LA BIBBIA

A bit dated to say the least but not bad for its time. On the other hand, there is nothing special. Unless you are a die hard prog fan, just download this one. Mixes rock and classical music much like ELP but the vocals aren't very good.

You shouldn't even try to compare "La Bibbia", their debut from 1971 to their classic "Contaminazione". To me, I think this is a rather underrated progressive hard rock album. This album definately won't appeal to the symphonic crowd, or those expecting a classical/prog hybrid like that of "Contaminazione". This album, instead has a rather rough and unpolished production. The vocals are in the hard rock vein, with heavy use of guitar. No keyboardist had yet been in the band, so all sound effects are off sound generators. The lyrics are said to have Biblical themes. It's not as bad as many might say it is, and I actually enjoy the album, despite the production and the fact it don't resemble in any ways "Contaminazione".

This work has little to share with the symphonic music that was played by some legendary bands from Italy.

The intriguing opening track is quite abstruse: it is very difficult to enter into and sounds more as an experimental piece of music.

This album sounds very much as a heavy prog one, with Italian lyrics. La Creazione fully falls under this category; but the same type of sound is repeated during most of the songs from this debut album.

There are also some psychedelic influences which lead to a satisfying album. No giant numbers are featured and the wild rocking Sodoma E Gomorra is very much in the style of Ten Years After. Demoniac guitar work, heavy and sustained bass, rolling drumming are the combination of sounds that you will discover while you would listen to this instrumental track.

We are far from the melodic Italian genre to be honest; but if you accept this album for what it is AND if you are somewhat heavy-rock oriented, this album should be OK. But production is not the strongest point.

The longest song available Il Giudizio is just a hard/heavy jam: structure less and noisy at times. These ten minutes are quite difficult to digest and it is not the short Il Diluvio that is going to raise the quality level here.

Two stars for this heavy, heavy work.

Four minutes of twiddling, tweaking, rumbling and other sorts of primeval fragments of music is a great setting for the nothingness the first track represents. But trying to create something out of nothing is just as difficult as it sounds, and it is with sceptically raised eyebrows that I wait for the rest of the album to unfold.

And when the crushingly loud guitar kicks in, heavy and sharp due to the rough production, my eyebrows stay raised. The initial and continuing problem with La Bibbia is that it feels out of proportion. While I most certainly get the taste of the hunger and passion, and ultimately also the goals and ideals behind this debut album, it aims for the stars by giving full throttle and then never look back instead of carefully planning out the route and possible problems that might arise along the way.

Nose-diving from thunderous drumming and wild cymbal clashes, a bass that walks all over the place and unforgiving guitar riffs into softer, almost pastoral choral parts (preferably packaged in a smooth flute wrapping, but that's not always the case) is a crude, and in my eyes not particularly successful way of adding dynamic strength to the album. One could argue that the distinct changes provides an element of surprise, which likely is what Il Rovescio Della Medaglia were aiming for, but it soon feels rather formulaic. Unlike their peers of Osanna, which master this roller-coaster approach to music, the effect is lost mostly due to the fact that the musical variation remains relatively low on La Bibbia. If you're not paying attention to the various parts closely, it's going to turn into a sequence of on-and-off explosions, tiring your ears more than refreshing them.

Sodoma E Gomorra is nothing but a long explosion, but since it's just as fiery as Deep Purple it's easier to forgive here. Surprisingly Blackmore-esque guitar, drumming that would strike Ian Paice by not being of his making and bass guitar with that Roger Glover swing is sure to please any fan of the British rock pioneers, and that's true for most of the album in general. Any big fan of heavy prog would most certainly find lots of meriting parts on La Bibbia. The problem is, as I've already explained, the disposition of them.

The longest song here is the ten minute effort Il Guidizio, and as a natural consequence this is where you find most room for variation. Focusing a little more on mood with a both menacing and gradually heavier build-up, it really feels real in its darkness. A break in the middle of the song features a great bass semi-solo, with a duelling guitar joining in now and then. Good stuff.

