Italy’s OvO (note: no relation to Toronto’s OvO) are a band who’ve built their career on sheer persistence, rather than any pre-existing constituency. They play music — rhythmic noise, really — that simmers with a flat-affect malice, owing equal debts to extreme metal, noise rock, industrial music, and dark electronica. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but a deeply satisfying one if you can get it down. In spite of the high barriers to entry, OvO have convinced quite a few to take this dive over the course of their 16-year run.

Their ninth effort, Creatura, arrives at an opportune moment. Lurching metal/noise collages topped with wordless shrieking will never be a major commercial force, but the transgressive approach OvO employs is enjoying some deserved public interest; fellow travelers like Author & Punisher, Prurient, the Body, and Gnaw are enjoying a day in the sun. Creatura demonstrates that its creators can run with this nauseating sound as well as anybody. Like previous advance track “Satanam”, “Zombie Stomp” pretty much does what it says on the tin. Quicker and more insistent than Ovo’s typical pessimistic lurch, the tune drives forward with a feverish energy, and its static washes hide a melodic heart that calls ’80s slasher scores to mind. Listen.

Creatura is out 12/9 on Dio Drone.