Il Ballo delle Castagne
Live Studio

I had already talked about Il Ballo delle Castagne while reviewing on DeBaser Soundtrack For Unreleased Herzog Movie: it's a very interesting band in the dark-prog scene that, despite a derivative sound, manages to be an excellent entity thanks to a dark feeling and various influences (Italian prog, garage-rock, psychedelia, krautrock). Il Ballo delle Castagne has behind it high-level albums like "Kalachakra" and "Surpassing All Other Kings" which, along with their eponymous debut, form an ideal trilogy for Vinz Aquarian's group. This “live” is a sort of “best of” of what has been done so far. Live studio was recorded live in the studio in 2014 and features some classics from Il Ballo delle Castagne like “Tema di Gilgamesh,” a gripping track with its impetuous pace, “La terra trema,” a great dark-prog ride that benefits from the beautiful voice of Marina Larcher, and “Il viaggio,” calm and mysterious with its typical '70s atmospheres. Then there’s a cover of “Areknames,” a famous song taken from "Fetus," a sort of tribute to the early Battiato. Particularly effective is “Odore di benzina,” a track coming from the latest Egida Aurea or "Derive" which revives the glories of the old Italian prog. “I giorni della memoria terrena,” calm and with the bass of Diego Banchero in prominence, is again taken from "Kalachakra." “With “Omega” we are in the realm of Krautrock sounds, while the final track “Fire In The Sky” (a cover of Yahowha 13, a cult American band in which the legendary Sky Saxon of the Seeds also collaborated) is an irresistible classic of psychedelic rock. I can only confirm the good work done so far by Il Ballo delle Castagne. Their followers should not miss this little gem that comes out in a limited edition of 108 copies. The band also continues to be very active and has just released a CD reissue of the mentioned Soundtrack For Unreleased Herzog Movie, originally released on vinyl in a limited edition of 100 copies. Now we just have to wait for the next developments, which we will continue to follow with great interest.