And then we're back to the beginning. Closing it all is another two minutes of acid effect experimentation, obnoxious guitar and amp sounds conveying the sonic equivalent of an earthquake.

In the end there's no reason to DISLIKE this record if you're in it for face-melting guitar bonanza with the odd bits and pieces of.let's call it 'sound expansion'. But fact remains that what I enjoyed the most was the always highly emotional and unapologetic Italian vocals.

Judge for yourself.

2 stars.

//LinusW

Whoa, in the early 70's, what an album this is!

IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA's debut album...Well, the sound recorded is no problem as 1971's. The point is their heavyness. Is this really Italian rock? Many many Italian albums or songs I've heard till now, this is exactly my first the basis and core of their sound is loud guitar with rhythm section. Furthermore, the rhythm section is heavy but not rigid...I always feel it's sticky and slimy at listening to their albums.

The first track is too avantgarde...noisy metalic sound goes through and around us. Oh, what...with no time for us to be surprised, immediately heavy and noisy guitar and percussion are exploded. It's maybe rare the instrumentals expect guitar and drum are completely supplementary or backing ones. Of course, the voice is as heavy as the heavy stuffs, too. :)

The highlight of this work is, I consider, the 4th track...very jazzy, very swingin', very speedy and of course deeply heavy. We can be absorbed into it. Until the last track (noise!) finished, we should get to be restricted by the soundshower...

Apart from likes or dislikes, this is one of the most progressive products in Italy in 1971.

IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA's first album is very much a Hard Rock album.This is rough, raw and dated. I usually like these albums but this one really felt uninspired, I had a hard time getting into it at all.

"Il Nulla" opens with strange and spacey sounds that come and go for 3 minutes.The guitar then makes some noise then a haunting calm arrives to end it. "La Creazione" is raw and fairly aggressive with vocals. Some vocal melodies before 4 1/2 minutes. It blends into "L'Ammonimento". Vocals a minute in followed by vocal melodies. It settles then the guitar comes in and start to build to a solo. Vocals are back 4 minutes in followed by more vocal melodies.

"Sodoma E Gomorra" or "Club Med" as Elton John calls it, opens with drums, a guitar solo follows as they continue to trade off. It then kicks into an uptempo melody. Nice bass here. "Il Giudizio" opens with drums as the sound builds. Vocals and a fuller sound 2 1/2 minutes in. Guitar returns after 6 minutes with bass and drums in tow. Vocals 7 minutes in. "Il Diluvio" sounds like the end of the world is upon us. Powerful sounds that vibrate the whole soundscape.

Sadly I can't even give this 3 stars.

Hard Rock Bible Study.

No, you won't learn much of the Holy Scriptures with this cookie. But on the other hand, you will hear some of the Devil's Music!

This album consists of L-O-U-D music done more or less professionally. I must insist on the cheap production and unpolished tunes they are offering. Disappointed, to say the least. Not a horrible record, but certainly not a keeper. My expectations (darn them) were high and I've been spoiled by other bands like Cream, Rush and The Who; which are using the same guitar/bass/drums approach.

I say stated earlier, the music is guitar, bass and drums. Nothing more, not the shadow of an organ or such. It shows. The guitar player is sweating from every pore, trying to shoot his best riffs at your face. His Gibson Les Paul attempt is wishy-washy; you're never sure if he's skilled or not. Sometimes it fits (Sodome and Gomorrah), many times not. On the other hand the bass player is giving a good show, Jack Bruce style. He's busy as a bee trying also to thicken the whole thing, and a good hand clap to him.

Overall, my fantasy of RDM being the 'best secret of prog rock' is damaged due to the limitations (in talent and creative aspect) of the band. No subtle for one second, this has nothing to do with the eargasm that was Contaminazione. Oh well, at least I have my health.

It's brute, it's raw and it's in your face!

It was disheartening upon finding that this is [currently] the only album available to me by this otherwise beloved Italian Prog band(?). But I move on... especially seeing it's just 33 minutes long. Thank you very much then-soon-to-be-obsolete album-length standards of the previous decade! Their debut album, La Bibbia (Italian for, as it will make sense shortly, "The Bible"!), was released 1971, the same year as Fragile, Nursery Cryme, Pawn Hearts, Aqualung and the Yes Album, just to name the top 5 here (I could have continued just as excitedly with a good many more). I'm curious how this will fare in comparison haha.

