A NEO-GOTHIC LEGEND

The Legend Of The Holy Circle is the second album by Three Monks, an instrumental project from Arezzo led by composer and organist Paolo “Julius” Lazzari and bassist Maurizio “Bozorius” Bozzi. As on the previous album, during the recording sessions they were helped by Claudio “Ursinius” Cuseri and Roberto “Placidus” Bichi who, in turns, took charge of drums. In my opinion, this work, released in 2013 on Black Widow Records, confirms all the good qualities of its predecessor and goes even further with the musicians trying elaborate a real storyline through their music: in fact, according to an interview with the band, this is a concept album, a kind of score for a film that you have to build up. Anyway, there are no liner notes to explain the plot and there's nothing but the music, the art cover by Margherita Zanotti, some pictures and the titles of the tracks to suggest how the story unfurls. All the rest is left to the sensibility and imagination of the listener...

The opener “The Holy Circle” sets the atmosphere with dark pipe organ rides and frenzied bass lines. Traditionally, circles were believed by ritual magicians to form a protective barrier between themselves and what they summoned and the Holy Circle is supposed to be the main line of defence against the forces of the Outside. On the art cover you can see three mysterious characters with their hands stretched out on a strange sphere where shines the light of a dangerous, powerful force while here the music evokes esoteric practices and infernal dances...

The following “Into Mystery” begins by threatening, obsessive bass lines and a hypnotic marching beat, then solemn church-like organ notes soar taking you across dark places where strange rituals are celebrated. It could be the perfect background for the reading of the works of H. P. Lovecraft or Gustav Meyrink...

“The Battle Of Marduk” is even tenser. It seems to describe a raging battle against the devils summoned from the other-world. What kind of devils? Well, Marduk is the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia associated with water, vegetation, judgement, and magic... Scenes from films like The Mummy or The Scorpion King could come to mind while listening to the different passages of this complex track full of dark energy.

“The Rest Of The Sacred Swarm” comes like the calm after the storm. It's a beautiful adagio for pipe organ solo that draws you between the desert aisles of a Gothic cathedral. It leads to “Rieger” where you can experience a breathtaking mystical experience surrounded by strong smells of incense. Th title of this track refers to the Austrian master organ-builder from the XIX century Franz Rieger and in the inner sleeve you can admire a picture of a sumptuous pipe organ in Prague Cathedral...

Next comes the long, complex epic “The Strife Of Souls”, a magnificent track that every now and again reminds me of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and drives you through the many different moods and situations of a terrible conflict between Good and Evil, with angels and demons fighting all around. The brilliant “Toccata Neogotica #5 (Epilogue)” closes the circle evoking the immense force of destiny and waking you up from your uneasy dreams... On the whole a great album that everyone is free to interpret as he likes but that is absolutely worth listening to!

Three Monks: The Legend Of The Holy Circle (2013). Other opinions:

Kev Rowland: This is very much a band, all pulling together in the same direction, showing just how powerful a pipe organ can be in the hands of someone who really knows what he is doing... This is an incredible example of keyboard based progressive rock, and fans of this style definitely need to seek this out... (read the complete review HERE)

Mark Johnson: Sit back and revel in this unique opportunity to emerse yourself in prophetic church organ symphonies without vocals. After all, words would only detract from the music. Thankfully there are still musicians inspired by this form of music still creating... If you like the keyboards playing a primary role in the music you enjoy, then this album is definitely not to be missed... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/Threemonks 

A PIPE ORGAN DELIGHT

Three Monks come from Arezzo and were formed on the initiative of the classical trained organist and composer Paolo Lazzeri (a.k.a. Julius) and of an experienced bassist, Maurizio Bozzi (a.k.a. Bozorius). The trio line up was completed by Roberto Bichi (a.k.a. Placidus) and Claudio Cuseri (a.k.a. Ursinius) who alternate on drums.

Their first album, “Neogothic Progressive Toccatas”, was released in 2010 on the independent label Drycastle Records and re-released with a different art-work one year later on Black Widow Records. The use of a pipe organ sound backed by a rock rhythm section is the trademark of the band and gives a particular Neo-Gothic flavour to the Three Monk’s compositions. I’m sure that fans of Emerson Lake & Palmer, Le Orme or Quatermass will love them! Their debut album features seven instrumental tracks full of energy, seven toccatas where all the members of the band showcase a great musicianship.

The sparkling opener “Progressive Magdeburg” is dedicated to the reconstruction of a pipe organ that was destroyed during the bombardment of the German city of Magdeburg. In fact, Magdeburg was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force during the World War II and the RAF bombing raid on the night of 16 January 1944 destroyed much of the city, including the Cathedral with its beautiful pipe organ built by Adolf Reubke. In 2009 a brand new organ was built in the Cathedral and the band celebrated this “rebirth” with this excellent, thundering piece. 

The long, complex “Toccata Neogotica #1 (Merseburg)” is dedicated to another famous pipe organ that lies in the Cathedral of another German city, Merseburg. It was built by Friedrich Ladegast and, according to the booklet, it was the “inspirer and witness of the first performances of the grat comopsitions by Franz Liszt and Julius Reubke. This piece is a free prog rock influenced tribute to their style and in some passages it could recall Le Orme’s “Collage”. 

Next comes “Neogothic Pedal Solo” features three sections and a mysterious, disquieting atmosphere. It begins with a particular monks choir, then a bass solo follows and finally an organ solo concludes the piece. On the following “Herr Jann” the rhythm section comes back for another fiery musical ride. This piece is dedicated to another magnificent pipe organ, an organ built in 1989 by Georg Jann in the basilica of Waldsassen, in Germany. According to the booklet it is “a splendid fusion of baroque and contemporary organ craft” and the music tries to evoke this perfect blending of classical and modern.

“Deep Red” and  “Profondo Gotico” are two tracks linked together. The first one is beautiful cover of a famous piece by Goblin from the soundtrack of Dario Argento’s film Profondo Rosso. The second one is a “gothic” variation based on Goblin’s theme and is a tribute to one of “the most significant rock composition for pipe organ”.

The conclusive “Toccata Neogotica #7 (St. Florian)” is another wonderful piece full of charm and dark energy. It is dedicated to the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner who was the organist of the Sankt Florian’s abbey. He died in Vienna in 1896 at the age of 72 and was buried in the crypt of St. Florian monastery church, right below his favourite organ as he wished. 

On the whole I think that this is a very good album, especially recommended to Keith Emerson’s fans!

Three Monks: Neogothic Progressive Toccatas (2010). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: “Neogothic Progressive Toccatas” will truly be a one of a kind in your progressive rock collection. The project is cantered around the incredible pipe organ playing of Paolo Lazzeri supported by a thundering bass/drums rhythm sections and little else. This album is a church organ purist’s dream... The music is incredibly heavy, vast, formal, and tinged with centuries of age. You feel as if you are walking into one of those centuries old European cathedrals and hearing the bombast of the ancient organ, yet it is swirled into often dizzying progressive rock pieces... (read the complete review HERE)

Olav Martin Bjørnsen: If you like the organ and love the pipe organ, or vice versa, Three Monks have crafted a CD you have to investigate. If not for any other reason than for its rather unique nature; to my knowledge, the number of progressive rock albums with a pipe organ as the main instrument makes for a very limited selection. In this case bass, drums and the pipe organ combine neatly to create majestic, dramatic and dark musical landscapes of an impressive nature, with a vast array of subtle and finer details to discover as one becomes more familiar with this creation... (read the complete review HERE)

Read the interview on Progarchives. Click HERE

More info:

http://www.myspace.com/the3monks

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/THREEMONKS1