LA SIGNORA DEL BUIO

AKRON was a project created The Black's bassist Enio Nicolini to satisfy his hunger for a more experimental sound than this presented by his main band,which belonged to the doom side of metal.For this reason he recruited among others Requiem's (another doom metal act) singer Eugenio Mucci.The project was first presented with the track ''Il Mulino delle donne di pietra'' on the Black Widow metal compilation '' ...E tu vivrai nel terrore'' in 1998.The next year AKRON release their debut ''La Signora del Buio" on the same label.

STYLE: Organ-driven Dark Prog with a mysterious atmosphere,theatrical elements and haunting vocals.The organ/synth waves of Enio "Akron" Nicolini and Fabio Barraco seem to come out from a horror movie soundtrack:dark,atmospheric,grandiose with a majestic symphonicism.Bass is very high in the mix to make the atmosphere even more obscure.The slow tempos help in this fact also.Vocals in Italian are half-sung,half-spoken with a dramatic and scary delivery.Not much of complexity in here (actually there is none),but the album ends to be one of the most unique listenings of the last 10 years due to the combination of organ- based music,choir-like vocals and doomy atmospheres.

SOUNDS LIKE/INFLUENCES: The first band that comes to mind is definitely Antonius Rex'es JACULA and their mystic early 70's albums.Elements of GOBLIN,DEVIL DOLL and IL PAESE DEI BALOCCHI are also in the menu.AREKNAMES might be the closest modern reference,but they are much lighter and closer to Classic Prog sounds than AKRON.

PLUS: An ultra-personal sound is the biggest plus of this band.Organ and synths are well played to create some of the darkest soundscapes ever to be heard.Vocals won't be anyone's cup of my tea,but for me they are excellent and match perfectly to the overall sound. Production,while not being great,helps to the whole concept's succesful approach.Nice and dominant bass work by Nicolini.

MINUS: The constantly slow-tempos tend to make the album somewhat monotonous throughout the listening.Some light doses of guitars might have helped.I do not like the sound of the drums,they sound more like war drums than an instrument.

WILL APPEAL TO:..anyone searching for a trully dark listening.Even pure doom metal fans will appreciate this album too,although '' "La Signora del Buio" has nothing to do with the term ''metal''.

CONCLUSION/RATING: "La Signora del Buio" could easily be labeled as a love or hate album.I am 100% sure that many progheads will find this effort too excessive,while others will love it to death.One thing is for sure: AKRON hails as a trully original band,whose album is certainly not for prog initiators...and yes,I found them far superior compared to JACULA...4 stars and strongly recommended for the open-minded.