Italy is hardly seen as a hotbed of musical talent outside of the operatic circles, but dig a little deeper and there are more than a few gems to be discovered. The latest such find is Roman duo Deflore’s third album 2 Degrees Of Separation, a rather delicious slice of instrumental industrial metalwork.

The clever and subtle use of samples throughout helps to build and maintain an uneasy, disturbing atmosphere whilst synths and machines keep the piece cohesive and driven. But it is the guitars that are the stars here; right from ‘La Guerra Degli Orsi’ they slip seamlessly from punishing riffs to paranoid breaks and back again, all the while the bass rumbles along at terrifying frequencies that causes whole streets to rattle yet never detracts or impinges on the clarity of the guitars.

It is slightly disappointing that the other five tracks never quiet reach the peak that the opener does, but that should not distract from what is on the whole a very decent and very heavy recording. ‘Electropause’ appears on the surface to try and cram every industrial cliché into less than four minutes, but twists and warps them in such mind-bending ways that you lose all track of what they are trying to do, and don’t care; and the doom-laden ‘Doppiozero’ calls to mind rusted factories and desolate metal fields with its harsh aural assault.

It is a major feat of 2 Degrees Of Separation to consistently draw such vivid images so easily, a difficult trick that Deflore have pulled off with aplomb. ‘Industrial Glamour’ brings the hypnotic, brain-addling journey to a close in emphatic style, the abrasive guitars and pounding drums decaying as rust to feedback and out to dusty beauty, the band stamping their indelible mark on the genre.