Metamorfosi’s second album was a “concept” inspired by the first part of the famous Dante Alighieri’s poem “La Divina Commedia” that describes an imaginary journey of the poet through Hell where he meets the best known sinners of his time. It was released in 1973 with a line-up featuring Davide “Jimmy” Spitaleri (lead vocals, flute), Enrico Olivieri (keyboards, flute, vocals), Roberto Turbitosi (bass, vocals) and Gianluca Herygers (drums, percussion). Well, on their album “Inferno” (Hell) Metamorfosi do not try to merely transpose the poetry of Dante Alighieri in music. They rather try to tell their own imaginary journey through hell describing in music and lyrics the pains of “modern sinners” like drug pushers, Mafiosi, exploiters, members of KKK etc...
On the opener “Introduzione” the sound of organ and the inspired vocals of Davide “Jimmy” Spitaleri draw a gloomy landscape... “Flowers without colour grow on the ruins of ancient cities / Sad trees stretch to the sky branches corroded by time...”. Then a keyboard-driven “infernal tarantella” (that every now and again reminds me slightly of PFM’s “E’ festa”) leads through a “Selva oscura” (Dark forest) to “Porta dell’Inferno” (Hell’s Gate) where organ and vocals warn you: “Leave all hopes, you who enter / Damned souls, you will suffer in heat and freeze!”.
Then the rhythm rises again for the meeting with the wicked “Caronte” (Charon), the demon with “eyes of fire in the dark”, and with the first damned, a drug pusher (“Spacciatore di droga”) haunted by his victims... “Now that you swear out of anger and pain / You, drug pusher, are going to cry / You will serve time in the hardest darkness / Where you can’t have the illusions that you used to give... Spent eyes are looking for you in the void / Junkies of a world without reality / How many times they had suffered because of your greed! / But now it is not with money that you have to pay...”. Dramatic moods in all the tracks, bound together with great energy (though on this album there’s little room for guitars) and remarkable musicianship...
Then the rhythm rises again for the meeting with the wicked “Caronte” (Charon), the demon with “eyes of fire in the dark”, and with the first damned, a drug pusher (“Spacciatore di droga”) haunted by his victims... “Now that you swear out of anger and pain / You, drug pusher, are going to cry / You will serve time in the hardest darkness / Where you can’t have the illusions that you used to give... Spent eyes are looking for you in the void / Junkies of a world without reality / How many times they had suffered because of your greed! / But now it is not with money that you have to pay...”. Dramatic moods in all the tracks, bound together with great energy (though on this album there’s little room for guitars) and remarkable musicianship...
After the break of “Terremoto” (Earthquake), the rhythm calms down for the passage in “Limbo”, just before the meeting with the “lovers of vice and pleasure”, the “Lussuriosi” (Lusters). This track, that closes side A, seems more ironic than dramatic and in my opinion this is the weakest point of the album.
Side B begins with “Avari” (Misers), a short track about the meeting with a miser and greedy damned soul that slightly recalls musically PFM’s “Impressioni di settembre” with keyboards leading the instrumental refrain... “I have never prayed / Money was my God / And I will have to pay here... How many times did you take pleasure seeing people fall down? / You were blind and you must pay...”.
The following, more complex “Violenti” (Violent souls) is about the meeting with a murderer in a “Mafia vendetta”. “Red the blood flows among the paths where life is fragile / It was a scorching sunny day in August when his life vanished / He fell, shot down because he had betrayed you / He was found with a stone in his mouth in that field of orange trees / After two days the whole village followed the funeral / A crowd walks slowly following an altar of death / A woman cries, left to fight alone in silence / Black is the veil on her face, covering two tears of pain...”. One of the best moments of the album that melts into the dark landscape of “Malebolge”, the “Black jails of crying”...
Side B begins with “Avari” (Misers), a short track about the meeting with a miser and greedy damned soul that slightly recalls musically PFM’s “Impressioni di settembre” with keyboards leading the instrumental refrain... “I have never prayed / Money was my God / And I will have to pay here... How many times did you take pleasure seeing people fall down? / You were blind and you must pay...”.
