This is the Italian sextet's fifth full length which sees them on fine form, with their brand of melodic black metal and a touch of gothic flamboyancy.

The thing that instantly jumps out about Graveworm's sound is how the keyboards are an integral part of their sound, rather than just a bit atmosphere in the background now and then. The keyboard lines are often innovative, as in the track Timeless, at times catchy, and always interesting, though there are occasions when it backfires and gives more of a kid-on-a-Casio sound like in Outside Down. At times they are in danger of saturating the rest of the band's sound in the dense slabs of synths, though fortunately for the majority of songs here they get the balance between melody and brutality just right.

In fact, this is very balanced album with simple grooving riffs, tied together with complex and mature song writing. Most of the songs develop in a way that is genuinely interesting, with compositions that take the listener somewhere you didn't expect to go when the song first started: a prime example being the opening track, The Machine which kicks things off with a basic head-banging riff, briefly into a jolly folk metal-style groove, before expanding into full gothic elegance. At times the more mid-paced moments walk a fine line between epic beauty and plodding along slowly, but when they've been doing the full-speed black metal thing only a few minutes before, its hard to falter such variety. This policy of variety is reflected in the excellent vocals of Stefan Fiori which switch between high-pitched throaty screams, to deep growls, sometimes within the same line.

Atmospheric instrumental tracks like Deep Inside can sometimes seem like a bit of filler, but here just about all the clichéd gothic sound effects you could think of - screams, an owl, creeky floor boards, you name it! - are built up in layers into a fine track. We do have a contender for the 'filler track' title, however. If Graveworm thought they could credibly cover the REM hit Losing My Religion, they were wrong. Its inclusion as a bonus track is not really such a "bonus", and ends things rather unsatisfying.

Perhaps (N)Utopia isn't quite as perfect as the title suggests, but it is pretty good. It's not exactly re-writing the rulebook, but the diversity of influences and sounds will offer something to satisfy most metal customers - including those who may not usually consider themselves a fan of black metal, such as myself. The high quality of the highlight tracks here make it worth seeking out.

Standout Tracks:  The Machine, Hateful Design, MCMXCII.

Overall Score:   7 /10