NEOGOTHIC PROGRESSIVE TOCCATAS

You may ask yourself why am I talking about goth prog, and it is a reasonable question, but well, it does actually exist, and it is enough to listen to this album by Three Monks to understand what I mean. They are an Italian band based in Arezzo, whose debut album entitled "Neogothic Progressive Toccatas" was released in 2010. Here, we will find seven compositions that make a total time of 50 minutes in which we will listen to purely instrumental music, based and lead by Paolo Lazzeri and his pipe organ.

The album opens with "Progressive Magdeburg" which since the very first seconds show its clear tendency to the organ, which at the same time, creates a scary, and obvious gothic tune. And though the leadership goes to the same organ without a doubt, the best is that it is wonderfully accompanied and complemented by drums and bass. The three of them make a very strong body that will produce unique music that we will not easily find anywhere. If you ask me, the music here could perfectly fit in any horror movie scene. It is an organ extravaganza!

"Toccata Neogotica no. 1" is the longest composition here. The first minute is soft, an introduction to the upcoming explosion, and then they attack us once again with a feast of organ , terrific drums and wonderful bass lines that together produce a dark atmosphere, that produces images, dark colors and nervous feelings. What I love from this music is that it makes your imagination fly, I mean, one can close the eyes and create a fictional world in which the music work as background, but in which there are characters, places, flavors and colors. The music itself is introducing us to its world, now our work is to create our own story.

"Neogothic Pedal Solo" is a shorter track with a very dark atmosphere, like being cloistered in the most remote part of a church. After a minute and a half the organ vanishes and then Maurizo Bozzi begins to play some bass notes, soft at first, nervous later. After one minute more the organ reappears and continues until the song finishes. When drums enter is what tells us a new track has begun. It is entitled "Herr Jan" and it is an intense but in some way friendlier song; the first three minutes have practically the same structure, but later there is a significant change for half a minute in which the music slows down, the organ becomes more delicate and drums put different figures; but it was brief, because later the music returns as it began. At minute five there is a passage I like a lot, where the bass lines are repetitive and nervous.

"Profondo Rosso" is obviously a tribute to Goblin, that legendary band who did a lot of soundtracks for Dario Argento's films. The cover is wonderful, great work by Three Monks. The next song is "Profondo Gotico" which is inspired by the same Goblin composition, it is actually a variation of it, maybe heavier and more powerful, and with a superb drums work! These two tracks are a great rendition, and better performance by this band.

The album finishes with "Toccata Neogotica no.7" a ten-minute well-crafted composition that sums up what the music of Three Monks is about. It is intense, scary in moments, with great bass lines, wonderful dynamic drums and of course, the mandatory gothic pipe organ. The organ never ceases, it is always putting different nuances and creating a variety of sensations. I love how the music takes me once again to its realm and don't let me escape until the very end. That's Three Monks charm.

What a great album by an unconventional band, highly recommendable for all who love progressive rock, and mostly for the pipe-organ loonies. My final grade, four stars.

Enjoy it!

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