Banda del rione
Banda del rione

I Banda del Rione are considered one of the pinnacles of Italian punk. The reason is that in them, the Oi! roots found an outlet that united the external and the internal, the streets and introspection, the scene and feelings, and so on. Therefore, everything took on a tragically romantic atmosphere, which gave great importance to individual feeling, perhaps even more than to collective sentiment. The group, composed of SHARP, basically did not deal with politics; however, I think this is one of the most evident cases in which all this ends up being more a matter of definition or label, because in the songs they dealt with concepts like class struggle and anti-fascism that leave little room for doubt. But this will only really become evident on the second album, the band’s true masterpiece, just as only in the second—and last—album does the typical sound of Banda del Rione become solid.

It would be criminal not to dedicate a paragraph to the relationship the band has with Turin, their hometown: from the very first tracks it is clear that the city plays an active role in the atmospheres our heroes live every day and from which their inspiration springs. Over the years, this factor will become iconic.

This sound is made up of rough vocals alternating with clean backing choruses and a great taste for riffing that melds dirtiness with melodies that, if adapted differently, could easily be epic metal. The intervals used in the riffs are exactly those that make you want to press your hand down on the neck of the guitar or bass when you want to be really solid and grandiose—but with an Oi! sound. So, the album is very raw and unrefined, but the streak that will make these musicians great can already be felt. For example, you can sense it in the dry and almost sinister atmosphere of the opening track, in the relentless "Prima o poi", in the riff of "Prete", which recalls Metallica, or in the chorus of "Banda del RIone"; in reality, all the tracks are very enjoyable.

What inevitably comes to mind is wondering what would have happened if the band hadn’t broken up so soon. Probably, we wouldn’t have had Bull Brigade, and instead, there might have been a series of records similar in approach—we’ll never know. What is certain is that the story of Banda is like a fixed star for every self-respecting skinhead. The deep relationship with their own city as never before, the closed and dusty atmosphere that finds an outlet in the choruses, and an aesthetic that reflected what the band was. It was the beginning of a new millennium and punk saw twenty years of colorful mohawks crumble in the hours spent in the factory. But it was exactly from this that Banda del Rione stood tall. Score: 83/100.