Hortus Animae is a progressive black metal band from Northern and Central Italy. They formed in 1997 in the town of Rimini (Romagna). After the release of their self-produced debut The Melting Idols, they began an active live streak with bands like Lacuna Coil, Ancient, and Napalm Death. Upon opening for the cult Norwegian black metal band Ancient in Padova (Italy), the band developed a friendship with their drummer Grom, who soon after joined the band out of admiration for their work and made it his primary side-project. At this point, the band began the recording process of their second album and first official release Waltzing Mephisto which had been years in the writing. The album was recorded at the well-known Italian metal studio Fear. Following the recording, the band signed a deal with Greek label Black Lotus Records in October 2002 and subsequently with Sleaszy Rider Records (EMI) for their 3rd and most evolved concept album The Blow Of Furious Winds in May 2005. Immediately following their 1998 demo cassette 'An Abode For Spirit And Flesh', they quickly developed a wide and strong following in the underground and gained attention from the specialized press with few reviews hitting lower than the 'excellent' mark. The band has since achieved cult status within the extreme metal underground, partly due to their secretive live appearances, but mainly due to their unique and eclectic blend of styles & cover songs. Their music drew from 1970s progressive rock, gothic, classical and ambient... All blended with their original form of death/black metal. They incorporated instruments such as piano, viola, violin, mandolin, synth, and very diverse vocal styles into their music. This was rare and uncommon during those years. Drummer GROM's following with his other notable acts (Doomsword, Ancient...) is most likely another reason. Hortus Animae is well-known within the genre for its unique and eclectic cover songs. The official debut Waltzing Mephisto contained a cover of the black metal anthem "Freezing Moon" (Mayhem) blended with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells (The Exorcist)" and Italian 1970s prog band Il Balletto Di Bronzo's "Terzo Incontro", highlighting the band's inspiration with 1970s dark progressive rock music. This song is still considered to this day as one of the most appreciated covers in the extreme metal underground. Their following epic album The Blow Of Furious Winds contained yet another 1970s prog rock cover. A diverse and original mold of Queen's