PSYCHEDELIC RITES

The Lost Vision Of The Chandoo Priest is a side project of two talented multi-instrumentalists: Francesca Zanetta (electric guitar, bass guitar, Eminent Solina, Logan String Melody 2, Elka Rhapsody 490, Moog Voyager - from Unreal City, Quel Che Disse Il Tuono) and Niccolò Gallani (drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, mellotron, Elka Soloist 505, flute - from Cellar Noise, Quel Che Disse Il Tuono). In 2021 they recorded in Milan an interesting eponymous album that was released the following year on the independent AMS Records label. According to the artists, it’s a collection of music and soundscapes written, arranged and performed during a period of isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic and, as you can guess from the artwork, the psychedelic influences are very strong...

 

The opener “Floating Down The Valley” starts softly with organ and guitar in the forefront. Every now and again it could recall the soundtrack of a Spaghetti Western and, with its melancholic mood and a disquieting sense of impending tragedy, in my opinion it could be the perfect background for the reading of the Dark Tower series or The Stand by Stephen King, like the following “Chasing Time In Opposite Direction (Part I)” and “Entering The Void Of Madness”...

 

Then it’s the turn of “The White Toad Majesty” that starts by a strange marching beat while the dreamy middle section takes you to fairy tale atmospheres before the final jumps... Next comes the mysterious, nocturnal “Droplets” with its slow pace and reflective mood. It leads to the effervescent “Chasing Time In Opposite Direction (Part II)” that brings back action movie atmospheres like the following “Getting Nowhere”...

 

Francesca Zanetta and Niccolò Gallani 2022

The vintage sounds of “London Underground” drive you through an imaginary trip under the streets of London where you have to mind the gap to avoid a dangerous fall... “Farewell, Dog” is a charming piece that blends nervous riffs and short folksy passages. Then “Dunans Castle” (the title refers to a historic structure located in Glendaruel, on the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, Scotland) ends the album evoking pastoral landscapes and a relaxing sense of peace and love...

On the whole, an interesting instrumental album that deserves a try...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

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

 

 

GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL

Wyatt Earp took shape in Verona in 2013 on the initiative of Matteo Finato and the name of the band refers to Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, an American lawman and gambler in the American West who was involved in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After a change of vocalist and a good live experience, in 2018 they released a first eponymous album on the independent Andromeda Relix label with a line up featuring Leonardo Baltieri (vocals), Matteo Finato (guitar), Flavio Martini (keyboards), Fabio Pasquali (bass) and Silvio Bissa (drums). Their music is clearly inspired by seventies hard rock and bands such as Deep Purple, Rainbow, Kansas, Rush or Uriah Heep but although this work might sound unashamedly derivative it’s not without interest and every track oozes passion...

 

The opener “Dead End Road” is a straightforward track full of energy that could recall Led Zeppelin and tells of someone who takes the wrong road getting lost... The following “Ashes” starts softly, with psychedelic echoes that could recall The Doors, and describes a windy and dusty landscape. It’s a bloody land where you can lost your faith surrounded by creeping nightmarish creatures and the frenzied second part, that every now and again could recall Deep Purple, seems to mark the desperate effort to escape...

 

“Live On” is another straightforward hard rock piece exhorting you to choose your own road and way of life while “With Hindsight” is longer and more complex. It alternates reflective, dreamy passages with hard riffs and sudden surges of rhythm and rage evoking memories, awareness and bitter regrets playing together in a dangerous mind game...

Then the frenzied “Back From Afterworld” leads to the final epic “Gran Torino”, that depicts an injection of adrenaline to get on the verge of something dangerous and strange. In the middle section the search for joy ends up in pain and apathy, the protagonist goes through various psychedelic visions until a voice announces that his soul is damned. The final part is a wild instrumental ride to hell...

On the whole, an album that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/wyattearpbandvr/