We begin with the spacy static of "Il Nulla" ("Nothingness" or "The Void"). It feeds back into harshness and then individual notes and twangs. This really is very much of the time, to say the least. This goes on until the first chord is struck at about the third minute. Space Rock of the 3+ years prior aside, I wonder where they were coming from here. It's a mostly anticlimactic 5 minutes. Then those final chords prepare us for "La Creazione" ("The Creation", of course; a great band by the way), immediately to my ears Black Sabbath-esque. It can be noted that this is produced... less than satisfactorily... It's not terrible, but still. As it's like that classic Heavy Metal, it really is a solid primary riff. Vocals are strong and prominent. And like Black Sabbath, for instance, everyone is working very well together (the bass sticks out most). It mostly falls away to a vocal group. It's a good concept: A solid Heavy Prog endeavor. "La Creazione" rides naturally into the next, the rockin' "L'ammonimento" ("The Warning"; I assume about sin and the curse), the first track that really feels me gettin' pulled on in. Again, Riff Central! Really though, some solid early Prog here.

"Sodoma E Gomorra" ("Sodom and Gomorra") is frankly pretty standard oldschool Heavy Metal, with a hard Blues/Acid Rock slant. Not much else to say. So much for the ancient capitals of sin and symbols of God's wrath... This is juxtaposed with the 10-minute mini-epic "Il Giudizio" ("The Judgment"), rung in with a gong and singular tom roll. This certainly has more going on. The reverb'd out riff starting around minute 2 is familiar, but well hard to place. The vocals are strong, the performances are convincing, etc. Some of the riffs in here (not the first time on this album), also remind of British-German contemporaries Nektar, they themselves not afraid of the Harder things in life. The thing is, even when they're at their strongest and most interesting here, there could either have been more that could have been done (to my ears) or they're trying to be someone else (and hey, I acknowledge that form flattery, for sure).

It all ends seemingly as it all began with "Il Diluvio" ("The Flood"). Static and crashing and feedback. I guess this is supposed to feel apocalyptic. I mean, I suppose they succeeded in that. It's still not all that great haha. Much like this album.

True Rate: 2.5/5.0

Il Rovescio della Medaglia came to life in Rome in 1970 from the ashes of a beat group called I Lombrichi. After a good live activity and some time spent in the rehearsal room honing their skills, in 1971 they released an interesting debut album, entitled "La bibbia", on the RCA label with a line up featuring Enzo Vita (guitar), Stefano Urso (bass), Gino Campoli (drums) and Pino Ballarini (vocals, flute) who replaced their first singer Gianni Mereu. It was recorded live in the studio in just a few days and, as you can guess from the title, it's a concept album inspired by some passages of the Old Testament. It's mainly an instrumental work in a hard rock style inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin with some touches of beat. The art cover was inspired by the name of the band that means "The Reverse of the Medal"...

The opener, "Il nulla" (Nothingness), is an instrumental piece that grows slowly, with experimental sounds trying to evoke the primordial chaos... It leads to "La creazione" (The creation) where powerful electric guitar riffs backed by a steady rhythm section and hieratic vocals evoke the explosive energy of the creative work of God as told in the bible. Six days to make light, sun and stars, green meadows, animals and eventually Man and Woman to whom God gave Freedom, Love and Peace, the greatest gift. On the seventh day the maker lay down and rested... Here the rhythm slackens and wordless vocals lead to a fiery electric guitar solo before another soft passage and a final surge that introduces the last track of the first side of the original LP, "L'ammonimento" (The warning), describing in music and words the wrath of God and His holy foot trampling and crushing the Devil's head.

