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Not to be confused with the much more famous Germans, "these" Faust are a Death Metal band from Milan, which, although active since 1992, has only now released its first official album, following the demo "Faust" from 1993 and the mini-CD "...And Finally Faust" from 2001.
The first thing that strikes about this band is the absolutely top-level line-up. In fact, besides mastermind Aleister, whom many of us remember and miss as a host on Rock TV, and as a session man in the live shows of the Norwegian blacksters Ancient, we have the legendary Steve Di Giorgio (and listen, he's not just a simple guest, but an actual member of the band, whom he will also follow live!!!) on bass, Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski (Vader, Dimmu Borgir) on drums, and finally Ghiulz (Profanatum, Obscurity) and Luca Princiotta (Doro, Blaze Bayley, Clairovyants) on guitars.
Although the band offers us highly technical Death Metal that harks back to the early '90s Floridian school, do not think of a sterile clone-band, because the Techno Death serves as a backdrop on which they insert a variety of influences that are far from straight-up Death, making it impossible not to be captivated by the guitar solos of clear classical school, or the complex architectures typical of late '80s technical Thrash, with Watchtower above all. Not to mention the excellent production that makes the sound clear without sounding fake or polished, while highlighting each individual instrument.
The album opens with "Purple Children", a not-new song that Faust has already been proposing live for years, a track that sets off at full speed and serves as a manifesto of the Faust sound, with accelerations that can only remind us of Morbid Angel at their best, balanced by instrumental parts that bring to mind the best Atheist, all cemented together by Aleister's cavernous yet intelligible growl, proving to be one of the best Death singers of the peninsula. The following tracks, "Wet Veils" and "Sentimental Worship", highlight the rhythm section and, in particular, a flamboyant Steve Di Giorgio who has no intention of acting as a supporting character. While tracks like "Carnal Beatitude" and "Holy Hole" hit the accelerator and lead us into unstoppable headbanging. As a counterbalance, we have the progressive "Pig God Dog" and the concluding "A Religion Free World Dream". Needless to say, from the song titles it's easy to guess what the lyrics refer to, though they're always seasoned with a certain irony and a good dose of dark humor.
Ultimately, we are faced with an excellent album from a band that has been too often unlucky and certainly deserved much more success over the years.
In conclusion, a note on the artwork: I find the idea of the voluptuous nun absolutely brilliant, to hell with the moralists and prudes always ready to castrate everything and everyone!!!
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