November 2013... the come back. Almost ten years after from the last album, Il Segno Del Comando is releasing on Black Widow, the new one titled 'Il Volto Verde'. It is a frightening voyage, dark and distort which goes in the deepest drifts of occultism, with a great line-up that has many and important guests as Claudio Simonetti (Goblin, Daemonia), Gianni Leone (Il Balletto di Bronzo), Martin Grice (Delirium), Sophya Baccini (Presence), Maethelyiah (The Dance Society), Vinz Aquarian (Ballo delle Castagne), Freddy Delirio (Death SS) and Maurizio Pustianaz (Gerstein). People who are directed by Diego Banchero, one and only leader of the band. The new album is based on a theme that is based, as the previous one 'Der Golem', on a Meyrink novel. This time his second one, which was the writer's esoteric testament that was published back in 1916 and titled 'Il Volto Verde', has been used. The book is to be considered as a sort of manual of occult teachings and initiations to reach, ultimately, a state of higher consciousness to self and thus achieve immortality. Lyrics, which have been composed by Banchero, follow accurately the novel's chapters and they are particularly symbolic, malicious and evocative. Musically, this album recalls their first one and is balanced between dark-prog-experimental atmospheres, blinking an eye to horror movies soundtracks and could be seen as a tributo to bands of the likes of Il Balletto di Bronzo, Goblin, Antonius Rex and Jacula. In fact, tracks like "Chider Il Verde" and "Il Manoscritto" bring to mind sounds dear to the musical spirit of the glorious "YS" by Il Balletto di Bronzo, while " L'Evocazione di Eva" and the closing "Epilogo" pay homage to the great performers of Italian prog sounds of the 70s. The atmospheres of "La congrega dello Zee Dyk" are just beautiful and it has lyrics that are particularly evocative and esoteric. The ending is exciting as well, starting from the beautiful instrumental "L'Apocalisse" and the eerie track "Epilogue". This is a great album which has no flaws and it is to be recommended to all the fans of darker and cinematic progressive music.

This compilation, originally released in 1984 on vinyl by Multiple Configuration, in collaboration with the ADN label, has finally reissued in a completely remastered version on CD. EKHNATON collects tracks recorded by the most important and remarkable bands that were active in the experimental Italian scene during early 80's. "Simple Italian Research Vol. 1" was (and still is) the subtitle of an album which includes two tracks from each of the following bands: Maze 1066, Tasaday (whose "Implosione tra le pieghe dell'anima" has recently been reissued by Silentes), Evitaxal - which was a Roberto Marinelli's alias, active also as Laxative Souls - and the more well known TAC (TOMOGRAFIA ASSIALE COMPUTERIZZATA), band that are still active nowadays.
The first two tracks, by Maze 1066, blend sparse guitar parts, "musique concrete" sounds and strange electronics/synth sounds, with a jazzy touch. The sound is obsessive, mysterious and surrealistic, comparable to Biota and the first Mnemonist.
Tasaday was an experimental / noise/tribal/postrock/industrial music band, located in Brianza, Italy. Active since 1982 and formed by the blend of two bands named Die Form & Orgasmo Negato (changed in Die Form & Nulla Iperreale in 1983), the band chose the definitive name Tasaday in 1984. Their sound is mysterious and obsessive in the tradition of early industrial music. Evitaxal was an Laxative Souls's side project, active during the 1984/85 period. The sound is inspired by minimal/trance electronics and by the drones from the La Monte Young school. Marinelli mainly worked with raw electronics, distorted vocals, concrete sounds, self assembled electronic circuits and sample sources.
Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata, frequently credited as T.A.C., is a post-industrial, experimental and electronica group, originally known for making a crossover between experimental music and avant rock, using treated tape loops, custom built synthesizers and metal sheet percussion but also guitar, bass and drums. '¨The whole cd is an unmissable view on the first intuitions and experimental methodologies that shaped their times, leaving a permanent mark - in Italy and abroad - on the following generations.

