Sultry, spectral and draped in darkness, Venamoris are a fascinating enigma. On the one hand you have Dave Lombardo, the legendary drummer who helped propel Reign In Blood to everlasting infamy, and who has since collaborated with everyone from Mike Patton and Ice-T to avant-jazz legend John Zorn. On the other is Paula Lombardo, a talented singer and pianist who, prior to the band’s 2023 debut, had essentially given up on music.
She’d left a successful backing gig with legendary Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton to pursue her own work in Nashville, only to be broken on the music industry’s unforgiving wheel. With their second album, To Cross Or To Burn, the husband-and-wife duo have expanded their sound while making it harder to quantify: like chasing shadows through a hall of mirrors. Lush and cinematic, yet deeply intimate, it conveys a thrilling sense of freedom despite its gloomy themes.
