BARBARICA

The same line up that recorded "Zarathustra Live In Studio" worked on its 2013 follow up, "Barbarica", that was released on the independent label Immaginifica like its predecessor. The result is gorgeous and reflects the successful efforts made by the new line up to update vintage sounds with a new millennium taste. The beautiful art cover by Monica Di Rocco in some way expresses the connection with the previous work...

The opener "Il respiro del pianeta" (The breathing of the planet) is a brand new suite that deals with environmental issues and takes over the baton from Zarathustra trying to describe the difficult relationship between man and nature. There are many changes in rhythm and atmosphere as the music and lyrics evoke with powerful, colourful images the spirit of the Earth and its smothered, pulsing beating. Crows and eagles flying over the horizon show paths, currents and rituals to admire the uncontaminated face of the planet while the shades of a thick, impenetrable forest hide the words that bring the storm in its deepest secrets...

"La coda del diavolo" (The devil's tail) is another brand new track that deals with the consequences of war. It's a complex piece that begins softly, by a reflective part where the vocals play the role of a man escaping from the horror of war, in search for peace and harmony. The protagonist has lost his friends and if he opens his heart there's no one left to listen to him. His voice soars like a heartfelt prayer. Then an aggressive electric guitar breaks in, the rhythm rises, the atmosphere becomes heavier as the music and vocals describe with visionary poetical force a valley thundering with bombs where harmony is torn apart by weapons. Blind hatred, desperation and a senseless fury lightens the smile of a merciless stone giant...

"Abbandonati" (Abandoned) is a new version of piece from Museo Rosenbach's second studio album, Exit. The music and lyrics depict with their visionary force a country ravaged by war, starving children desperately trying to escape from a divided nation, scared eyes behind the barbed wires, forgotten heroes dead in vain. The new version, in my opinion, is far better than the previous one. The first part of this piece on Exit, "Tuareg", was cut off and the second part developed with a different, convincing arrangement, evoking the silent pain of the refugees who are desperately trying to find a better way of life...

The epic "Fiore di vendetta" (Revenge flower) is an excellent new version of a piece originally released on the 2003 Colossus Musea themed album Kalevala. It tells of a dramatic story of war and vengeance. A beautiful girl is one of the few survivors of her people, annihilated by the enemy that made of her a slave. The girl bides her time while the seed of revenge grows in her soul, ready to blossom like a terrible flower...

"Il re del circo" (The king of the circus) is another piece that was originally released on Exit and that finds here a new life with the great interpretation of Stefano "Lupo" Galifi in the role of a crazy, merciless sniper shooting at the civilians in the streets of Sarajevo during the war in the ex Yugoslavia and a more aggressive arrangement that emphasizes the surreal horror of a rain of tears and bullets...

On the whole, an excellent work!