Born on early 80s Lisfrank was an obscure solo project coming from Savona, Italy. Fulvio Guidarelli in 1982 decided to found his own label Man Mask to pursue his musical passions with the aim to issue, also, the first and only release available under the Lisfrank moniker. The MLP "Man mask" is one of the best and rarest Italian minimal electro 12" and "It’s life" and "Violence in my mind", are two of the best songs of that period that I’ve ever heard. Other two great tunes are "Man without limits" (released on the label’s rare compilation LP "First Relation") and the experimental "Ombre" (originally released on the Area Condizionata tape compilation "The voice"). MASK REWIND is a compilation which gathers, on one LP plus a 7", almost all the songs released by Fulvio. The music is based on analogue synthetic sounds with a good use of drum machine and in some cases of a real drum. The sound is rough and there’s a overall dark atmosphere that I appreciated but there’s also space for more pop oriented songs like "Stay with me" and "My toy" (included into the white vinyl 7"). LISFRANK’s lyrics are dark, hypnotic and sometimes you can feel the fear he’s evoking through the music. My favorite tracks are "It’s life", "Violence in my mind", "Out of control" and "In the surface" but I think that this release is one of the most important and interesting Italian releases: never uninspired and always varied and modern. You can find a different mix of "Identity" on the compilation album "Danza Meccanica – Italian Synth Wave 1982-1987" from the label Mannequin/in the Nighttime. You can find it here reviewed by Maurizio Pustianaz.

Mother of Disease" is the 3rd release for the Swedish martial industrial/neo-classical duo Puissance and is also the third re-issue on Equilibrium Music, following the early "Let Us Lead" and "Back In Control" releases, and last year's new album, "Grace of God" and like it's predecessors it has been re-mastered with one bonus track. Mother of disease’ is almost ten years old and is one of Puissance’s early releases in cd.
Industrial sounds and dark ambient spheres were added with heavy martial percussion and choirs in apocalyptic sounding compositions. Heavy militaristic neo-classical music has showed by Puissance in tracks like 'Light of a Dead Sun', 'Reign of Dying Angels', 'Mother of Disease', and in the pompous and powerful highlight of this album, 'In Shining Armour', where a medieval neoclassical construction and several voices chanting at once over a simple percussion line and a harmonious collection of individual instruments.
With eight tracks listed, Puissance brings a high quality sound that encapsulates the pending doom of the human race. Massive "neo-classical" orchestrations with pounding drums, intense synth, strings and wind instruments and torturously dark and imminent atmospheres devour the listener into a realm of misanthropic evil.
The only thing that was left, except for the splendid 'In Shining Armour', was perhaps more use of vocals. Great!

Reissued in a luxury 16 pages high quality digi-book, with 2 bonus tracks "Tema del destino" and "Mabuse MK.I", "Kampf" is finally back available. Tronus Abyss history has started in the '94 as an active part of the Black Metal scene but lately become something out of any easy classification. Being praised by the underground scene for their two previous releases containing a blend of medieval sounds mixed with Black Metal, the Italian trio developed their music and pushed it towards more electronic- and ambient-oriented territories. They’ve always been considered a serious, cult band in the so-called extreme scene. The members have always been seriously involved in esoteric and cultural background activities, sometimes disturbing to the most due to their flirting with extreme traditional right-wing topics (not political, but mostly related with Traditional esoteric philosophies and philosophers - Evola, Guénon, Codreanu, etc.) in lyrics and aesthetics. Musically, after four years from the release date, is still personal and innovative, not only black metal but also electro-folk, ambient and industrial moods, crossing the border of a genre. Bombastic sounds are being blended together with dark electronic, distorted and acoustic guitar, whispering/spoken word, and gothic sounds. The first two songs 'Kampf' and 'Mabuse' give a good presentation of the atmosphere throughout the album; dark, depressive, and most of the time threatening. The third song, "L’eredità del cinghiale" is again very folk & medieval sounding with epic spoken vocals and some grand keyboards. The fourth song, "Funeral" is where things start to get very odd. This is more of a dark ambient/electronic song with peculiarly spoken robotic like vocals. From here on we keep seeing the band exploring and incorporating these various influences into the rest of the songs. The tracks 'Sth.492', and 'Epilogo' make a welcome distraction from the harshness throughout this album and can be regarded as distorted piano/organ pieces. Later on the track list there’s a fragment which seems to be an excerpt from some sort of propaganda film. In addition to this I can’t forget mentioning the track number 9 which has already earlier appeared on a compilation dedicated to Burzum. This song is called "Moti Ragnarokum" and was originally performed by Varg Vikernes on "Daudi Baldrs" album.
Additional compliments for the artwork of the digi-pack which displays fitting images with the coldness presented on this album.