MELOS

Cervello is another one-off band from Italy in the '70s, and the music on "Melos", their only album, is noisier than most RPI albums I've heard. Noisy and at times some avant-garde elements are present, but definitely not as much as Area. The music here ranges from soft and beautiful to quite harsh. As "Canto del Capro" starts the album off with some odd avant sounding flute and bizarre psuedo-choir, I wasn't sure what to expect. Initially my expectations were another purely beautiful RPI album. This album is quite a bit racier in pace, and is usually very rocky with strange touches. There even some passages that makes me think of various Zeuhl bands. I think tracks like "Trittico", "Euterpe", "Melos", and "Affresco" stand out because of the healthy combination of avant or heavy passages and beautiful passages, with more emphasis on the beautiful passages.

This is a very entertaining album, and it feels much different from most RPI that I've heard. "Melos" would definitely not be an album to serve as an introduction for RPI, but if you're already a fan and are looking for something on the wild side then you should track this one down.