E FU IL SESTO GIORNO

This solid debut from Metamorfosi demonstrates a powerful sound that would come into its own on their next album. Call it a work-in-progress: E Fu Il Sesto Giorno...captures a band not fully aware of their own talent. This unrealized potential will be fully exploited six months later on the fantastic Inferno, widely regarded as the band's masterpiece. But the first album is actually pretty decent and, while it does drag at times, the 37-minute length doesn't feel tiring. That being said, Metamorfosi's first album is one you will only feel like listening to every once in a while, not unlike the primordial debuts of Il Balletto Di Bronzo or Rovescio Della Medaglia. Still, the elements of a notable RPI album are all here, and Italian Prog collectors will need to seek it out along their way. For everyone else however, the album can be passed on and overlooked.

Vocalist Jimmy Spitaleri is the first thing you notice about this band. His stately, majestic delivery with its distinctive vibrato has as many detractors as fans. I tend to like it, but I suppose it is an acquired taste. His voice pairs nicely with Enrico Oliveri's keyboard talent, as fully demonstrated on "Il Sesto Giorno." This opening song features intermittent use of bass and drums, a technique that will be fully implemented on Inferno. "Il Sesto Giorno" is almost a prototype for the sound Metamorfosi would later perfect. "...E Lui Amava I Fiori" could be classified as cookie-cutter; the more traditional song-based track isn't necessarily psych but a bit closer to proto-prog. The Mothers-of-Invention-inspired background vocals crack me up but they're kind of cute and endearing. You have to try really hard to hate this band.

The longest song on the album, "Crepuscolo" plods along and meanders its way through a variety of parts and pieces. Again, nothing terribly progressive here despite the length, but somehow you just "know" it's "prog" if that makes sense. The melodic "Hiroshima" is enjoyable if somewhat forgettable. This theme continues on "Nuova Luce," the most beat-pop track here and a skippable one in my opinion. The superior "Sogno E Realta" foreshadows the material Metamorfosi will later develop on Inferno, as a mysterious organ and bass pattern set the foundation for Spitaleri's slithering vocal. After the drums kick in, he assertively leads the group on a powerful odyssey, ultimately the album's most rewarding. The mediocre "Inno Di Gloria" returns to a decidedly sixties sound and closes things up.