Metamorfosi - Inferno


Year of Release: 1989
Label: VM 2000
Catalog Number: CD 002
Format: CD
Total Time: 40:32:00

Metamorfosi emphasizes the heavy use of keyboards, specifically organ and moog, to make their musical statement. Comparisons to ELP are understandable as the same approach is taken, total keyboard domination in the music. Strong dramatic vocals sung in Italian also put a stamp on the music. Inferno is made up of a number of short tracks (some clocking in at just over a minute) that connect the longer pieces together. The dry and dead sounding drums was a recording technique that must have been popular back then (as it is found on many recordings of that era) but I am not sure why.

The most impressive track is the opening ?Introduzione? with some great church organ sounds, moog, and the bar room piano style that Emerson often used. Every so often you can hear some guitar, but its presence is rarely noticed. Some cheesy keyboard and sound effects may have you cracking up at times, but the keyboard playing is top notch. The softer section of ?Caronte? about 3:25 in, with the organ, piano and flute, is one of my favorites on the record, and a nice break to the more frantic pace of the first few tracks, but it also contains the Star Trek phaser sound around 5:34 in, and again, it is hard not to laugh when hearing this. There is a horrible keyboard sound that is used in ?Violenti? which thankfully is only in certain sections.

I cannot say that I was ever blown away by anything I have heard on this disc. You will find some excellent keyboard work throughout Inferno, but at times this is very dated sounding.

First released in 1973 by Vedette (VPA 8162); reissued in 2005 on LP by BTF/Vinyl Magic (VM 002 LP)


Tracklisting:
Introduzione (7:50) / Porta Dell'inferno (1:21) / Caronte (1:19) / Spacciatore Di Droga (6:22) / Lussuriosi (3:15) / Avari (1:33) / Violenti (3:45) / Malebolge (1:32) / Sfruttatori (5:42) / Razzisti (3:26) / Lucifero (2:32) / Conclusione (1:37)

Tracklisting above from original LP: as listed on this CD (and at band's website): Introduzione / Selva Oscura / Porta Dell'inferno / Caronte / Spacciatore Di Droga / Terremoto / Limbo / Lussuriosi / Avari / Violenti / Malebolge / Sfruttatori / Razzisti / Fossa Dei Giganti / Lucifero (Politicanti) / Conclusione



Musicians:
Jimmy Spitaleri - vocals, flute
Enrico Olivieri - keyboards
Roberto Turbitosi - guitar, bass
Gianluca Herygers - drums

Discography:
E Fu Il Sesto Giorno (1972)
Inferno (1973)
Paradiso (2004)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: November 30th 2003
Reviewer: Eric Porter

Artist website: www.metamorfosi.org
Hits: 1843
Language: english

  

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