Scent of Darkness is a funeral doom metal project founded by Italian musician Gianluca, born from a deep fascination with the slowest, heaviest, and most emotionally devastating side of extreme music.
The project took shape as a personal and introspective journey, blending crushing riffs, desolate atmospheres, and a strong sense of melancholy. Drawing inspiration from the pioneers of the genre, Scent of Darkness explores themes of isolation, inner struggle, and existential darkness, translating them into immersive sonic landscapes.
In 2020, Scent of Darkness released its debut work, Insanitude, a record that introduced the project’s core sound: monolithic tempos, oppressive atmospheres, and a deeply emotional approach to composition. The release received positive feedback within the underground doom scene, gaining attention from listeners and niche media outlets for its sincerity and atmospheric depth.
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Music & Style
Scent of Darkness is rooted in traditional death/doom, characterized by:
Extremely slow tempos
Dense, layered guitar work
Minimalistic yet impactful arrangements
A focus on atmosphere over technicality
The music aims to create a meditative and immersive experience, where time feels suspended and emotion takes center stage.
Latest News
Scent of Darkness is currently working on a new instrumental EP, consisting of two tracks, scheduled for release in the coming months (expected by late May, if everything proceeds as planned).
This upcoming release marks a new step for the project, focusing entirely on instrumental expression. The EP aims to push further into atmospheric depth, emphasizing mood, texture, and emotional weight without the use of vocals.
The Interview
I hear that you have a new EP coming out, does it have a title yet? How far along is it, have you started recording anything yet?
Yes, the EP will be titled Memoria in Tenebris. It will be divided into two chapters: Bonae Memorie and Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat. The titles are in Latin — Memoria in Tenebris can be translated as ‘memory into darkness.’ Bonae Memorie is a tribute to the deceased and essentially means ‘Rest in Peace,’ while Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat translates to ‘All wound, the last one kills.’ It’s a Latin phrase that reflects how each passing hour brings us closer to death.
I’ve already recorded all the tracks, and we’re currently in the mixing and mastering stage.
The new EP is entirely instrumental. Is that a response to something, perhaps the weight of Insanitude’s autobiographical lyrics which I can imagine was very emotionally taxing to work on, the hiatus, or something else entirely?
It’s a deeply personal choice. With this new work, I felt the need to let my guitars speak where words would have fallen short. This EP was shaped during a profoundly difficult chapter of my life, marked by loss among friends and family. Out of that pain, I found the urge to return to the project and reshape it, giving it a new form and a renewed identity.
Insanitude was built around a very specific narrative arc: a protagonist descending through depression, abandonment, psychosis. But without lyrics, how do you carry emotional specificity? How do you stop it from becoming just atmosphere without meaning, when there are no lyrics?
That’s a beautiful question. In my writing, I tend to lean deeply into introspection, so I believe the instrumental tracks will still be able to convey what I want to express. At the same time, everyone will experience the music through their own perspective, as it should be. I’m confident in what I’ve created — and if anything, this feels like a new kind of challenge for me.
Insanitude was a different chapter, one where I told stories drawn from my life between the ages of 18 and 24. With this new EP, I’m exploring different atmospheres and themes that reflect where I am now, and that I hope will resonate in a different, yet equally meaningful way.
Two tracks, is that a deliberate formal constraint you decided on from the start or just where the material ended?
As I mentioned, this is a concept work in its own way. One track, Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat, explores the approach of death, while the other, Bonae Memoriae, is centered on remembrance — on honoring those who are gone. I conceived the project as a two-part narrative, because for what I wanted to express, nothing more was needed.
Will the EP have a conceptual framework, or is this a more abstract, purely sonic release?
Yes — as I mentioned before, introspection lies at the core of my writing. There’s always a part of me in everything I create. I’ve woven in orchestral interludes, slower passages, and more aggressive sections. So while the work is purely sonic on the surface, it carries a deeper emotional thread — I tried to build moments of connection with the listener, shaping each piece as a kind of journey to be experienced from within.
Is there anything else you would like to share about the upcoming release?
Yes, this will be a truly important work for me. What I’ve been through made me understand how painful it is to lose someone, and how hard it is to keep going while carrying the memory of a loved one. There were many moments in my life when I thought of “giving up,” but witnessing the loss of someone important shows you the depth of suffering it would cause to those who care about you. That’s why I hope this EP conveys the weight of that pain, yet at the same time encourages a greater appreciation for life itself.#
The Hiatus & Return
In June 2023 you announced the end of Scent of Darkness on Facebook, according to The Metal Archives. What brought you to that decision and what caused you to change your mind?
