Bull Brigade
Vita Libertà

Eugenio Borra is now a pillar of Italian punk, on par—almost—with heavyweights like Steno or Kozza. After his early adventures with the first bands in Turin, Youngang and Banda del Rione, he finally built his own home with Bull Brigade.

Framing this work today is quite complex, because we know what came before and what came after, thus seeing "Vita libertà" squeezed between two very different albums like "Il fuoco non si è spento" and "Strade smarrite." I believe that unfortunately Bull Brigade have gotten worse over time: Eugy's commendable intent to evolve has led him from a raw, gutsy Oi! to an easier pop-punk, sometimes even skirting trap sounds, since, if you pay attention, his choppy and raspy vocal tone is not that different from that of many trappers. This ends up giving us a sound that, in my opinion, is ill-suited to tell the stories narrated in "Strade smarrite." However, in this album, this process is just beginning and is actually a fusion between the new and the old 'Brigade. There are badass moments and less badass moments, but for now, the equation "not badass = low quality" doesn’t hold true.

The opener is "Mai confonderla." Sure, it’s on a different level compared to the monumental "Dopo la pioggia" (not to mention "Quale destino per noi"...) but the song really holds its own, with a catchy yet worthwhile melody. On another level is the more metal "Motorcity," with a rather ugly bridge that doesn’t spoil the outcome of a beautiful track with an insane chorus: "Resta con noi prigioniero di un sogno, dentro notti così... Motorcity: punk e skins!" "Perduto amore" is beautiful as well, bringing back some "catchy" hints in the chorus, inserted into a song of substance. Next is the no-frills "Pirati del Po," followed by the title track; compared to the title track of the previous record, it loses, but not embarrassingly so at all, leading this track to close out the best side of the album. "L'ultimo pentito" isn't exceptional, but brings out a twist at the end—a hard rock solo somewhere between Iron Maiden and Guns and Roses. About the song "P.S.M." we’ll get back to it later, now mentioning instead the closing "Troppo distanti," pleasant but predictable and not impactful, with a sound that, let’s say it, Bull Brigade have made much more robust in the past. The feature with Aban would seem to go back to the earlier discussion on trap, but it doesn’t; in fact, I think this track escapes the label of an unsuccessful rap contaminating punk, instead offering us a well-conceived song with a good structure and an excellent chorus. Those who are not fans of rap or are simply not used to certain sounds might turn up their nose, but the track is "objectively" good.

Alright, with the track-by-track description finished, let's move to thoughts on the album as a whole. The album stands strong on its own and isn’t just a little brother to the unsurpassable "Strade smarrite," although let's say at least it’s a cousin. In fact, one can't deny that Eugy keeps singing about his memories and the way these memories intertwine with the world (and with himself) that changes, and they change with it. The result, though, is a slight déjà-vu, with little innovation in the lyrics, making the words on this album nothing new compared to those of "Strade smarrite," and a bit worse since they’re less original. The mother imprint of Turin is still strong, of course, but that’s not a bad thing. Let's say that the path the group has taken up to this album isn't yet "too repetitive" and thus it still offers plenty of good cues, not only in lyrics but musically as well. And here lies a crucial point: Bull Brigade prove that nowhere is it written that if you play punk you have to be lousy musicians. They play properly, as we say where I come from. I mean, those riffs, those solos, those rhythm sections. Hats off, there’s nothing you can fault them for. This was already clear in "Strade smarrite," but seeing the band confirm itself is truly pleasing.

So, what do we have at the end of the day? For those who loved the band’s debut—an inevitable and proper comparison—the atmosphere and grit are definitely less intense, and after all, the band members are getting older (maturing, but also aging...) and, as an unknown soldier once put it on some webzine, referring to the fact that Iron Maiden don’t play "Purgatory" live, "it makes sense that at a certain age you don’t want to express yourself in a certain way anymore." It’s true, it hurts to see that sometimes Bull Brigade would still like to express themselves in that way but "they just can’t," but in the end, how much does that really matter for a band like theirs? An amazing album, then: yes, not a transcendental masterpiece, but a really good record, which makes a nice pair with the previous one—and maybe some even prefer it. Lots of great songs, fun to listen to and to play. Some fillers? Of course, but forgivable. Rating: 83/100.