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ExpiatoriA / Il Segno del Comando — Voci Notturne
(Black Widow BWR291, 2026, CD / LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2026-07-16

Voci Notturne Cover art

The genesis of Voci Notturne is as intriguing as the music itself. ExpiatoriA vocalist Davide Ciccarelli (aka Krieg) initiated the concept, a split release centered on the 90s Italian TV miniseries of the same name, and Il Segno del Comando immediately recognized the terrain, stepping in with their cinematic, occult, and deliberately mysterious sensibilities. The result is a seven-track collaboration that plays less like a traditional split and more like two parallel readings of the same shadowed narrative. ExpiatoriA — AngeleX (vocals), Massimo Malachina and Roberto Lucanato (guitars), GB Malachina (bass), and Enrico Meloni (drums) — takes the heavier road. Their three tracks are harsh, aggressive, and doom-laden, yet still threaded with enough melody to keep the material from collapsing under its own weight. There’s a blunt force here, a physicality that contrasts sharply with Il Segno del Comando’s more textural and atmospheric approach. As I’ve noted in my other Exposé reviews of Il Segno, their strength has always been in constructing mood through detail: measured pacing, evocative vocals, and a patient sense of build. That core identity remains intact on Voci Notturne, but it’s reframed. In direct comparison to Sublimazione Live, where the band leaned into immersive, almost ritualistic atmospheres, their performances here feel tighter, more immediate, and at times surprisingly aggressive. Tracks like “Il Crittogramma” even let hints of Goblin slip through, not as pastiche, but as lineage, adding urgency to their otherwise controlled presentation. What’s most compelling is how the collaboration subtly reshapes Il Segno without diluting them. The presence of ExpiatoriA pulls them out of the slow-burning sprawl of Sublimazione Live and into something more reactive, more engaged. ExpiatoriA pushes from below with weight and density; Il Segno responds with tension, texture, and cinematic clarity. I can’t speak to how closely this aligns with the original series, but it hardly matters. Voci Notturne stands on its own — cohesive, dynamic, and unexpectedly balanced.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Il Segno del Comando, Expiatoria

More info
http://expiatoria-official.bandcamp.com/album/voci-notturne

 

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