All My Faith Lost - Gothic suggestions from Italy

It's 1996 when Black Tape For A Blue Girl crown, with the treatise “Remnants Of A Deeper Purity”, an entire career built around a gothic-orchestral transposition of the work of the 4AD standard-bearers (Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil), coining a standard that would become the true focal point around which, from then on, the very definition of dark-wave would revolve. The latter, until then indissolubly tied to the output of the bands mentioned above, to that of their direct disciples (Lycia, Love Spirals Downwards, Trance To The Sun), as well as to early inspirers such as Bauhaus and Death In June, from that moment absorbs the legacy of a movement that, starting from these foundations in an always indissoluble way, would go on to follow the path traced by Rosenthal, built around gothic-flavored arrangements based on strings, at times even bordering on folk, at other times pervaded by an almost ambient quality, where the term “dark” no longer stands as a synonym for gloomy, pounding atmospheres (those born with Joy Division and carried on through the post-punk movement), but rather for languid, warm, boundless expanses, at times even ethereal. What remains of dark are the origin, the fixed point of reference and the nostalgia-driven evolutionary path, but the “new dark-wave” has a gothic starting matrix from which it departs to reach the most varied territories, becoming now folk, now neoclassical, now baroque, now rich with medieval vocal trills, now ethereal again or even industrial: darkness in concept and soul, new paths in sound and aesthetics. The first leading exponents of this new strand would be the Swedish Arcana, the Arcanta project, the later Attrition, Unto Ashes, and two Italian bands, Spiritual Front and, above all, All My Faith Lost.

All My Faith Lost were born from the meeting between Federico Salvador (guitars and keyboards) and Francis Gri (also a guitarist), who officially formed the band in 1999, adding to the instrumentation the voices and flutes of Viola Roccagli and Raffaella Missio. The two founders' interests focused in particular on the ancient madrigals of medieval music: their first efforts were explorations of these themes, not far in results from those of Dead Can Dance on "Aion". Afterwards, the two began developing proper concepts, leading to the composition of several tracks that initially remained unreleased, before being published on various compilations tied to magazines and independent labels. Then, in 2001, came their first demo, titled Hollow Hills: a hybrid between the medieval madrigals of their early days and what would become the signature style of the future duo's debut album, namely a delicate, acoustic gothic-folk, free of the overflowing orchestral arrangements (though not of the orchestra itself, which nonetheless almost always plays a supporting role) favored by many of their contemporaries, but instead marked by a sonic purity learned from an in-depth study of the Rosenthal lessons and by a distinctive melodic-atmospheric clarity.

In this first fruit of the group, however, Gri's personality comes through strongly, leaning more toward ambient sonorities, in contrast with Salvador's gothic spirit.

A year later, following the departure of Missio and, above all, of Gri (who would go on to found two hugely important solo projects almost entirely outside the dark scene, Apart and Reveglow), Salvador and Roccagli, now left on their own, produced the work that began life as the band's second demo, titled In A Sea, In A Lake, In A River… Or In A Teardrop, and which marks the definitive starting point toward the intimate, acoustic path that would characterize their debut. The album, later released by the independent label Sin Organisation in a limited edition of just 300 copies, thus effectively became their first album in all but name, and features seven tracks linked by a central theme (already hinted at in the title): water. Standing out in particular are "Gwarageth Anoon", a direct descendant partly of Black Tape (the similarity to the title track of Remnants Of A Deeper Purity is striking), and partly of Love Spirals Downwards, with Roccagli's voice and Salvador's guitar in perfect symbiosis, framed by a synthetic-orchestral backdrop; the sweet, gentle "Anja", where the two voices seem almost to be swallowed up by the sublime chamber-music landscape of guitar, violin and flute; and "The Fideal", a folk ballad with a Nordic flavor, once again built around an arpeggiated guitar accompanying Roccagli's voice alone, alternating with a flute.

In A Sea, In A Lake, In A River… Or In A Teardrop, also in light of what would come later in their career, can effectively be considered All My Faith Lost's first album, even if it still feels like a sketch of the ideas that would go on to define their next two works. The courage shown by the duo lies in offering, in Italy, music with very few precedents (the only significant one, perhaps, being Ataraxia, who in any case started out as a chamber ensemble, thus with a classical bent): a far from easy venture, one that another Italian act, Spiritual Front, embarked on at the same time, though leaning more toward the industrial-folk side à la Death In June.

