold and airy in a dry sort of way, as though all the action here took place at night after snowfall has ceased and the winter night sky is clear with stars in the far distance twinkling away. The scenery is silent and serene, and everything is lit up by the stars and the moon, no matter whether it's a full moon night or not. Keyboards dominate in every track and what BM guitars (real or otherwise) may exist appear as back-up instruments only, thin and spidery in sound and texture. Percussion (as I guessed) is synthetic and determines the pace of the music for good and ill. The overall sound generally is clean but is thin.

The songs are not too bad but neither are they good: even though each track has plenty of melodies and riffing, somehow it all seems very tired and lacking in energy and emotion. A big part of the problem is the heavy reliance on synthetic percussion and rhythms: these aren't varied at all yet they drag the music along at the same pace all the way through each song and so sole band member Andrea Tilenni hardly has any time to develop any mood or feeling that may be inherent in the music. The songs end up very mechanical in the way they unfold. Even the sounds of the instruments sound one-dimensional and mechanical; Tilenni seems to have relied almost exclusively on synths and electronic keyboards to replicate the sounds of piano, harpsichord, organ, whatever, even though he could have dragged in a real piano or an organ (like a Hammond organ) into his studio if he wanted the tones of such instruments to grace his recordings. No matter how original melodies are or creative Tilenni tries to be, everything ends up sounding as if it has all been heard before on other people's recordings and done better as well.

As the album progresses, the limitations of relying almost exclusively on synth-based instrumentation become all too obvious: Tilenni is forced to rely on sound effects that might have been ripped off old TV shows or Hollywood movies and synthesised orchestral wash is brought in to provide drama and heighten whatever emotional intensity might have appeared in the current track or previous tracks. The album ends up perilously skirting a thin line between forced melodrama and kitsch. Whatever genuine coldness first existed disappears because everything now sounds very artificial and trite.

The crackling vocals are not bad and might be said to be the best aspect of FoE's style. However even these are quite limited - they are mostly spoken and convey little feeling so listeners are hard put to tell whether the vocalist feels any sadness or relief at passing from one realm of existence to another.

Unfortunately it's records like "Toward the Castle" that give non-guitar BM a black (erm) name. I would have thought that one idea behind removing guitars from their dominant role in black metal and substituting other instruments was to demonstrate that the spirit of black metal and its essential elements and themes could exist independently of particular instruments, not totally relying on guitars for their existence, and thus open the music and the worldview it espouses to other people who through no fault of their own don't have access to or are able to play electric guitars but do have access to other instruments and might want to play BM regardless. The result could have been very highly creative and original music that lifts BM far beyond its metal pinnings and makes it truly a genre independent of heavy metal. Here though, the substitution of synthesiser and electronic keyboards for guitars has resulted in an album of rather stale and unoriginal faux Gothic music.

krampus, July 10th, 2009

Please disregard any comparisons to Burzum or Xasthur that you may hear. "Toward The Castle," while technically atmospheric black metal, does not even remotely resemble either.

Fear of Eternity, a one man band from Italy, is all about keyboards on this album. Keyboards take the lead in every track on the album, and the unremarkable fuzzily distorted guitars (and occasional clean arpeggiating) are there simply to provide atmosphere and depth. There is no lead guitar on this album. The vocals are reptilian and chilly, also unremarkable, yet fitting to the instrumentation. Each song follows a formula: keyboard intro, relaxed tempo drum machine entrance, programmed bass, more keyboards for about a minute, and the guitar/vocals entrance. Production value is quite high yet clearly low-budget going by the variety (read: lack thereof) of organic keyboard sounds and cheap synthesized bass.

The general feel to "Toward The Castle" is rather neutral. The keyboards, programmed to sound like church bells, chimes, cellos, string ensembles, are jangly and often similar to the "gothic fantasy" side of video game background music composition. A layer of frost is added with guitars and vocals, but the listener's attention is almost always on the keyboard leads, which are in fact not so much "lead" as "more atmosphere." There are only two exceptions to this general rule. First is the first full song, "Flying Over The Mountains," which starts with an upbeat bass/drum machine/keyboard passage that could easily lead into a goth-inspired pop song. The second is the outro passage, "Illusion of Purity," an ambient instrumental that belongs in a video game.

