Tag Archives: pisa

Concert Review – Wind Rose (The Concert Hall, Toronto, ON, 04/18/2024)

Posted on by
Reply

The Concert Hall hosted one of the most melodic, symphonic and fun nights of heavy music of the year in Toronto so far this past Thursday.

OPENING ACT: Xandria

Due to my trip to New York to see them mighty Judas Priest on Friday April 19, I wasn’t able to join my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi at The Concert Hall (the whole thing moved from Lee’s Palace to The Concert Hall due to the high demand for tickets) on Thursday night to enjoy XANDRIA and WIND ROSE during the Toronto stop of their North American Warfront Tour 2024, another classy event brought to the city by Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. It’s getting to a point where I need a clone (or two) to be able to attend all concerts that I would like to, because I also had to miss Raven and Artillery on Saturday, but let’s leave this one for another review and focus now on the amazing performances by Xandria and Wind Rose, because as Keith said both kicked some serious ass on stage.

The opener was a band that’s becoming a fan-favorite to everyone who enjoys some classic European Symphonic Metal in the city of Toronto, Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany-based act XANDRIA. Keith said they put on a solid performance a usual, and I’m more than certain that was exactly what the Greek goddess Ambre Vourvahis, guitarists Marco Heubaum and Rob Klawonn, bassist Tim Schwarz, and drummer Dimitrio Gatsios brought to their avid Torontonian fans Thursday night, as they were superb when they opened for Kamelot in the summer of 2023 in the city. Blending songs from their excellent 2023 album The Wonders Still Awaiting with older tunes, plus their brand new single Universal, the band didn’t disappoint their fans at all, delivering a more-than-proper warmup for the main attraction of the night, and who knows, maybe we’ll see Xandria headlining a tour in Canada soon, right?

Setlist
You Will Never Be Our God
Death to the Holy
Reborn
Forevermore
Universal
Your Stories I’ll Remember
Two Worlds
Nightfall

Band members
Ambre Vourvahis – vocals
Marco Heubaum – guitars
Rob Klawonn – guitars
Tim Schwarz – bass
Dimitrio Gatsios – drums

WIND ROSE

After a short break, it was time for the main attraction of the night, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy-based Folk/Power Metal horde WIND ROSE, to hit the stage at The Concert Hall for the delight of all fans at the venue eager to witness their always fun performances, promoting their 2022 album Warfront. Keith said it was his first time seeing those guys live and that he was truly impressed with their show. Their energy was huge, and had him “digging a hole through The Concert Hall floor” (whatever he means by that, most probably something that happened during the song Diggy Diggy Hole). Keith mentioned he will definitely see them again whenever they return to Toronto, and if you’re curious to know more about the band you can find all of their creations on BandCamp and on Spotify (or on any other streaming service). I’m definitely eager to also see them live for the first time ever, so hopefully they’ll get back to Toronto sooner than later, and without any other pre-booked concert to block me from attending their show.

Setlist
Army of Stone
Fellows of the Hammer
Drunken Dwarves
Mine Mine Mine!
Gates of Ekrund
The King Under the Mountain
The Battle of the Five Armies
The Art of War
Tales of War
Together We Rise
Diggy Diggy Hole (The Yogscast cover)
Diggy Diggy Hole (Dance Remix)
Tomorrow Has Come
I Am the Mountain

Band members
Francesco Cavalieri – lead vocals
Claudio Falconcini – guitars, backing vocals
Federico Meranda – keyboards
Cristiano Bertocchi – bass
Federico Gatti – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Album Review – Buioingola / Il Nuovo Mare (2017)

Posted on by
Reply

Through fears, conflicts, uncertainties and discomfort, this Italian Darkwave trio offers the world of heavy music their latest (and unfortunately final) opus.

Through fears, conflicts, uncertainties and discomfort, the music by Italian Darkwave/Neocrust act Buioingola tells of a journey that leads nowhere, but which finds its meaning in its own becoming. Drawing influences from legendary Crust and Post-Punk bands like Amebix, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Killing Joke and Joy Division, the mysterious Buioingola (which literally translates to “darkness in my throat”) have just released their new and final album, elegantly titled Il Nuovo Mare, or “the new ocean” in English. Nobody knows for sure If Il Nuovo Mare is actually their swansong or not, but if it is, let’s say Buioingola are retiring at the prime of their short but intense career.