The following, more complex “Violenti” (Violent souls) is about the meeting with a murderer in a “Mafia vendetta”. “Red the blood flows among the paths where life is fragile / It was a scorching sunny day in August when his life vanished / He fell, shot down because he had betrayed you / He was found with a stone in his mouth in that field of orange trees / After two days the whole village followed the funeral / A crowd walks slowly following an altar of death / A woman cries, left to fight alone in silence / Black is the veil on her face, covering two tears of pain...”. One of the best moments of the album that melts into the dark landscape of “Malebolge”, the “Black jails of crying”...
After the meeting with the “Sfruttatori” (Exploiters), condemned to sink in a sea of sweat because they took away the harvest of the peasants with the arms of the law, there’s the meeting with the “Razzisti” (Racists), members of the Ku Klux Klan... “You have despised a man to make him your slave / In the cotton fields more bent is his back / Work nigger! Sweat! Cry! Die!... Masked men, sect of damned / Pinned to these crosses now you burn!”. The music is powerful with many changes in rhythm, theatrical vocals and no room for boredom...
In the instrumental “Fossa dei Giganti” there is a little break when on a simple line of bass the keyboards just suggest the anthems of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. When the album was released it was the time of the “Cold war” and of the fear of the atomic bomb... Next comes “Lucifero (Politicanti)”. For many people politicians seemed to be representatives of Evil playing with the World, so it was normal to find them in Hell freezing forever in the sea... “Gentlemen presidents, with your politics you have woven every deceit and betrayed the ideal of man... And my blood freezes thinking of our Hell...”. The fear melts into the sweet, delicate conclusion that marks the end of the journey (or of the nightmare if you prefer). “And then we could see the stars again...”.
On the whole “Inferno” is definitely a good album though with some ingenuity. To be honest, sometimes I miss the sound of the guitar here but there is a good interaction between all the other instruments and the keyboards work is really outstanding.
In the instrumental “Fossa dei Giganti” there is a little break when on a simple line of bass the keyboards just suggest the anthems of the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. When the album was released it was the time of the “Cold war” and of the fear of the atomic bomb... Next comes “Lucifero (Politicanti)”. For many people politicians seemed to be representatives of Evil playing with the World, so it was normal to find them in Hell freezing forever in the sea... “Gentlemen presidents, with your politics you have woven every deceit and betrayed the ideal of man... And my blood freezes thinking of our Hell...”. The fear melts into the sweet, delicate conclusion that marks the end of the journey (or of the nightmare if you prefer). “And then we could see the stars again...”.
On the whole “Inferno” is definitely a good album though with some ingenuity. To be honest, sometimes I miss the sound of the guitar here but there is a good interaction between all the other instruments and the keyboards work is really outstanding.
From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An Introduction To Italian Progressive Rock
You can listen to the complete album HERE
You can listen to the complete album HERE
Metamorfosi: Inferno (1973). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: I enjoy "Inferno" for the uniqueness of its sound more than the music itself. It may not be a 5-star masterpiece to me but it has a sound like few other albums. Dark and mysterious. An overwhelming presence of keyboards with a very stately and strangely disconcerting sound. You often feel trapped or like you are lost in some maze and that's probably the exact feeling they wanted you to have given the subject matter. Very tight drumming with a canned or confined sound contributes to this. Add this to the dramatic vocal pronouncements and low key guitar presence and you have the recipe for something different... (Read the complete revie HERE)
Jim Russell: I enjoy "Inferno" for the uniqueness of its sound more than the music itself. It may not be a 5-star masterpiece to me but it has a sound like few other albums. Dark and mysterious. An overwhelming presence of keyboards with a very stately and strangely disconcerting sound. You often feel trapped or like you are lost in some maze and that's probably the exact feeling they wanted you to have given the subject matter. Very tight drumming with a canned or confined sound contributes to this. Add this to the dramatic vocal pronouncements and low key guitar presence and you have the recipe for something different... (Read the complete revie HERE)
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