Album Review- Zippo 'Maktub'

Not a country known for it's unbelievable rock output in the past, it seems there is a small , but well formed scene of interesting hard rock and psyche bands coming from Italy, with bands like The Whirlings, Ephel Duath and now Pescara based progsters Zippo leading the charge for a wave of Mediterranean flavoured  monolithic riffs and balls to the wall guitar wizardry.

And we'll be damned if it's not one of the freshest , most vital records to be released this year.The third album from Zippo, 'Maktub' is produced by Victor Love , with mastering duties handled by one James Plotkin, who has worked with such underground legends as Sunno ))) and Isis, and shows the band weaving a tantalising web of intricate songwriting ,deft and clever riffing and sonic experimentation, as well as moments of  pure rock fury a la Mastodon and Baroness.Opener ' The Personal Legend' is a rousing blend of drop tuned , sledgehammer sludge riffing and spacey, glacial melodies, it's bizarre time changes and skittering , funk tinged riffing recalling a more sludgy Rush.' The Omens' is an epic blend of Tool style soaring melodies, and riffing battery, while 'Caravan To Your Destiny' impresses just as much with it's minimal stark guitar work and epic , eastern influenced melodies.

The band's talent lies in taking the traditional forms of grunge , sludge and hard rock, and twisting them into unrecognisable shapes, with tempos constantly changing, bizarre guitar effects , and cleverly sung vocal passages from singer David that recall Maynard James Keenan at his most exploratory.Album highlight 'Simum' meanwhile showcases the band's knack of creating a sense of spacey menace, that evokes long gone and much missed Louisiana psychos Acid Bath. But comparisons are mostly futile, as Zippo with 'Maktub' are very much forging their own path ,and it has to be said that this is perhaps one of the most confident and energetic albums to emerge from the heavy rock underground this year.Passionate and raw but yet technically fascinating and always with a feverish invention at play, expect these guys to make waves in the rock underground in 2012.

Rating:9/10
For fans of: Tool ,Baroness, Totimoshi, Acid Bath, Kylesa
Listen here: http://www.zippomusic.it/
Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com

Album Review - Summer Bacchanalia - 'Volume II'

 Summer Bacchanalia are a three piece psychedelic 'jam' band hailig from Italy, that deal in experimental , improvisational sonic  wanderings, that invoke the early days of the psyche movement in their rough and ready ,and indeed heady,  sound.'Volume II' is a five song collection , completely improvised, and recorded live in one take.Considering this then, it's not a bad piece of work at all , but not exactly earth shattering stuff either.

First song 'Bass Song is a self explanatory , bass led affair, with some nice use of delays and a decent enough central riff, but , and this is pretty much representative of the bulk of 'Volume II',it goes pretty much nowhere, the band content to plough their lo fi grooves ad nauseam rather than try anything wildly imaginative.'Dark Mountain ' fares better, a  lovely Kyuss -esque over driven melodic bass riff that builds into a satisfyingly noisy  low end stomper.'Deva Mountain ' is a pleasingly ethereal, monged out effort, with some awesome use of  flanger , and interesting use of 'Eastern' scales.

However, it would be a big stretch to call anything on here truly essential, and this is, at the end of the day, essentially just a jam, that in parts sounds like it was way more fun to play than it is to listen to.The rough and ready production(or lack thereof) , while charming in it's own way, adds nothing really, other than a feel of warmth, but will be a big challenge to the casual listener..There is also very little in the band's chilled repertoire that has not been done before a thousand times, and , although it does feel slightly harsh to say, by musicians far more inventive and resourceful.Still , in age where processed tones and auto tune have become the norm, it is nice to hear something this low key and raw worming it's way through.

Rating:4/10
For fans of :Eastern Crank, The Whirlings, Engines Of Ruin
Stephen O ' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail(dot)com
Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/summer-bacchanalia

You Should Be Listening To . . .The Whirlings!!

Hailing from L'Aquila , Italy, The Whirlings are a four piece psychedelic rock outfit in the most classic sense , with a clear love of Pink Floyd, Frijid Pink,  and Sabbath, along with the proto hard rock sound made famous(ish) by bands such as Blue Cheer. Simply put, it's perfect summer music for those who like their rock on the spacey , analogue-delayed side of things, with a perfect retro production that lends the EP a wonderfully warm and fuzzed up feel.Check em out here http://www.myspace.com/thewhirlings

Stephen O' Connor , Born Again Nihilist