Overall, I give "Toward The Castle" a 70/100. It was suggested to me by someone who compared Fear of Eternity to Vordven and Sorcier des Glaces, two frosty lo-fi atmospheric black metal bands of the late 1990s which used ambient keyboards rather liberally. While "Toward The Castle" is very pleasant and sometimes succeeds in the crafting of beautiful atmospheric soundscapes, it lacks the coldness and ferocity that the band logo, album art, and most importantly, songwriting, all try to convey.

DeviousDarren, December 12th, 2006

Fear of Eternity is a one-man project from Italy in the vein of BURZUM and XASTHUR. Fans of this type of Black Metal may describe it as minimalist, but the only aspect of this album that is minimal is the tone. “Toward the Castle” invokes feelings of only sadness and trepidation. Listeners will not hear this album and want to do cartwheels in a flowery field. Songs like “The Valley of Sadness,” “Crying,” and “Melancholy Rain” will never be heard on the John Tesh radio show.


Right from the beginning, FOE sets the tone with the album’s artwork, which depicts a ruinous ancient castle looming in the gloom of the gray, lightning-streaked sky. Because the castle is seen from the ground, its presence is much more fear inspiring. A closer look at the castle’s window will reveal a ghost-like figure. FOE sole member, Andrea Tilenna maintains the spirit of melancholy through his use of staggering vocal effects, layers of keyboards that hover around the speakers like a ghost at a séance, and frigid guitar ambiance.


The vocals are the most frightening element with one of the best Black Metal echoes this side of Mysticum. They sound like a shimmering spirit voicing a cryptic warning. The keyboards are of pure cinematic horror quality, and at times recall classic horror film scores like “Halloween” and “Phantasm.” . The repetitious bass line combined with the phantasmagoric keyboards is reminiscent of the first funeral scene in “Phantasm.” Because of the horror film score quality of the keyboards, many critics have compared FOE to Goblin.


FOE is another quality Black Metal act from America’s premier Black Metal label, Moribund records. Moribund’s target audience seems to be supporters of raw, blasphemous Black Metal. FOE fits into the minimalist and gothic brand of this genre for its simple notes and low-fi, yet palatable production. FOE can also be termed “Suicidal Black Metal,” and grouped with pro-death bands like Bethlehem. “Toward the Castle” is for all the melancholic souls; however, do not play this one right after leaving the behavioral health ward of the hospital.

JackOfAllBlades, December 14th, 2019

Ponderously paced and incredibly ill-conceived, Spirit of Sorrow is an album that tries to do very little and still manages to fail miserably. Its blend of plodding quarter-notes-only drumbeats, faux-anthemic power chords and a constant wash of keyboards is a clear indication that this is intended as atmospheric black metal á la Summoning; unfortunately, Fear of Eternity lacks both the songwriting chops and the clarity of purpose to make that style work.

In fact, it's not quite accurate to call this album 'metal'. Instrumentally, the songs never get any harder than your average hair band, and the appallingly bad vocals don't introduce intensity so much as they inspire nausea. The piano that appears on many tracks doesn't help much, either, considering the melodic and harmonic resemblance to the credits theme from a tragic slice-of-life anime. When one considers the melodramatic lyrics and junior-high-diary song titles on top of all these musical failings, it's hard to imagine filing it in the same section as Suicide Forest or even Lifelover. The real shame here is that the band could probably create some pretty convincing dungeon synth - all they'd need is to stop slapping on cheap drum machines, 80s guitars and choked screeches in an abortive attempt to make metal.

