AN INFERNAL METAMORPHOSIS

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...

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”...

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.

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An Introduction To Italian Progressive Rock

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)

ON THE SIXTH DAY

Metamorfosi began life in Rome in 1969 when Sicilian vocalist Davide “Jimmy” Spitaleri teamed up with the musicians of I Frammenti, a group specialized in the beat masses, a music genre typical of those years, characterized by associating texts with religious themes to beat music and to be performed during the new Catholic liturgy post Second Vatican Council. In 1972 the band released their first album, entitled ...E fu il sesto giorno, on the Vedette label with a line up featuring along with Davide “Jimmy” Spitaleri (lead vocals, flute) and main composer Enrico Olivieri (vocals, organ, harpsichord, piano, flute, synthesizers) also Roberto Turbitosi (vocals, bass), Mario Natali (drums, percussion) and Luciano Tamburro (guitars). It’s an album that marks the passage from simple beat music to more complex, classical inspired structures but still bound to the song form.

The opener “Il sesto giorno” (The sixth day) starts softly, by delicate flute notes on organ chords while you can hear the sound of the sea waves in the background. Then warm, operatic vocals evoke the creation of Man according to the Book of Genesis and the rhythm section begins to pulse describing the banishment of humanity from Eden. As the years passed by fate carved into time the vanity of men and a thirst for science troubled their mind and made them ignore their own reality... Well, in these dramatic times of pandemia and climate changes it’s a piece that keeps all its relevance.

The following “...E lui amava i fiori” (And he loved flowers) tells in music and words a fable where a peaceful man meets the personification of war, prime minister of evil on Earth. But in this fable there’s a happy end, love is stronger than evil and the seeds of hate would not sprout in the garden of peace...

The long, dramatic “Crepuscolo” (Dusk) ends the first side of the LP and is a harsh critic to the hypocrisy and selfishness of many Christians. It is my favourite piece on this album and begins by a lively marching beat... Then the music and lyrics conjure up the image of a starving busker, a man in need ignored by the crowd. The passers by can hear his songs and prayers but nobody helps him. And yet, Jesus lives in him and in every famishing man or child... “I am cold and hungry and a man walking by looks at me / He smiles, then says something in someone else's ear / Words, only words / My fingers freeze on the old fretboard / They make a last effort / But the guitar falls down...”.

 

“Hiroshima”, as you can guess, is a song about the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city during World World II by an American aircraft. Here the music is still rooted in the sixties while the lyrics deal with regret, painful memories and the cathartic power of repentance and forgiveness...

“Nuova luce” (New light) is a nice song of hope full of positive energy where the shining light of love shows the way and darkness becomes synonym of pain. Only a new life can heal the pain for the loss of a man... A new light, a new love, a new life... This piece features good vocal harmonies and the atmosphere in some moments is almost mystical.

“Sogno e realtà” (Dream and reality) is another light song rooted in the sixties. It’s a kind of lullaby for a little child who still believes in fairy tales crowded with dragons, fairies and enchanted dolls. The experience of a lifetime could cancel the memories of the dreams from the childhood, so he has better keep on sleeping peacefully while he still can...

The joyful, catchy “Inno di gloria” (Hymn of glory) ends the album and is linked to the past experiences of the band with the beat masses. Praising glory to the Lord, glory to Life and glory to Love, it could be a good choice as a song for a modern church service...

On the whole, a work with some ups and downs that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Metamorfosi: ...E fu il sesto giorno (1972). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: Their second album "Inferno" is considered an RPI classic by many but this debut album is often overlooked. This is unfortunate because the album is very respectable and one of those fascinating bridge albums where you can hear the "metamorphosis" to progressive rock occurring right before you ears... A good transitional album of the subgenre, but again, not fully realized from a progressive perspective... (Read the complete review HERE)
Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: While understandably it doesn't share close to the status and reputation that `Inferno' enjoys, this is still a well performed and enjoyable rock/pop album, where at least half the compositions are really quite intelligent and gently daring, and two or three pieces approach genuine greatness. If you've got a healthy set of the true landmark vintage Italian discs and are looking to expand your collection with some of the more unimportant yet perfectly worthwhile titles, `E Fu Il Sesto Giorno' certainly falls under that category. It captures that moment when many Italian bands were just beginning to explore the limits of their music, presenting very respectable experimental rock/pop albums brimming with promise and the exciting potential to come... (Read the complete review HERE)