MALEDETTI

"Maledetti" by Area is perhaps the album that was most ahead of its time in the Italian scene in the 70's. The work is enriched by Demetrio Stratos' unique way of singing, hard to explain in words, similar to asian chants and swiss jodel, very teathrical and similar to grounds that in those years actors like Carmelo Bene were exploring in terms of voice use. This release is a concept album with a fanta-political plot dealing with the loss of human memory, contained as a fluid kept in a bank. Its evaporation is the beginning of the story, as told in the first track "Evaporazione" in which Stratos shouts out "We've lost the memory of the XV century!". Mankind is left without a clue about political new directions to be taken, so different options are considered:

Power to old people ----> "Gerontocrazia"

Power to women-----> "Scum"

Power to kids----> "Giro giro Tondo" and "Caos p.2"

Musically speaking "Maledetti" is avant-garde and it owns a lot to jazz, but also to atonal and contemporary music, even an electrical razor is used on the record(!), not to mention the insertion of an asiatic lullaby in the opening sequence of "Gerontocrazia" symbolising the will from older people to make the young men consciences sleep. The musical level is really high and never miss the point in keeping high the listener attention. An unique work well ahead of its time as already said before which confirms Area as one of the best RPI bands ever.