BIGLIETTO PER L'INFERNO

Biglietto per l'Inferno's debut eponymous album is generally regarded as one of those Italian prog highlights, and let me tell you that this is not an overstatement or a gratuitous accolade. This album rocks, as much as it displays the dose of spectacular musical richness one has come to expect from any progressive gem. It's like a marriage of BMS and Deep Purple with some slight connections to New Trolls at their artiest. Released in early 1974, more than a year after the band's foundation, "Biglietto per l'Inferno" stands out as a true gem of Italian heavy symphonic prog, although the sound engineering quality has not passed the test of time. The hard rocking textures in the band's overall sound comes mostly from the whole ensemble's raw attitude at performing the complex motifs (sometimes more complex than in others), but not from the use of lots of guitar inputs. In fact, there is only one guitarist and two keyboardists. Drummer Mauro Gnecchi's style is really oppressive, creating a solid foundation in both the racier and the calmer passages, while guitarist Marco Mainetti manages to alternate hard rock, blues, jazz and psychedelia in his phrases and leads. The two keyboardists are the ones who mainly bear the symphonic core of the band's sound, combining Baroque-inspired exercises on piano/organ and stylish colors on synth/organ. Of course, a special mention has to go to Claudio Canali, the passionate charismatic lead singer who is also responsible for most of the writing (lyrics included) and some flute playing: his vocal style serves as yet another source of power for the rockier side of Biglietto's sound. Since this is a concept album revolving around the theme of suicide, it is no wonder that the whole repertoire flows so cohesively (even though not all songs are segued) nor it is that the sung parts are so intense. 'Ansia' kicks off the album in a constrainedly sophisticated fashion, setting the pace for the eruption of 'Confessione' one of the core tracks, and definitely, the epitome of Biglietto's rock essence. 'Una Strana Regina' finds the band calming things down in a symphonic-meets-old school jazz fashion: this one lacks the successful level of cohesion that the previous one exhibited, but still has to be considered a very good progressive song. After its fade-out, the final organ layer is connected to 'Il Nevare' (due to the restrictions of the vinyl format). 'Il Nevare' is a most moving blues-rock ballad wrapped in a symphonic guise - Canale's final lines are unbelievable cathartic, like the ultimate flash of life before the arrival of death. The closing drum beat serves as a segue to the longest rack in the album, the 13+ minute long 'L'Amico Suicida', which delivers the most ambitious set of compositional sources in the album. The transition between all sections runs quite smoothly, although some of them are not exactly smooth. I wish the climatic ending would have been a bit more expanded, sine I personally feel that it is aborted and not culminated, but all in all, I find this mini-suite quite impressive in its own terms. The instrumental coda of 'Confesione' is not what I'd call the perfect ending for the album: although it has an effective climax (as it did in its sung version), I would have preferred a sort of medley of various motifs from different previous tracks, or just a different song with the reprised coda at the end. Whatever. what's done is done and what is there cannot be changed. "Biglietto per l'Inferno" is a real prototype of Italian heavy prog, and so the band Biglietto per l'Inferno must be heralded as an indispensable item in any good prog collection.