Founded in 2011 in the city of Pisa, Tuscany, in central Italy, the band formed by Diego Chuhan on guitars and vocals, Omar Bovenzi on bass and vocals and Thomas Gianardi on drums and samples has been making a name for themselves since the release of their debut demo in May 2012, followed by their first full-length album, named Dopo L’Apnea, in October 2013. And now, after almost four years of “silence”, Buioingola are back with more of their wicked experimentations in seven distinct but thoroughly connected compositions, with the obscure artwork by Italian artist Marco Zanella beautifully summarizing what you’ll face during the album’s 35 minutes of their characteristic deep and doomed sounds.

Experimentations hit our ears and penetrate our minds instantly in the opening track, Polvere, where the dissonant guitar lines by Diego generate an eerie atmosphere in a great display of Post-Metal and Darkwave, with both clean and harsh vocals effectively telling the story proposed (in Italian, of course). Following that potent start, Buioingola don’t give us time to breathe, attacking our senses with a sensational avalanche of sick distortions, deranged growls and doomed riffs and beats entitled Latenza. Moreover, you might not understand a single word in Italian, but it’s quite easy to feel the poetry coming from the song’s lyrics (“Per guardare avanti cerco la forza di una memoria, / un modo di strappare il lutto al braccio / che comprime le arterie ed erode i miei arti, / un modo per tagliare la catena dell’ancora /e salpare verso lidi meno funesti”). After reaching the third track of the album, Irriconoscibile, you’ll notice all songs are connected as one entity, with the power trio offering in this case a sonic amalgamation of belligerent sounds led by the intricate, obscure and metalized drumming by Thomas, and with its second part being an ominous and exploratory voyage of modern metal music.

Attesa, a whimsical instrumental piece, brings forward eerie background noises with constant bursts of modern madness, followed by Eclisse, where the band gets back to a more metallic sounding with heavier guitars and Doom Metal inspired beats. Furthermore, this is the perfect sample of what Post-Doom is all about, showcasing a mesmerizing rhythm and hints of Depressive Black Metal in its last part to make it more compelling and exciting. More visceral and potent, Silenzio brings elements of traditional Black and Doom Metal added to the band’s Darkwave core, with highlights to its brutal deep growls full of anguish and to the blast beats by Thomas, before the music flows into a melancholic ending. And Il Giorno Dopo presents a dark and introspective closure to the album, being a beautiful composition by Buioingola where steady, calmer passages are the main ingredient throughout the whole song, never exploding into the savagery of all previous tracks.

One might inquire if the music by Buioingola is really metal, questioning the “metalness” of the band’s wicked creations. Not only I think it’s metal, but I also consider it high-quality music, offering us fans a distinct side of the type of music we love so much. Hence, if you want to experiment the creations by Buioingola, go check what they’re up to at their Facebook page and enjoy their music at their YouTube channel, and purchase Il Nuovo Mare (which you can listen in its entirety HERE) through the band’s BandCamp page, the Sentient Ruin Laboratories’ BandCamp or webshop, the Unquiet Records’ BandCamp or webshop, the Sangue Dischi’s webstore, on iTunes, Amazon, or at Discogs. Swansong or not, Il Nuovo Mare is definitely an album the three musicians involved should be proud of, and maybe the positive feedback it deserves from us fans of heavy music will provide the band the necessary inspiration for another Buioingola album in the future.

Best moments of the album: Latenza, Eclisse and Silenzio.

Worst moments of the album: Attesa.

Released in 2017 Sentient Ruin Laboratories

Track listing
1. Polvere 3:25
2. Latenza 5:23
3. Irriconoscibile 6:59
4. Attesa 4:38
5. Eclisse 4:47
6. Silenzio 5:41
7. Il Giorno Dopo 3:31

Band members
Diego Chuhan – guitars, vocals
Omar Bovenzi – bass, vocals
Thomas Gianardi – drums, samples

https://youtu.be/SBVzfg34vGM

Album Review – Madness Of Sorrow / N.W.O. The Beginning (2017)

Posted on by
Reply

Depicting the corrupt and sick system in which humanity is living, the new album by this Italian duo of Gothic and Horror Metal will certainly entertain you with its high dosage of acidness, energy and creativity.

Although the ceaseless danger of the emergence of a totalitarian world government (the conspiracy theory known as the New World Order) might incite fear in our hearts, it also fuels the creativity from artists all over the world, including Italian Gothic/Horror Metal band Madness Of Sorrow with their brand new release, titled N.W.O. The Beginning, the fourth studio album in their career. Depicting the corrupt and sick system in which humanity is living, focusing specifically on corporations, sex and serial killers, and featuring a dark and acid artwork by Italian artist Graziano Roccatani, N.W.O. The Beginning will take you on a journey through the shadows of our decaying world, showcasing how exciting heavy music can be when powered by controversial and disturbing topics.

