IO COME IO

IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA (The Other Side of the Coin) released its debut "Il Bibbio" in 1971 and offered a differing approach from the majority of Italian prog bands of the era by not including a keyboardist and instead delivering stellar prog workouts in the context of hard rock. The debut was raw and exhibited the spirit of proto-metal albeit with the passionate operatic vocal style that would be the staple for the Italian singing style. The band followed up with its rather short debut with an even shorter sophomore effort titled IO COME IO ( I like i, like in this case meaning "similarly to") which was just short of the 29-minute mark but a more accomplished slab of heavy rock than its predecessor.

While following in the footsteps of "La Bibbia" as far as stylistic approach, this second offering focused even more on the proggier aspects of developing the tracks with crazy hairpin turns, a broader diversity of musical motifs and a wider ranger of dynamics that included less frenetic guitar attacks that allowed the band to create a bombastic sound in live settings. This second album only featured four track, two of which were two part suites. Once again the basis of the style was crafted by the hard rock attack of Enzo Vita on guitars, Stefano Urso on bass and Gino Campoli on drums and although lead vocalist Pino Ballarini still offered the occasional flute sounds, the main emphasis was on crazy guitar riffing, time signature complexities and the lyrical content that focused on Hegelian phenomenology.

A much more accomplished album than its debut, IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA mastered the art of modern prog at this stage and although Italian prog fans seemed to prefer the symphonic aspects of the more popular bands, IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA was still quite known for their energetic live settings that delivered some of the loudest and most powerful sound systems that the entire Italian scene would experience. The band utilized a 6000 watt Mark system that set them apart from all others and allowed one of the most unique early heavy metal styles of Italian prog. The ultimate theft of this equipment in 1973 was actually what caused this band's demise.

IO COME IO is a powerhouse of heavy prog with blistering guitar-oriented rock fortified with some of the knottiest prog workouts that the Italian scene had to offer even on par with bands such as PFM and Banco and only limited by the instrumentation which consisted of a mere three piece but nevertheless exquisitely placed. Perhaps this could even be considered Italian garage prog with its raw and unfiltered sound only delivered through the lens of a highly sophisticated thematic structure and musical proficiency. The entire thing is quite unique and much more inventive and demanding than even the debut. The album sort of served as a bridge between the raw and unadulterated heaviness of the debut and the full symphonic prog sound that would be heard on "Contaminazione" after the addition of keyboardist Franco di Sabbatino.

While "Contaminizaione" is the attention hog in this band's canon simply for the fact it adheres to the standards of symphonic prog rock of the era, this second album is also brilliant in its own way and very unique in that the stylistic approach of Italian symphonic prog played in an early proto-metal style is almost unheard of. This album excels pretty much on every level. The performances are top notch and the compositions are cleverly inspired and utterly unpredictable in their labyrinthine delivery system. While clearly a stripped down band approach it's simply amazing how talented the three instrumentalists were in crafting complex prog in such a limited setting. Likewise Ballarini's vocal style was on the same level as any of the top dogs of the era. This is really an excellent album that gets overshadowed by the albums that bookend it but in reality this is an unforgettably imaginative slice of heavy prog that should be experienced.