From the moment of my birth I was the focus for your anger, your disappointment and your bitterness. You have broken me, time and again, reforming me in some warped imitation of who I should have been. When the sweetness of love should have sustained me, you fed me ashes and grief, sickness and tears. When you should have lifted me up, set me back on my unsteady feet, you knocked me down, grinding my face into the dirt, choking me on shame and failure. You have been gone for many years now, to whatever afterlife awaits those who tear down the dreams of children. But your ghost still follows me, whispering its cruel deceits, isolating and undermining me. You have taken the keys to my prison with you into eternity, leaving me locked away in darkness…
Following in the majestic wake of “Severed Ties”, Giovanni Antonio Vigliotti now unveils the next chapter in a tightly bound series of singles from his doom creation, Somnent. With “The Feeding Hand”, Giovanni has stepped once more into the shadows, the hidden world of hurt behind locked doors where pain is handed down the generations like a toxic gift, wrapped in secrets. Whilst undeniably, achingly beautiful “The Feeding Hand” sails upon an undercurrent of tension; the rich melodies seem to walk a tremulous line, teetering on the edge of dissonance and the slow grinding riffs carry the wearisome weight of years, the unending small cuts of cruelty that are cumulatively exhausting and destructive. Climbing and subsiding as it progresses, “The Feeding Hand” is one of the most powerful songs ever to emerge from the dark, creative pool of Somnent. Giovanni’s dual vocal performance is remarkable, carrying such weight in its deeply growled exhortations and rising to some wonderful emotive peaks. The guitar solo, co-written and performed by Julian Lefler, which climbs from a morass of despair and sadness, is another beautiful, grief laden moment in this accumulation of deft contrasts, subtle intricacies and challenging, thought provoking atmosphere. Somnent are fast becoming a byword for the most magnificent, captivating and haunting doom metal, of breathtaking quality.
Blessed with a sound palette that brings out every magical element of its sonic tapestry, “The Feeding Hand” is a song that will give up more of itself with each successive listen. When it steps solemnly into the world on September 6th, brave the cowl of darkness that hangs so heavily upon its shoulders and venture beyond to uncover the treasures that hide within.
Studio line-up:
Giovanni Antonio Vigliotti – All Music and Vocals
*Guitar solo co-written and performed by Julian Lefle
Live line-up:
Giovanni Antonio Vigliotti – Guitar/Vocals
Julian Lefler – Guitar
Shane Dohmen – Bass
Drums – Alejandro Acuña
