STANDARTE

With a band name that refers to a paramilitary unit of the Nazi Party during World War II and an album cover that strongly evokes Anekdoten's debut album 'Vemod,' you really don't know what to expect from STANDARTE's self-titled debut, The band formed in Pisa, Italy and released three albums in the 1990s. As it turns out once you dig in, the Italian STANDARTE (as opposed to the German Neo-Nazi synth-pop band from Duisburg) delivered an overt worship of Atomic Rooster for which this self-titled debut is dedicated to. This four-piece band of Michele Profeti (piano, organ, Moog, Mellotron, harpsichord), Davide Nicolini (guitar), Stefano Gabbani (bass, Mellotron, Moog) and Daniele Caputo (drums, vocals) is one of the many retro prog bands that has absolutely no shame in wearing its influences on its sleeves, and well, on its shirt, trousers and possibly even underwear.

This is the type of album that was recorded on analog equipment and delves into the wayback machine and expresses its love for organ-based heavy rock bands of the 1970s. Influences include not only Vincent Crane's Atomic Rooster but similar bands such as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Quatermass and even a touch of The Moody Blues. More recent comparisons include another 90s heavy psych band Bigelf which could be made. The band remains a bit mysterious as little info exists about its history so remains a bit obscure in the scheme of things despite emerging in the 1990s when the prog revival was fully underway. While the majority of 90s prog bands were looking to the golden prog years for inspiration, most many were able to forge their own identity and build upon the foundations of what came before but then there are others like STANDARTE that simply recycled past glories and was content to merely imitate.

This debut album is one of those where all the tracks sound perfectly decent with excellent performances that are like a time machine transporting you back to somewhere around 1972 or 1973. Period mellotrons grace crunchy guitar riffing and the occasional bluesy solo. Snappy organs offer all that fuzz and frothiness that made the early 70s so distinct. Gruff vocals and a strong rhythm section bordering on boogie rock and jamming sessions all conspire to make this a veritable tribute to the past with pretty much nothing original to offer at all. This band simply made its music to display its passion for classic British organ-driven hard rock from a certain timeline with no references to its homeland or any other point in history for that matter and of course lyrics are totally in English. As far as the compositions go though, the band did its homework for sure in crafting period piece tunes that offered all the melody and rhythmic drive you could hope for.

This is one of those albums that quite pleasant to sit through. It reminds you of so many yet doesn't exactly sound like any other band completely. Enough riffs are borrowed or blatantly ripped off to easily connect who the band worshipped the most yet everything is performed so well that sitting through it isn't in the least bit painful. Enough elements on board spice it all up with great songwriting, moments of choir, occasional cello sounds and a heavy drive that keeps things rockin' through the album's traditional playing time of just under 47 minutes. Not a bad debut for these retro rockers but not really a style i find myself returning to because after all if i crave this type of organ-driven hard rock from the past then i'd much prefer to simply go to the original sources or at least hear a modern band add a new spin to these sounds such as the case of acts like Blood Ceremony. I do love how Michele Profeti simply rocks his organ runs though!

3.5 rounded down for lack of originality

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