In most of my reviews, I typically state something like “if you like [insert band name], then you must definitely check this album/band out“. For the most part, I feel pretty good about those statements.
But never have I felt so vehemently bullish or confident about what I am about to say…
If you like Scotland’s Celtic black act Soar, you absolutely must check out Italy’s Duir, and their second album, Catarsi.
While Duir is Celtic for “oak”, the album, rather than about Celtic legends and lore, is actually about a soldier’s struggles during WWI. However, the music itself, especially when rendered with a pretty constant Hurdy-Gurdy and bagpipe presence, courtesy of Thomas Zonato, is where Soar fans will no doubt have their interest not just piqued, but shattered into smithereens.
The rangy 6 songs in 46 minutes don’t quite have the epic scale and scope of Soar, nor some of the cleaner moments and vocals, as Duir focuses far more on the more intense, galloping 6/8 tremolo-picked moments. However, there are still a few reflective, introspective slowdowns and mid-paced moments (i.e. start of “Del Giorno”).
It takes a couple of minutes for the Soar sound to jump out from the opener “Manifesto”, but when it does, the album never looks back as Zonato and cohorts deliver some top notch melodic/atmospheric black metal riffs and structures that have that Winterfylleth, Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch or recent Inherits the Void backbone, but the bagpipes and hurdy gurdy cement the Celtic tones with confidence and ease. The production is crisp and clean, and the vocals stay in a higher register rasp throughout.
As a concept album, it needs to be listened to as a whole, and while the songs sort of carry shifts in the concept and story, unless you understand Italian lyrics to follow along with our protagonist, you’d be hard-pressed to follow along musically. That said, I could at least fathom something coming to an end for the album closer “Oltre l’alba”.
But riff-wise, songs like “Di nessuno”, “Impeto” (which does have a little musical pathos), “Della Notte” (with its exquisite flute work), and the closer “Oltre l’alba” are all top-notch, enthralling songs that make for one of 2026’s better albums in the style.