In June 2023, I had lost motivation. I thought I wanted to explore other musical directions and step away from Death Doom, and therefore from Scent of Darkness. I simply felt disconnected. But, as I mentioned, what I experienced over the past year inspired me to write new material. I believe this material is strong and meaningful enough to bring the project back to life and move it forward.
I found another release of Insanitude on Bandcamp, under Nero Corvino. What is the story behind that?
The first version of Insanitude was released by the label Masked Dead Records as a limited minidisc edition of only 25 copies. Later, Nero Corvino approached me with the idea of a CD reissue, and I accepted immediately, as so many people hadn’t been able to get the original limited edition.
Since Insanitude
A previous interview mentioned a split with Eurynome, did that happen?
Yes, that’s true. They’re great friends of mine, and I consider them the best band in the Italian funeral doom scene. We had planned the split, but I ended up pausing the project. Now we’ve revisited the idea, and I think this release will eventually see the light of day — haha.
Lorenzo Telve is no longer listed as part of the project. What happened there?
Nothing in particular, Lorenzo is a great friend, and there was absolutely no conflict between us. In fact, quite the opposite. For this new EP, I simply decided to let myself do all the speaking. As for the future, we’ll see.
The Physical Release & Wooden Box
The wooden box edition of Insanitude is one of the most visually striking, and quite frankly beautiful pieces of physical media I’ve ever seen. It was limited to 25 copies, handcrafted by Jacopo Marinelli of Eurynome, laser-engraved with the band logo, hand-numbered, each one unique. For a debut EP from an underground project, that’s an unusual level of investment in the physical object. What was the thinking behind it?
For the reissue, we wanted to create a special box set that included the CD, a signature string set, and a pin. It was a gift from Jacopo, and as I mentioned, we share a wonderful friendship. I also have a special connection with nature. My logo, designed by the artist Kre Fenrir Art, reflects that bond. The idea of a wooden box, resembling a tree trunk, felt like the perfect way to embody that connection.
There’s also a Scent of Darkness signature guitar string set. How did that come about?
For many years, Skull Strings have always been a part of my setup — they’re an incredible company. In 2020, I had the privilege of becoming an endorser for the brand, and from there, we decided to create a custom signature string set.
Do you think about the physical format as part of the artistic statement… not just packaging, but an extension of the work itself?
Absolutely. It’s wonderful for people to have something special. When listeners connect with your music, offering them a physical format with a striking cover, or a thoughtful set like the wooden box — is an incredible way to show gratitude and create a deeper connection.
Can we expect a similarly epic physical release for the upcoming EP?
At the moment, due to external factors, I can’t reveal too much — haha. But I’ll give you a little spoiler: yes, there will be a physical edition released with a label. I hope to share more details soon!
Diving Deep Into the Concept and Lyrics of Insanitude
I noticed that the Spotify cover art is different than the one on Bandcamp. What is the reason for that?
I wanted to give the album a different “look.” I created the original cover myself. The figure reflected in the mirror was me, a few years ago. For the reissue, I used a painting by Edvard Munch, my favorite artist. Love and Pain depicts the artist attempting to approach the woman he loves, unaware that she is actually a vampire, ready to feed on his blood. That’s what Insanitude is about — a person trying to live, yet feeling defeated by life due to all the harsh experiences they’ve endured.
I read a previous interview with you where you describe the personal nature of the album in some detail. Before we dive into the lyrics, can you give me the whole concept from your point of view?
It was a journey, though the reality is much simpler than it might seem. I went through certain moments in my life, and in a way, Insanitude became like a logbook of my days, my thoughts, and everything that was going through my mind during those years.
You’ve described that you want listeners to approach the album subjectively and draw their own conclusions, which is a respectable view to take as an artist, in my opinion. I certainly did just that and to some extent the bleak and vivid sonic pictures you paint resonated deeply with my own mental struggles in the past. Have you heard other people’s interpretation of your work, and how accurately (for a lack of a better word) do they map onto your own subjective experience?