The second side of the LP opens with the instrumental "Sodoma e Gomorra" (Sodom and Gomorrah) that starts by alternating drum rolls and electric guitar solos, then the rhythm takes speed for a wild, frenzied ride through a decadent world... Next comes the long epic "Il giudizio" (Judgement Day) that begins by a dark marching beat and a mysterious atmosphere. The music and lyrics depict the final trial of Man in front of God. Past and present of humankind are going to be judged while Man stands up crying, waiting for the verdict. Man can't come back, he has stolen, hatred, betrayed, and murdered and now the sentence is granted... The final instrumental track, "Il diluvio" (The flood) is just noise evoking the terrible consequences of Man behaviour.

On the whole, a good album despite the raw sound quality.

IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA (The Other Side Of The Coin) was one of many early 70s prog bands emerging from the scene in Rome. This group was formed in 1970 when three members of the beat group I Lombrichi continued on to forge new musical endeavors. While singer Sandro Falbo was amongst those three, he was soon repleaced by Gianni Mereu who would also be replaced by flautist Pino Ballarini who also served as the new lead signer. Best known for their Italian prog classic "Contaminazione" from 1973, the band released two earlier albums and was one of the few Italian prog bands that opted not to include keyboards in its lineup at least for the first two albums. The result is one of the heaviest prog rock sounds in all of the Italian 70s scene.

The basic rock trio instrumentation of Enzo Vita (guitar), Stefano Urso (bass) and Gino Campoli (drums) provided the basis for a 60s heavy psych sound that was turned up a few notches. The band was famous for its powerful and memorable performances and had a specialized sound system that allowed them to play their live sets at maximum value. Something like The Who of the early Italian scene, the band competed in the 1972 Festival of Avant-Garde Music and New Tendencies in Viareggio which caught the attention of the Italian RCA label and led to this debut album LA BIBBIA which also came out in 1971. This debut showcased the ambitious nature of the band and although primarily a hard rock album with prog as a secondary ingredient, the album manages to deliver enough knotty workouts and hairpin turns to sound like a fully developed prog band for 1971. It was the unfortunate theft of the band's expensive equipment that ultimately led to its demise.

LA BIBBIA which means "The Bible" showcased not only the band's instrumental ambitiousness but also its attention to lyrical complexity. The original album was recorded live in the studio and was released with a distinctive round medallion-shaped booklet that narrated the Biblical themes. While sung in Italian like most of the 70s prog acts, the album was noted for its extreme heaviness for a prog band in Italy given no keyboards although the compositions do exhibit some of the traits that the symphonic prog bands implemented such as the passionate operatic vocals and extended musical compositional approaches. The album was considered quite pretentious and narrate episodes from the Old Testament ranging from the Nothingness to the Great Flood. It was one of the earliest concept albums on the Italian prog scene.

While the band may suffer from the absence of keys in the symphonic rock department, IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA delivered a more diverse than usual stab of guitar-oriented hard rock with beautifully melodic songs that offered the occasional use of flute sounds but basically this is a razor-sharp proto-metal style album that focuses on blistering guitar riffs, bantering bass grooves and hefty drumming workouts. There are also moments of psychedelia as with the opening sequence of "Il Nulla" as well the closing short track "Il Diluvio" which is more like a representation of a thunderstorm. The album is quite short just missing the 33-minute mark. While not a best seller, LA BIBBLIA helped the band gain momentum and released a second album of the same style before adding a fifth member, a keyboardist and recording their most famous work "Contaminazione."

This album is better than most ratings reflect as it showcases a more talented than usual band of the Italian prog scene that was several steps ahead of the average beat band that had not yet turned prog. While completely in the hard rock genre paradigm sonically speaking, the composiitons reflected the complexities and symphonic prog aspirations of contemporary Italian prog bands. Perhaps the subject matter for a debut album was too ambitious since a short 33-minute album only feels like it's getting warmed up before it abruptly ends but the band delivered a decent set of five fully developed proggy hard rocks (followed by one ambient sound collage). Supposedly LA BIBBIA begins the journey of a philosophical journey that concludes with "Contaminazione." The band was certainly on the nerdier side of the lyrical spectrum. Overall a decent if not brilliant debut from one of Rome's earliest heavy prog rockers.

3.5 rounded down