Ponte Del Diavolo Take Stock of Their Crackerjack Catalog, Album by Album
Aren’t yet acquainted with doomy troupe Ponte del Diavolo, which also incorporates black metal and post-punk into a distinct witches’ brew they’ve dubbed “blackened post-punk hell”? For shame! The quintet – which hails from Turin, Italy – have already made their mark since forming in 2020, thanks to two long-players and three EPs. And their growth spurt shows no signs of letting up, either.
Ponte del Diavolo cranked out their latest LP, De Venom Natura, in February through the esteemed Season of Mist. The effort – which features “Every Tongue Has Its Thorns,” “Lunga vita alla necrosi,” “Spirit, Blood, Poison, Ferment!” and even a cover of Bauhaus'”In the Flat Field” among its seven songs is continuing to win over metalheads drawn to bands that break just about every metal convention.
Featuring vocalist Erba del Diavolo, bassists Khrura Abro and Kratom, guitarist Nerium and drummer Segale Cornuta, the wildly adventurous De Venom Natura captures the band going where few metal musicians have dared go before. In the band’s own words, they say LP number two is “an alchemical meditation on the poisons of nature – seductive, transformative and deadly.”
As with any band that lives to explore uncharted territory, we hit up Ponte del Diavolo to find out how their development as a band led to the audaciously ambitious record of theirs that just dropped. In a Bad Penny exclusive, the quintet graciously broke down each of their releases with descriptions that elucidate how they became the band that they are today.
Mystery of Mystery (2020 – EP – Self-Produced)
This is the band’s very first production and was conceived as the first part of a trilogy of EPs. It was recorded at the Dracma rehearsal rooms in Turin in a live take just a few days before the COVID lockdown. It’s a very raw and instinctive work, but it generated considerable interest in the underground scene. The main characteristic of the sound is an alternation between doom and raw black metal. During this period, due to the global pandemic, we were never able to perform live so we kept focusing on composing new songs.
Sancta Menstruis (2022 – EP – Self-Produced)
This is the second chapter of the trilogy and also the first album recorded in a real studio, at Deepest Sea Studio with Danilo Battocchio (who would become our sound engineer for live performances as well). Here, post-punk influences begin to emerge instrumentally, along with the first song sung in Italian, “Un bacio a mezzanotte,” which would later become a live classic.
Ave Scintilla! (2022 – EP – Self-Produced)
The third and final EP of the trilogy and perhaps the most extreme of the three. The tracks start to become more structured compared to the early works and with a stronger identity. This is the last release featuring Laurus on second bass. After this EP’s release, the number of live performances also began to increase along with the following.
Fire Blades from the Tomb (2024 – LP – Season of Mist)
This is the first proper full-length album and also the first record that marked the beginning of our collaboration with Season of Mist. It was also recorded in Turin at Deepest Sea Studio and mixed in Greece by Dimitris Douvras (Rotting Christ, Hail Spirit Noir). There was much more attention to production and sound, while maintaining the raw component. The compositions also become somewhat more complex, with greater sonic experimentation, Also the album features some guests collaborating on the tracks. The record’s promotion was an incredible and exciting time that saw Kratom join on second bass and took us to perform throughout Europe.
TRE – EP Collection (2024 – LP – Time To Kill)
After the release of Fire Blades from the Tomb, we noticed that our first three EPs were circulating in the used market, even in pirated versions, at outrageous prices. Originally we made very few copies of the EPs and now we don’t have any left for keepsakes of our own. We therefore decided to collect them all into a single remastered release and distribute it through Time To Kill.
De Venom Natura (2026 – LP – Season of Mist)
The path traced by our releases has finally brought us to the present day and the second full-length for Season of Mist. This album is the result of 2 intense years of on the road promotion where we were able to mature as individuals and as a band. It’s also the first album featuring Kratom’s collaboration in composing the tracks. It’s a direct and visceral work with many experimentations and several guests that make the atmosphere of the songs even more distinctive.
Recorded once again at Deepest Sea Studio with Danilo Battocchio and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna). Together with Danilo we worked to maintain an authentic sound that better highlighted the presence of the two basses. A special mention definitely goes to the cover art by Francesco Dossena, one of the artists of the historic comic book Dylan Dog, who perfectly captured the feeling of our music with his art.
For more on Ponte del Diavolo, head over to their Bandcamp account and Season of Mist page.
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