Formed in March 2011 by multi-instrumentalist Murihell (aka Muriel Saracino) from the ashes of Italian Gothic Metal/Hard Rock group Filthy Teens in the region of Pisa and Livorno, in Tuscany (but currently located in Val d’Aosta, a region of northwest Italy bordered by France and Switzerland), Madness Of Sorrow are constantly delivering high-quality music for fans of Gothic and Horror Metal, starting with their debut album Signs in 2011, which by the way led them to play in 2012 in Milan with Italian Gothic Metal icons Cadaveria, followed by Take the Children Away from the Priest in 2013 and more recently III: The Beast in 2015. The project takes now one step further with N.W.O. The Beginning, their first album featuring new singer Prophet (aka Diego Carnazzola), widening their music horizons and venturing on new sounds unexplored by the band in their previous releases.

The intro N.W.O. welcomes the listener with an eerie voice talking about the aforementioned conspiracy theory, working as a warm-up for Salomon, where Prophet blasts powerful growls as well as dark, clean vocals while Murihell delivers a Gothic, industrial and obscure musicality, blending the styles by Mercyful Fate and Ministry (which translates into pure wickedness, of course), followed by the excellent Inside the Church, a song that should sound fantastic when played live, bringing elements from Thrash and Death Metal in its riffs and beats, not to mention its awesome accelerated pace and catchy lyrics and chorus. And despite almost sounding as a ballad, You’re Not Alone also presents the darkened elements commonly found in the music by Madness Of Sorrow, being a very good example of a song by an extreme band that could be played in any radio station, with highlights to the top-notch clean vocals by Prophet.

Speeding things up again, the duo offers a fast-paced and aggressive tune drinking from the fountains of Thrash and Gothic Metal entitled Necrophilia, with the slashing guitar lines by Murihell together with Prophet’s demented screams being all that’s needed to ignite some fun mosh pits during their live concerts. More modern and Gothic than all previous songs, Slut brings forward lyrics that are extremely porn and nasty, in line with what the music proposes, but that for obvious reasons cannot be played on any radio station; whereas R.I.P. is a song where Murihell showcases all his talent and passion for metal, sounding more melodic, rhythmic and leaning towards more traditional Heavy Metal, with even some hints of Symphonic Metal coming from its background keyboards. In Zombified, smooth but dark keys and low-tuned bass lines build a demonic ambience perfect for Prophet to darkly declaim the song’s wicked lyrics in a solid display of contemporary Gothic Metal for fans of the genre.

Keep Your Head Down, an interesting composition by this skillful duo from Italy, offers more of their Gothic and Symphonic Metal, albeit being slightly repetitive in my opinion (in special its chorus), whereas in DNA what feels like Gothic Metal at first becomes a vicious display of Dark and Industrial Metal with elements from Thrash Metal, proving how versatile the duo is. Moreover, Murihell does an amazing job on drums and guitars, paving the path for Prophet and his raging vocals to thrive. And with a Down with the Sickness-inspired beginning, but bringing forward elements from Melodic Death Metal in its guitars and beats, the awesome S.O.S displays a rockin’ rhythm and effective breaks throughout its three minutes to keep the sound always fresh and vibrant, therefore turning it into one of the best songs of the album (if not the best), flowing into a tribal Outro that also presents the band’s trademark obscure sounding.

In summary, the New World Order might fortunately be just a theory (at least for now), but Madness Of Sorrow are an exciting reality and the music you’ll find in their new album is highly recommended for facing our everyday issues and struggles due to its elevated amount of energy and creativity. You can find more information about them at their official Facebook page, and enjoy their music on YouTube as well as on Spotify. And in order to grab your copy of N.W.O. The Beginning, simply go to iTunes or to Amazon. But hurry up, before the New World Order is finally born and comes to destroy our freedom, our music and arts in general.

Best moments of the album: Inside the Church, You’re Not Alone and S.O.S.

Worst moments of the album: Keep Your Head Down.

Released in 2017 Independent

Track listing
1. N.W.O. 0:35
2. Salomon 3:26
3. Inside the Church 3:36
4. You’re Not Alone 3:21
5. Necrophilia 3:26
6. Slut 3:23
7. R.I.P. 3:26
8. Zombified 3:37
9. Keep Your Head Down 4:26
10. DNA 3:46
11. S.O.S 3:11
12. Outro 1:26

Band members
Prophet – vocals
Murihell – guitars, bass, drums

Live lineup
Prophet – vocals
Murihell – guitars
Hades – bass
Kronork – drums