Two gambles whose boldness would be rewarded with a shared result: a place on the roster of Cold Meat Industry, the Swedish label at the forefront of dark and industrial production, alongside the American Projekt, run by the aforementioned Sam Rosenthal. Meanwhile, the two began working on material for their first proper album, conceived as a tribute (with adapted lyrics) to James Joyce; after being refused permission by Joyce's estate to use his writings, Salvador and Roccagli focused instead on the musical side, evolving the formula already laid out in their earlier work until they arrived at a style unique of its kind, which would be unveiled on their Cold Meat Industry debut, As You're Vanishing In Silence (2005), the fruit of a full four years of work.

Having completely abandoned their medieval explorations, the duo brought out a reflective, meditative mix of Death In June's apocalyptic folk, the aforementioned Black Tape For A Blue Girl style, and the ethereal dream sound of Love Spirals Downwards, all set amid delicate ambient brushstrokes reminiscent of Arcana. An intimate, personal album, more subdued in tone than its predecessors, built around a dark heart, yet often so evolved as to distance itself from it quite drastically.

The opening of "Come Close My Love", with a piano laying out the melody accompanied by Roccagli's whispers, serves as the introduction that leads into "Your Silent Tears", where it's Salvador's turn to lend a hushed voice, cradled by strings, guitar and piano in a truly visionary, melancholic gem of pure chamber gothic. The following "Rain Has Fallen All The Day" leads back once again to the ethereal descents of Arcana and Love Spirals Downwards, with Roccagli and her crystalline voice taking center stage. "She Came To Me" is once more a decadent acoustic piano-and-voice ballad, giving way to the grandiloquent gothic-folk duet between the two on "At That Hour", where echoes of a distant land resound, along with hints of Sam Rosenthal's "deepest purity".

"Triste Quiete", the only track sung by Roccagli in Italian, instead reconnects with more typically "ancient" sonorities and breaks the ecstatic balance of the preceding tracks. "All Day I Hear Your Voice" once again plows through dreamlike, evocative scenery, carrying the listener toward a distant universe, before "Disclose Your Eyes" returns to more conventional shores: perhaps the only true "song" on the record, with Salvador's voice this time a little less prominent, but with a tear-jerking piano accompaniment. His guitar arpeggios take center stage instead on "Sleep Now", while the ambient-folk watercolor of "Autumn" precedes the closing "Silent Lady", once again an ethereal, nostalgic acoustic digression that closes the album with a tear or two on one's face.

With As You're Vanishing In Silence, All My Faith Lost crafted a sound entirely their own, at times quite far removed from that of most of their contemporaries, establishing themselves as one of the most significant presences on the dark-wave scene. Consistent in their approach with the typical traits of the genre, yet able to give it a thoroughly personal interpretation built on acoustic, floating, understated arrangements, the Italians are defined by the predominance of emotion over theory, of spontaneity over studied research: a quality that makes As You're Vanishing In Silence one of the most intimate and touching albums of the entire movement.

Having by now broken through internationally, Salvador and Roccagli, after their first live shows in Italy and abroad throughout 2006, forged a second, crucial partnership: with Sam Rosenthal's Projekt, which allowed them to become known overseas as well, completing their transformation from a bold Italian experiment into leading figures of the international scene, following in the footsteps of their predecessors Ataraxia. And it was precisely through this "joint venture" between Projekt and Cold Meat Industry that, in 2007, the duo's second record saw the light of day. The Hours is the definitive confirmation of All My Faith Lost: continuing in the same direction as the previous record, The Hours deepens its melancholic tones and melodic sweetness, stripping away most of the dreamy landscapes in favor of developing the more overtly gothic side of the duo's music. Once again performed on almost entirely acoustic instrumentation, the album features arrangements that are decidedly more developed than the sober intimacy of As You're Vanishing In Silence, letting the Black Tape For A Blue Girl influence — one of the foundations of their sound — take over almost completely this time.

