DISCESA AGL'INFERI D'UN GIOVANE AMANTE

Best new thing I've heard in ages. Every once in a while, quite unexpectedly, a band shows up at my door and just takes my breath away. A band that I really feel honored to not only experience but to share with others. Il Bacio della Medusa (Medusa's Kiss) is such a band. This is their 2nd album in what I hope is a long career. BdM combine progressive rock with hard rock, blues rock, moonlight folk, and stunning contributions of flute, violin, piano and saxophone. You really get the whole package here: amazing composition, passionate performance, great melody, and tons of enthusiasm and spark. This is a band that pays homage to the greatest '70s Italian bands, English bands like Purple and Tull, and even flash the bluesy burn of Wicked Minds or Jack White. They are every bit as fresh and exciting as Finisterre but with more edge. But as powerful as their rock side is, equally dynamic is their softer side, perfectly blended with extended passages of flute and violin. Before I get further into their album just a brief bit of history for you.

BdM (from the Perugia area) began in 2002 when vocalist Simone Cecchini, drummer Diego Petrini, and bassist Federico Caprai launched the project. Later they would add Simone Brozzetti on guitar, Eva Morelli on flute, and Daniele Rinchi on violin. The six piece line-up labored intensely on this album and you can literally feel the great efforts put into each track to make them special. Each song is so well rounded musically and artistically, like great art the pieces take the time they need to develop but without ever getting boring. Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Diego Petrini composed the majority of this fine music. The band are big fans of art in general as noted by Simone: "we are all student of Art and we like very much Renassaince and Baroque one of our favourite painter is surely Caravaggio, and not only by artistic point of view but also for his crazy life, a life spent to run by something, a short life of sure but he left of sure an incredible sign of his presence with his painting." [Simone Cecchini] The band cultivates sort of a dark image in their album art and dress which gives them a somewhat menacing public image when in fact it is but one side of their music. Believe me, there is more than enough beauty here to balance the dark edge.this music will lift you, not depress you.

Most tracks in this conceptual album flow together without breaks, adding to the sense that it unfolds like a grand play. They have a bit of that dramatic theatrical flair that recalls Ange and Queen at their finest. According to Cecchini the album is "a sort of Dante's "Paolo e Francesca" but made in our way, it's the story of a lover who is on hell with his women, flash backs feelings and many sensations by the point of view of the lover." The first two tracks provide the album's introduction, slowly and softly bringing the listener in with gentle piano, violin, and flute. We are introduced to Cecchini's outstanding vocal talent which is rich and provocative and commanding, but unlike the way some bands get carried away with constant vocals, he knows when to lay back and let the music have the stage. He does often, there are long instrumental passages. As I mentioned they masterfully build up to the rock stuff rather than just diving into it. Throughout the album they transition so well from bombast to gentleness, running the emotional gamut. When the full band does begin to come alive during "Confessione d'un Amante" they feature feisty keyboard runs, raunchy electric leads, and a powerful rhythm section. They'll rock for a bit and then out of nowhere drops these change-ups, like one interlude with devilish gypsy-folk sound, with fiddle and handclaps over acoustic guitar. You will hear a spooky dirge with storms, spoken narrations, strange voices, and vultures overhead. The middle section of the album is the meat of the heavy and bluesy rock. Arrangements are impeccable as the keys and guitar are so effortlessly woven to the sax and flute parts. They make the traditional rock so much zestier and it's all laid over Petrini's drumming which would make Bonham proud. "Melencolia" is my favourite track, a gorgeous amalgam of Camel/Floyd/PFM with glowing acoustic guitars, beautiful whispered harmonies, warm bass lines and soft percussions. Heaven. After this will come extended saxophone and electric guitar solos of great feeling and drama. The final tracks close this show with great pizazz. There is a section of spacey keys and affects laden guitar followed by a long melancholy piano/violin section with female chorus vocals that are beautiful. And finally they close with mournful piano and violin.

If you love hard '70s rock and/or classic period Italian progressive this album is an absolute sure thing. Fantastic. My only worry is that I can't imagine how they're going to top themselves next time. This is music without cynicism-birthed purely with sincere motivations of pleasing the music lover. When I recognize that certain authenticity in a band it always makes it special to me. And now I undertake the mission of spreading the word about this deserving band. I'll be picking up more copies of this CD as gifts for rock loving friends. 10/10

Bravo to these lads and fair lady.

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