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Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso - Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso CD (album) cover

BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO

Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso

 

Rock Progressivo Italiano

4.31 | 1021 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

coasterzombie
3 stars Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso released three amazing albums in two years, their first being my least favorite of them. But their debut album does establish them as a force to be reckoned with, and only rivaled by PFM in terms of success and musicianship. 3.5 stars for a slightly overrated album.

You can't help but take notice of Francesco DiGiacomo's voice in "R.I.P." as it is probably quite unlike any traditional "rock" singer you've ever heard. The twin keyboard attack of the brothers Nocenzi is the band's other trademark. Both are on full display here, and the song is a good representation of the album as a whole. Actually "R.I.P." is probably the best song on Banco's debut, and the remaining songs never quite match the energy sadly. "Passagio" is a mere transition piece to the long "Metamorfosi," a veritable roller-coaster ride of classical-infused rock marked by multiple time signature and tempo changes. This too would come to identify the group, almost to a fault - definitely not music to tap your foot to. I feel the mostly instrumental "Metamorfosi" would have benefited from actual vocals as it ends up feeling unstructured and rambling without them.

"Il Giardino Del Mago" draws a line in the sand: If you can make it through this sucker, you've earned your prog stripes. It's hard enough to devote attention to side-long suites, but when you add in the language barrier it presents a unique challenge to the neophyte listener. Again we are treated to a frantic variety of operatic material, always interesting but not so engaging to perk up your ears and say "what was THAT?" We have a band establishing their identity, and keeping that in mind it is easy to be forgiving and allow them to take chances and do something truly progressive in music. It is a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless, and ultimately keeps it from becoming four-star material. Still very good, but I would start with Darwin first and work your way backward.

coasterzombie | 3/5 |

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