Atomo Del Male
Il Lupo Della Steppa

Recently, there have been few concept albums, but you can find some little gems like this "Il lupo della steppa", clearly inspired by the famous novel by Hermann Hesse. Let's write it right away: Atomo del Male, whose name refers to the poem "X agosto" by Giovanni Pascoli, know what they’re doing. And how! They can skillfully transition from blues to jazz, from hard rock to folk, from psychedelia even to classical music, like few others can. Listening to this album is indeed comparable to an imaginary and fantastic journey that explores the multifaceted human soul, a mystical experience.

 The track titles all refer to passages in the book: "Soltanto per pazzi", "Come si uccide con l'amore", the spoken word of "Io lupo della steppa trotto solo", the final folk piece "La sentenza - Harry giustiziato", which recites "E voi, aspiranti suicidi, condanno alla vita eterna" and is interspersed with snippets of the famous "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" by Mozart; in short, those expecting a repetitive and overly linear album will be bitterly disappointed. The novel's plot indeed provided the group with all the cues necessary to generate a varied and well-blended mix of genres, which immediately leaves an impression on the listener. This is by no means an obvious or predictable result, especially given the risk of appearing too scattered.

"Il lupo della steppa" is a vibrant, energetic work, capable of influencing moods, but above all a lively, fresh piece, hiding innovative ideas and steering clear of the banalities typical of today. We hope that this first work proposed by Atomo del Male does not remain just a single stroke of genius and that the group continues on this path without losing their way. 

With this brief and concise review, I hope I have succeeded in providing you with a quick and general overview and encouraging you to listen to this concept album, so you can form your own personal opinion about it. However, in my humble opinion, in some cases music—and especially music like this—is better listened to with your own ears to appreciate its greatness, rather than being translated into a written discourse, which can diminish and misrepresent both its form and content.