BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO

3.5 stars

First album of BANCO DEL MUTUO SUCCURSO, this self-titled opus combines the majesty of classical music and the power of early 70's hard rock, with a touching proper Italian sensibility. The disc is strangely structured, as it features three long songs with different durations and three short passages.

Beginning in a mysterious atmosphere, "In Volo" is in fact a pleasant medieval theme played at the flute, introducing the best song of the record, "R.I.P.". Lifely and catchy, the track presents a good balance nervous guitar and piano, with a beautiful melancholic interlude. One of the best compositions from the RPI genre! "Passaggio" is a short transition simply consisting in keyboardist Vittorio Nocenzi entering the room, playing harpsichord, and leaving the room by slamming the door!

The mini-epic "Metamorfosi" is quite interesting. Its first half is instrumental and features a powerful combination of seventies' hard rock and classical keyboards. This part surely shares similitudes with ELP. The second half is softer and more delicate, and the finale is haunting. This song has some weaknesses, but is overall pretty cool. Unfortunately, although it mixes the same musical elements, the same cannot be said for the 18 minutes uneven "Il Giardino Del Mago". Not as convincing, the longest track of the disc contains a few nice moments, however these can get a bit repetitive at times. "Traccia" concludes the record with a baroque hard rock theme.

At first sight, by looking at the instruments, "Banco del Mutuo Succurso" may look similar to symphonic prog acts. Nevertheless, the approach is very different from English bands such as ELP or GENESIS, and the sensibility is typically Italian. Some passages are powerful whereas others are touching. Despite lengthy moments on "Il Giardino Del Mago", this debut album remains my favorite from the band, maybe because this is their rock-iest effort from their "classical" prog period.

Recommended if you want to discover the Rock Progressivo Italiano, and a good entry point to the genre for 70's hard rock fans.

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