L'INFERNO DEI MUSICI

It's probably just that association with the molten center of the earth or wherever hell is supposed to be, but this latest release by RPI folkies OLOFERNE evokes a string and strum heavy version of METAMORFOSI's inferno. Even the vocals are far bolder and more menacing than I remember them from just a few years ago, and, well the monumental version of a PFM classic doesn't leave any doubt as to where the group intends to be placed in the virtual storage racks of the future. The short running time is also reminiscent of those classic bands of the golden age of Italian LPs. Still, paradoxically perhaps, this is probably their folkiest effort since the wondrous debut of so long ago, and certainly their strongest since then. With the exception of a fairly standard fiddle dominated opener, which is at least attention grabbing, and a closer that repeatedly fails to leave an impression, this is just as much Italy's answer to OYSTERBAND as it is an homage to earlier countrymen, layering waves upon waves of high octane folk rock that rarely strays from its labyrinthine roots . Ultimately, these influences and the manner in which they are absorbed and re-gifted might be the very catalysts that have trapped these talented artists in the musical hell that they describe so eloquently, while sending their listeners in quite the opposite direction.