Classical reception by Italian bands most often takes the form of recreating the glory of imperial Rome before it fell to the malignant forces, as they see it, of the modern world. Yet some artists, such as the folk/black metal band Selvans, look even further back in the past, to a time before the Romans had an empire, even before Rome had conquered and assimilated the peoples of Italy. This was a time when the peninsula was populated by a multiplicity of cultures speaking a variety of languages, each worshipping unique gods.

Selvans recreate in their music the rituals and mysticism of peoples intimately connected to nature and the primordial Italian forests. These included the Etruscans, the Sardianians, and the early Romans themselves. The name Selvans is itself the name of an Etruscan god of the forests, while their debut album “Lupercalia” recalls one of the most ancient Roman festivals in which the line between wolf and man is blurred.

In this particular song, which tells of the “shapeshifter” (Latin: versipellis) that lurks in the untamed woodlands, the band references the old Roman god Vertumnus, a god of fertility and the cycle of seasons, as well as the legendary Sardinian monster Erchitu. Selvans collectively assemble a new pantheon of archaic Italian deities in order to escape not merely from the contemporary world, but even from the whole notion of “civilization” defined by urbanization and imperialism. The forest beckons…

“Giving you the strength They stole to your existence. See the curse of your kindreds Doomed to live with a frigthening secret for centuries Prey that the hunters which pass trough the forest Won’t notice your spoors Cruel is the spirit of who tries the anger faithless is the hand of who fear the scrape on his chest. Don’t look behind your back! Torches of rage and despair A neverending escape Beyond the ages! Comes from the forest Roaming among the graves To hide His clothes Into the Zauberkreis! From time immemorial the Necromancer’s hand rises up to the sky to spread the Versipellis course! Don’t look behind your back! Torches of rage and despair A neverending escape Beyond the ages! Comes from the West pouncing on rodents to serve his punishment the Eagleman! His arms turn into wings dark mud covers his claws every man for himself! The victims shreds are hanging from his beak! Strigae! Sing your deadly chant! Elegy of the last faithful souls To lunar cults! Comrades! Follow the white steer! Together with demons and fiends Through Erchitu’s path Beyond the highest trees Where Vertumnus marks the sky A whirlwind of sand and dust Absorbs my crying Unchained among the crowd My nails will hug your helpless heart Descent to the rotten cleft Where the harpies pricks your mind Biting the flesh with cruelty and rage! Your muzzle lays down to the moon! E rough fur covers yours arms! The horde of rabid souls scattered among mankind They live on the fears of heroes and men moved by the Versipellis hunger!”