PENTAMERON

The Sundering came to life in 2010 in Sassari as a heavy metal band. After some line up changes, in 2012 they started to work on new original pieces turning to a different, more elaborated style adding more colours to their musical palette by incorporating in their sound different influences ranging from psychedelia to hard rock and prog. In 2018 they finally self-released a debut album entitled Pentameron with a line up featuring Filippo Lacana (vocals, cello), Fabio Cuccu (guitars), Davide Mura (guitars), Carlo Berretta (bass) and Lorenzo Murineddu (drums, percussion). It's an interesting work where the band showcase good musicianship and a passionate love for classic rock and prog. Lorenzo Murineddu and Carlo Berretta took also charge of the nice artwork that in some way tries to describe the musical content of the album...

The opener "Rush In The Forest" is a long track where the music and lyrics depict a strange Celebration of the nature. Imagine a beautiful, uncontaminated valley and a soaring, haunting singing that draws you deep into the forest. Behind the trees you can see the source of the music, happy people dancing in circles to the frenzied rhythm of a lysergic tarantella: a peculiar mix of PFM and Blind Melon!

The following "Life On Earth" conjures up the image of a lonesome hobo, a solitary man wandering like a ghost in a big city. His home is the street, his only friend is a dirty dog, his only pleasure is playing an old guitar and singing for the passer-byes in this time of emptiness. There's the shadow of Tim Buckley on his back...

Then it's the turn of the short, careless "Take A Blow", a kind of exercise of style full of energy and rhythm that blends funky and hard rock, Led Zeppelin and Django Reinhardt with a pinch of red hot spicy flavours to tell that the world can't be just black or white.

The nervous, nightmarish "Freshness In The Night" blends psychedelia, hard rock and jazz and takes you on a crazy ride on the empty streets of a big city, under the mocking light of a sparking moon. You can almost feel chilling waves of tension coming up from the deepest of your soul...

The long, complex "Call Of The Sea" features the guest Elisa Brett on classical guitar and ends the album with heavy, electric passages full of energy and softer sections that take you on a long journey across the sea, from the California to the sunny shores of Brazil...

On the whole, this is a good album, even if it doesn't shine for its originality. In my opinion a touch of Hammond could have improved the overall sound and the use of the Italian language for the lyrics could have added more distinctive colours to the final picture, but never mind! I enjoyed it anyway.