One modicum of credit that I'll definitely give Spirit of Sorrow is that, while it's bad, it's listenably bad. I've heard some albums so sincerely and completely god-awful that turning off my boombox was an act of self-preservation, but this wasn't one. In fact, I could imagine it being inoffensive (albeit entirely unengaging) background noise given the right context - if I had something else to occupy my mind, an album like this might be just the thing to underscore the activity without threatening to capture my attention. As it is, Fear of Eternity has offered little more than a samey, uninspired collection of keyboard licks with even less creative hard-rock instrumentals - perhaps not the worst record I've ever heard, but not one I'll ever care to return to.

DeviousDarren, December 12th, 2006

“Spirit of Sorrow” is the second Fear of Eternity album re-released through Moribund Records. The one-man, black metal group from Italy continues on the path of sorrow-laced ambience presented on “Toward the Castle.” The band’s identity has not changed; however, the production has knocked off the cryptic cobwebs of its predecessor. With a cleaner production, the keyboard passages create lush soundscapes, allowing the listener to further fall into “singers” fantastic, sonic realms.

Andrea Tilenni uses keyboards as the foundation for his music. The keyboards create the rhythm, tone, and pace, with the guitar being use primarily as a backdrop. “Atrocious Pain” is an example of Tilenni's effective use of keyboards to change the mood of each song. This track’s structure displays a common motif found throughout the album. It begins with happy synth and piano, similar to the soundtrack music on late ‘70s and early ‘80s After School Specials and PBS shows. This bright, hopeful tone is only a disguise to lull the listener into a false sense of happiness until Tilenni breaks down the bouncing beat to a nightmarish crawl.

It is easy to note Tilenni's affinity for soundtrack music, especially horror movies. The first track, “Staring at the Dark” begins with funeral, organ notes, which instantly recall the horror film classic “Phantasm.” Fear of Eternity’s bizarre ambiance is often compared to horror film score producers, Goblin. The creepiness contained in each song and the instruments he chooses make this comparison obvious.

Tilenni took a step further in the right direction by cleaning up his sound, but the vocals should have stayed the same. His vocals on “Toward the Castle” were much stronger by using a staggering, vocal echo. “Spirit of Sorrow” features gurgling, Merman-like vocals. Also, he should make the guitar stand out more. With the mournful themes he presented here, using his guitar for some doomier moments might just be the element needed to create the ultimate ode to gloom. Melancholiacs fear not, though, “Spirit of Sorrow” has enough sadness to keep you in despair’s grip for weeks!

nilgoun, May 12th, 2011

First things first: The opener I Walk Alone starts with a heavy usage of synthesizer sounds, which clearly states that they will keep the upper hand on the record, as melodies and most of the ambient sounds are filled with those sounds. The guitars, when they actually could be noticed, are playing the second fiddle and are just playing some rhythm riffs. The vocals are growled quite low and are combined with some effects as reverb and are therefore contrasting the high-pitched melodies.

The second song seems to start after a short break, as you can hear guitars playing a little melody, but you will soon notice a strangely familiar synthesizer melody. You could start to wonder what happened as you will realize that this is the same melody that was used in the first song, with the same orchestration and the same sound of the vocals. Reading the songtitle will provide the information, that you actually were right, but the typical problem of the one-man-band is attached to this record: Everything seems quite similiar. There are some minor changes from song to song, but nothing you will really notice.

Although this sounds quite back, I have to mention that this could well be a conceptual decission and the similiarity is therefore intentional. In addition to that, I have to say that the songs are nevertheless quite entertaining and they seem quite monolithic. You will have to decide on your own if a certain similiarity between songs is good or bad.

The structures of the songs are akin what enhances the feeling of similiarity though. They are very fluent and therefore really catchy but there is a lack of specials. The production is clear and the drums sound okay although they are programmed. The only flaw according the production are the vocals, as the many effects are somewhat disturbing from time to time.

Conclusion:

Light of the Night is an audible record, as long as you can stand the fact that the guitars are quite unimportant and the sound is dominated of synthesizer sounds. You could say, that the listening pleasure is dulled as there is a strong similiarity in the melodies from track to track, although every song seems to be indepentend somehow. You should take a look on the myspace page if you are interessted and listen to some songs.
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nilgoun / http://threnodies.com