CAMBIO DELLA GUARDIA

Il Cambio della Guardia (the name means Changing of the Guards) took form in Fiano Romano, a town near Rome, in 2016 on the initiative of composer and lyricist Alessandro Papili with the aim of playing original compositions inspired by seventies prog bands such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Premiata Forneria Marconi or Le Orme. After a good live activity on the local scene and a painstaking work in the recording studio, in 2023 they self released a very interesting eponymous album with a line up featuring Samuel Marchionni (vocals), Alessandro Papili (keyboards, acoustic guitar), Marco Centini (electric and acoustic guitar), Davide Magalotti (bass) and Angelo Lo Porto (drums) plus the guest Chicco Martini (vocals). It's a concept album that, through the imaginary story of a Crusader knight, tells of the absurdity of wars fought in the name of God...

The beautiful instrumental opener "Prologo" sets the atmosphere alternating frenzied, aggressive parts with the keyboards in the forefront and calmer, reflective passages. It leads to the dreamy "C'è un'armata che mi aspetta" (There's an army waiting for me) that starts by a delicate acoustic guitar pattern. The music and lyrics depict the feelings and the expectations of a Crusader knight who embarks on a ship to join the Christian army in the Holy Land. The crew raise the sails heading south as the scirocco wind brings sand and songs from afar. Now the ship sails across the Mediterranean sea heading for the promised land and new adventures...

"Il crociato - Parte prima" (The crusader - Part One) takes us into the horrors of war. The music and words evoke borders marked by time and desperate women and children on the move who leave behind cities and villages reduced to rubble. Their pace is slow and they have the fear of the Crusader soldiers in their eyes since the fight is merciless. However, there's no way to stop the holy mission, there's a siege and the Crusaders break into a fortress through a breach in the wall. They kill all the infidels inside the castle and the dried blood forms a kind of red path. It's a cruel slaughter but the Christian soldiers trust God's forgiveness and celebrate their victory under the sign of the cross...

The epic "Il duello" (The duel) depicts the challenge and the mortal confrontation between the protagonist and a Muslim knight. It begins with the confidence of the Christian knight who is longing to kill his unfaithful adversary, a desecrator of altars who thrives on lies and hatred. However, as the fight goes on, his perspective changes. He can see no angels ready to help him and guide his sword nor virgins waiting to cradle the soul of his enemy in an exotic paradise. It is simply a man like him, the Christian knight now can see the fear and the cruel reality with all the atrocity of war. In the end the Christian knight wins and kills his rival but experiences a strong sense of mercy and pity. His faith wavers and he feels that something in him has changed...

The melancholic, reflective ballad "In fondo al mare" (At the bottom of the sea) evokes the pain and torments of the Christian knight. All he really wants now is to be buried at the bottom of the sea, with sand and salt weighing down on him and the sound of waves crashing on the rocks under the moonlight. Like a leaf carried by the wind that doesn't know where to go, now he seeks for the peace of the sea...

"Gerusalemme - Parte prima" (Jerusalem - Part One) starts by conjuring up the images of a battlefield scattered with corpses, broken spears, blood-stained shields, heads severed from the corpses. The landscape after the final battle is gloomy, the cost of freeing Jerusalem from the infidels rule is high and the taste of drinking from the Holy Grail is bitter. At night, when the emotive storm calms down, the music and lyrics focus on a camp nearby where the Christian knight can be seen embracing a beautiful Muslim woman. It's the beginning of a very difficult and complicate love story, thwarted by the moral sense. The absurdity of war reveals another dark side...

The long, complex "Gerusalemme - Parte seconda" (Jerusalem - Part Two) tries to emphasize in music and words the strong contrast between deeds and ideals. The cross on the helmet and shield of the Christian knight recall the purpose of his mission. A crusader like him does not fight for gold or out of thirst for power but for an ideal. He offered his faith and his life to God but now, while his bloody axe is red as the sunset, he can see nothing around him but men hanging to life without strength in their fingers who loosen their grip and fall down. "God, what have we done in thy name?" - Asks the knight. But there's no answer, he can't hear the voice of God...

"Il crociato - Parte seconda" (The crusader - Part Two) takes us back to the present but the view, after all the time that has passed since the Crusades, is in fact not very different. The music and lyrics depict a new kind of Crusader knight, without armour and horse. He wields a machine-gun and for him there are no mysteries. He comes from New York or maybe from Moscow and he was told that he's on the right side. He's ready to shoot a man fearing that he might be a terrorist. A voice seems to echo in the air telling him to press the trigger and kill, then to cross himself so God will save his soul...

The excellent instrumental "Oriente" (Orient) evokes a dark sense of beauty and with its Mediterranean flavours leads to the last track, "Il ritorno" (The return), where the rhythm rises to describe a wild horseback ride toward home, through forests and narrow paths. The knight is in hurry, behind him he steel feels the ghosts of the dead chasing him. He wants to know if what he left behind is still there. At last he throws away his helmet and breathes the air of home, then the sweet memory of a familiar face appears in the courtyard of his manor and a smile eases his pain...

On the whole, a very interesting debut album that deserves credit.