Anacondia
began life in 1995 on the initiative of keyboardist Andrea Canonico
and singer Gabriele Ramilli but it wasn't until 2000 that the band
could find a durable line up featuring, along with the founder
members, also Antonio Emanuele Sergi (drums, percussion), Walter
Marocchi (guitars) and Vincenzo Valerio (bass). After two demo EPs
(Genesi instabile, 2003 and Due mondi, 2005 - later
collected on the self-released CD Due mondi, 2006) and a good
live activity, in 2015 the band finally released what can be
considered their first real official full length album on the
independent label Lizard Records. It's entitled L'orizzonte degli
eventi (Event Horizon) and features the collaboration of the
guest Nicoletta Bartola (sax, flute, backing vocals) who contributed
to enrich the sound. It's a nice mix of prog, metal, psychedelia,
classical and a touch of folk and in my opinion it's a great step
forward for the band, especially if compared with the previous, still
immature, demos. The title of the album refers to a phenomenon that
is usually associated with black holes, a boundary in space-time
beyond which events cannot affect an outside observer. Anyway, here
the term event horizon is used in a metaphorical way and marks the
limit between dreams and reality, ideals and conformism. But perhaps
the art cover by Massimo Valerio probably describes the lyrical
content of this work better than my words...
The
opener "Eroi di solitudine" (Heroes of solitude) starts by
heavy electric guitar riffs and sudden flushes of energy. The music
and lyrics describe the desperate wish to escape from the nothingness
of a society that is compared to a vain, empty pageant of masks where
falsity and myths of plastic rule. Despite its length this is a
straightforward piece where the band just try to express rage
without hate claiming their right to be different from the
mainstream...
The
following track "Nel silenzio" (In the silence) is shorter
but, in my opinion, more complex and refined. At the start the
atmosphere is almost hypnotic, tense. Then tension melts in a dreamy
section with the flute in the forefront... Here the music and lyrics
depict a kind of nobody's land between wake and sleep where strange
sensations and false images gather around you and silence begins to
paint your soul in vivid colours as a soundless orchestra begins to
play for you...
 |
| Anacondia on stage 2013 |
"Ideale
o verità" (Ideal or truth) starts calmly and conjures up
confused images hanging in the air, between dream and reality. It's a
delicate ballad that deals with the need to have an ideal, a dream to
follow to get on and on. Dreams and hopes can make you blind but
without them you risk to get lost anyway... Next comes the melodic
"Come un fiume in piena" (As a raging river) that
celebrates the thaumaturgic, overwhelming power of a music that can
shake you from the inside and that you can't stop.
"Un
foglio bianco" (A blank paper) is an excellent track that
combines delicate classical music patterns and heavier passages. The
music and lyrics describe the atmosphere of an important moment in
your life when you have to make up your mind and make a choice but
where you are uncertain about what to do. Life can be like a blank
sheet that you have to fill with your own words, a white page that
you have to paint with your own imagination and sometimes you really
have to try hard to reach your goal...
The
long, complex "Gerico" (Jericho) is a dramatic epic whose
title refers to the battle of Jericho as told in the holy bible... So
the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the
people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great
shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into
the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.
Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women,
young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.
(Joshua 6:20-21). However, here the episode of the fall of
Jericho is just a metaphor: in fact, the music and lyrics of this
piece tell of an imaginary battle against falsity and human vanity
drawing strong images and evocative musical passages.
The
ethereal closer "Il colore dell'aria" (The colour of the
air) starts softly and the atmosphere is dreamy and melancholic. The
music and lyrics evoke the dance of the wind and the singing of the
leaves, an inner void that is difficult to understand and dark
shadows that the river swept away. But at last you can hear a
friendly voice and see the light of hope showing the way...
On
the whole, a very nice album that is really worth listening to.
Streaming available on deezer or spotify. Have a try!
Streaming available on deezer or spotify. Have a try!
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