The folk ballad "Angelike" opens the record, showing sonic continuity with its predecessor, with Roccagli's voice accompanied by acoustic guitar in its bruised languor. "Notti Bianche" instead leaves room for a violin to float freely and saturate the air, alongside the "usual" guitar and the two voices. "The Waves" is another dark evocation, coming extremely close to Black Tape's "As One Aflame Laid Bare By Desire", with Roccagli able to shift from portraitist of arcane dreams to sculptor of weighty marble. "Ocean Sea", meanwhile, blankets its dreamlike gothic landscape with a languid ambient haze, graced by yet another symbiotic vocal duet. "Presagio Triste" is a damp, faded canvas of memories steeped in regret, where slow piano notes seem to engulf Roccagli's voice until it finally surrenders and is completely submerged.

The violin-driven catharsis of "House Of Incest" is another towering peak, able to stir real emotion with its piercing, shoegaze-tinged lament, not far removed from the drift of latter-day Lycia, nor from the slow, polished excursions between the romantic and the decadent of Slowdive. With "Absence", the album returns instead (the only such moment on the record) to a mood of ancient echoes, somewhere between Dead Can Dance and Unto Ashes: Salvador's singing, cast here as a minstrel, drops down until it melts into the light guitar lines, in a timeless, arcane watercolor. "Ivory" plants itself firmly back in Black Tape territory: the most gothic and forceful track on the whole album feels, in every respect, like a stylistic take on "Remnants Of A Deeper Purity", while "An Early Fright" returns once more to harmonic folk echoes, before giving way to "Luminal", a piano-and-voice duet not far from a song form rather alien to the duo's usual clichés. In the closing "Amado Mio", Salvador's spoken-word passage in Sardinian dialect — a decisive touch lending an even deeper gothic-archaic tone — carries the album's most "theatrical" piece before giving way to a fresh expanse of strings, which flows with dark slowness until it dissolves.

The Hours definitively established All My Faith Lost as Italy's foremost names in the dark-wave field: it is a new manifesto of sublime sonic beauty and enormous personality, undiminished by the decision to evolve by further deepening the gothic side of their sound. And it is here that the difference with its predecessor lies: where the first album was bare, intimate and almost minimal, the second is full, lush and grandiloquent, thanks in particular to the extensive use of strings, an element that gives the duo's ecstatic ballads an almost orchestral quality, much more in line with the style of the very standard-bearers they had moved away from on their first record (Arcana above all). All this without sacrificing the melodic grace that has been central to their sound since the beginning, found on The Hours in its long ambient digressions rather than in the delicate, folk-flavored arpeggios that characterized the previous record. While showing no drastic change between them (something that, frankly, was neither needed nor missed), the duo's first three works stand on equal footing within a circle of excellence, with no trace of any dip in quality or loss of personality.

Two years later, after performing a number of concerts, many of them overseas, All My Faith Lost returned with the EP Decade to celebrate ten years since their formation, an occasion also marked by the reissue of their first album, In A Sea, In A Lake, In A River… Or In A Teardrop. Across a good half hour of music, the duo this time seem to want to further develop the ethereal side of their journey, albeit with a very pronounced dark imprint, in contrast to what happened with the gothic leanings of The Hours. The result is graceful gems like "Drowning" and "Damnation", where the undisputed star is Roccagli's voice, accompanied by delicate guitar arpeggios and quiet piano phrasing; markedly minimal, melancholic pieces such as "Angelike Pt. II", "Apart" and "Land's End"; openings onto boundless, infinite spaces in the Arcana-like expanses of "Still" and "Caligo"; and finally, for the first time, entirely instrumental interludes steeped in mystical evocation ("Angelike Pt. III" and "Ancora").

Decade is a small gem, crowning ten years of a career that began with the bold pursuit of a dream — that of bringing to Italy too the splendor of a musical movement in constant growth and reach — and that culminated in the duo becoming one of its most influential and important figures.

Awaiting the continuation of a career presumably still far from over, in the first 10 years of their history All My Faith Lost managed, with stubborn determination and personality, to establish themselves quickly and indelibly on the dark-wave scene, forging a personal and still-relevant take on the genre, and, alongside their contemporaries Spiritual Front, to walk the full length of the path previously blazed by Ataraxia, as well as launching in Italy a genre that had until then been overlooked, later taken up by several figures on the Italian indie scene and beyond (most notably Atrium Animae). A story that began amid hardship and hope, and ended with the most classic of happy endings, still very likely able, if not to astonish, then at least to move you.

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