PHYSIS

La Stazione delle Frequenze are a young band from Benevento that try to blend the sound of historic Italian prog bands such as Osanna, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Locanda delle Fate with prog metal and canzone d'autore. Formed in 2016, after a couple of years spent composing original stuff and performing live on the local scene, in 2019 they self-released an interesting debut album entitled "Physis" with a line up featuring Alberto Cervone (vocals), Angelantonio Donisi (guitar), Pierfrancesco Corbo (guitar), Andrea Tretola (keyboards), Luca Iorio (bass) and Andrea Passaro (drums). According to the band, the title of the album refers to a Greek philosophical, theological and scientific term that means nature and all the tracks follow a common thread, that of the human nature and its relationship with the environment, narrated through different experiences and stories. The art work by Adolfo Calandro tries to describe the conceptual content...

The dreamy opener "Dissolvenza" (Fading) is a short instrumental piece that sets the atmosphere and leads to the social committed "A Siria" (To Syria) that alternates raging passages where the music and lyrics describe a land ravaged by war, where obscurantism and ignorance rule, and softer parts where there's room for the hope you can find in the pure, sincere soul of a little baby named Siria like the tormented Middle-Eastern country...

The following "Ombre sul mare" (Shadows on the sea) starts by a quiet piano pattern, then heavy guitar riffs come in, the rhythm rises and frenzied passages alternates with softer ones. It's a piece full of hope in a hostile world where even the sea of fantasy hides hooks and baits. The music and lyrics praise the force of people who never give up their ideals and are always ready to accept new challenges, who refuse violence and proudly walk on the ruins of a gloomy past trying to be like rain falling in the arid desert of melancholy...

"Racconto" (Tale) tells in music and words a story set in an ancient castle that was freely inspired by an old Samnite legend. A mischievous imp called Mazzamauriello falls in love with the blacksmith's beautiful daughter who runs away, frightened by his behaviour. Upset, all the people of the surroundings follow her leaving the castle desert. The imp then promises to change his way of life and the story comes to a happy end...

The dreamy "Non ci resta che aspettare l'aurora" (We just have to wait for the dawn) is a short piece that depicts a peaceful, pastoral landscape at the end of a beautiful summer day and leads to the epic "Il sentiero del vento" (The path of the wind), a long, complex track divided into two parts dealing with the eternal cycle of the seasons and the regenerating powers of Mother Nature, fears and expectations, the will to go on and overcome all the obstacles you can find on the steep paths of life just to breathe a fresh gust of happiness... Then the joyful "Nuovi Orizzonti" (New horizons) ends the album with its strong charge of optimism and hope for better days to come.

On the whole, a very promising work that is really worth listening to.