Yes, after the release of Insanitude, and especially Reborn, many people reached out to tell me that the album had given them something powerful. You can’t imagine how happy that made me. When an artist not only manages to convey their own emotions but also creates a connection with the listener, a true bond is formed — and that bond is magical, pure. So yes, many people shared their perspectives with me, and for many, the experience mirrored my own feelings while creating the tracks. I’m glad to hear it spoke to you as well!
Reborn opens with “Night is coming, my identity is lost / lost in my thoughts, that already came to nothing.” To what extent is that metaphorical and to what extent does it describe a state of clinical dissociation? How close to the actual psychological experience was that line when you wrote it?
Yes, the night is often the hardest time when you’re struggling. It’s that exact moment when darkness falls, you’re about to go to bed, and your body enters a vulnerable state. You think about life, stare at the wall, and your thoughts weigh heavily on you. In those moments, you feel empty, lost among the shadows of the night, and then you close your eyes.
The refrain in Reborn, “I will be born again and defeat my monster” is the most overtly defiant moment on the entire EP. But you placed it at the beginning of the EP, not the end. The record gets darker from there. Was that deliberate, putting the resistance first and then turning it into a deeper and more profound struggle?
Yes, Reborn is a track that encourages fighting against depression. As you may have noticed, by the end of the EP, it’s unclear whether the character has succumbed to life or somehow been reborn. I wanted the listener to have the freedom to interpret it — arriving at Whispers From Nowhere, they might feel it’s over, or they could listen again from Reborn and experience a sense of struggle and reclaiming their life.
Trust Issues is the most outward-facing track. The first three tracks on Insanitude describe internal states, but Trust Issues is directed at specific people: “every stab in my back,” “psycho bitches spoiled me too much.” To me it was definitely intriguing to see an artist write like that in a genre that focuses mostly on melancholic introspection. How did it feel to write that kind of direct accusation into a funeral doom record?
Trust Issues” represents our character’s loss of trust in humanity. It can be associated with bullying or discrimination in general. Those lines shout anger — a sense of being constantly stabbed in the back, of people talking behind your back. The track carries depressive black themes, even in its stylistic choices. So I decided not to censor myself and to use words that fully convey that feeling of needing to vent.
There’s a moment in Trust Issues where the lyric shifts into second person, or at least are explicitly directed outward: “hear my dying breath / smell my rotten soul / taste my dried blood / touch my cold corpse.” It reads like you’re handing your imagined death to someone and making them witness it. Who were you addressing?
As I mentioned, it’s a vent. You know that moment when you think, “When I’m gone and people feel the pain, they’ll understand the weight of losing me”? That’s the thought behind those lines.
Trust Issues repeats the line “I am not surrender”, grammatically interesting, which makes it feel raw and urgent. What is the meaning behind that line?
That line, toward the end of the track, acts like an adrenaline rush to keep fighting. It means: “Despite everything, I will not surrender.” There have been many moments in my life when I felt lost in deep despair, and other moments when I tried to push back with determination. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, and in that instant, you grasp at anything with all your strength just to keep from falling.
The word My is capitalized in the lyrics. Does that choice convey any specific meaning?
You’re really observant, thank you — haha. Yes, it was intentional. It’s a sign of anger, a desire to be heard, a demand for attention.
Crowded Solitude contains what I think is the most devastating line on the EP: “I need you, death.” Not put forth as a metaphor in the traditional sense, not dressed up, just sounds like a direct address. How did you decide to put that into the record and how does it relate to your own experience ?
“Crowded Solitude” and Whispers From Nowhere explore psychosis — the experience of hearing voices in your own head. The protagonist is pushed to the limits of their strength, trying to communicate with God, asking, “Do you think there’s no God ready to save me?” At that point, “I need you, death” emerges as a sense of release, a moment of liberation.
There’s a contradiction running through Crowded Solitude that feels central to the whole EP: “let me slip away / beyond the void” immediately followed by “do not forget me.” Wanting to vanish and needing to be remembered at the same time. It is a fascinating contradiction, what is it born from?
Exactly. As the track progresses, the protagonist feels increasingly weak. They want to let go, yet hope to be remembered by someone. Compared to Trust Issues, where anger emerges at the end, in Crowded Solitude resignation takes over. But, as you may have noticed, the need to be remembered, the search for attention, is meant to make the protagonist feel important in this story. They don’t want to die in solitude, they hope and long to matter to someone.
Toward the end of Crowded Solitude are the lines “His every error will be paid / with my innocent blood.” That shift to third person is sudden and jarring. Who is “he”? A specific person, a figure of authority, God?
Yes, it’s a delirium. As I mentioned, the protagonist hears voices in their head and seeks a connection with God. They feel like a martyr — their death, their blood, will be the sacrifice that helps God forgive humanity’s mistakes. In this track, I didn’t only explore my own thoughts and personal experiences; I also delved into the common thoughts of someone gripped by delusions and paranoia.
Whispers From Nowhere was described in your 2021 interview as an epilogue, kind of like the protagonist telling his imaginary friends the end of the story. But the lyric “I am an angel with fallen wings / humanity has my name / I only have death” feels less like an ending and more like complete dissolution of self. Does that mean the character in the track is not going to recover?
Yes, here too. As I mentioned earlier when we talked about Reborn — I left the interpretation open to the listener. In Whispers From Nowhere, which connects directly to Crowded Solitude, the protagonist feels at the end of their days, seeing resignation as the only path forward. It’s a dissolution of the self, exactly, I couldn’t describe it any better. Yet at no point is the true ending, the actual epilogue of the story, revealed.
Across the four tracks there’s a shift in who the lyrics address, Reborn speaks to the self (“soul of mine”), Trust Issues to specific people who caused harm, Crowded Solitude to death and to God, Whispers From Nowhere to imaginary figures and demons. It reads like a progressive loss of coherent audience, the protagonist’s grip on who he’s even talking to dissolves. Was that arc mapped out from the beginning?
These are all thoughts flowing through our protagonist’s mind, spread across moments of a single day or even different days. The urge to fight depression, the struggle to connect and feel part of the world. Moments of delirium and psychosis that push them to lose all grasp on reality. It’s hard to put into words, but often we experience different phases even within the same day, so many thoughts, fragmented and disconnected. This is Insanitude. A human concept, not bound to a strict narrative, but reaching out to the listener, striving to be honest and true.
You said in 2021 that writing the lyrics felt like “talking to myself in the mirror.” But the cover art depicts a figure seeing a distorted, suicidal reflection in a mirror. So the mirror isn’t showing the truth, it’s showing something altered. What was the mirror showing you when you wrote these lyrics?
At that time, I watched the horror film The Others for the first time. There are repeated scenes where the characters look into a mirror, only to realize they themselves are the ghosts. That inspired the cover. The gesture of miming a gun with your fingers feels almost childlike, and I think, in the end, Insanitude is partly that. As I’ve mentioned in this interview, the “search for attention” is no coincidence. On one hand, the protagonist wants to die; on the other, they are screaming with the last of their strength, hoping someone might help them or give them a reason to feel alive again. So we return to the same question: is the protagonist truly gone, or does the gesture in the mirror remain merely an ideological intention? You can interpret it however you wish.
Reflection
The experiences on the record are described as your past. But the project being revived, a new EP coming… are you still drawing from the same emotional territory, or has the source material changed?
As it should be, I’ve grown a lot over the years. As I said, Insanitude reflects phases and thoughts I had from ages 18 to 24, as well as the experiences of others who went through similar — or even far harsher — situations than I did. Psychologically, I feel better now, stronger in so many ways. I’ve also changed the way I structure my songs, and the next work will feature different approaches, though it won’t completely depart from what I did in Insanitude. I would even say it will be a more mature offering, especially from a musical standpoint.
Five years on do you listen to Insanitude still? Can you? I can imagine it was a very emotional journey but I sincerely hope that it gave You some closure or catharsis.
There were times when I hated listening to it not because it hurt me psychologically, but because I considered those phases immature. At least, that’s how I see it now. That was also part of why I chose to close the Scent of Darkness project. I have to admit, though, that over the past year I’ve listened to it a few times and realized that not everything is bad — haha. I’m very self-critical.
A full-length was a stated goal in 2021. Is it still?
Let’s say that now I’ve decided to take the Scent of Darkness project back into my hands, and I have no intention of stopping. Memoria in Tenebris will be just a new beginning of a new path. As we discussed, I plan to pick up where we left off with the guys from the Eurynome project, and surely, sooner or later, a full-length will arrive as well.
Thank you for the interview, Gianluca. It’s been a real pleasure. I encourage all readers to go check out this project and follow him on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.
