Il Rovescio della Medaglia
La Bibbia

The Reverse of the Medal (or simply RdM according to the custom of the time that preferred abbreviations like PFM and BMS to simplify the long names of bands) was a Roman rock band particularly dedicated to progressive rock, formed at the end of 1970.

The first core of the band was born from the partnership of three former members of the beat group "I Lombrichi," to which Pino Ballarini, a native of Pescara who came to the capital to join the "Poema," was later added. The quartet soon realized the scarcity and emotional insufficiency of beat music, a genre that dominated national charts in the '60s, and decided to focus their attention on a new music of British origin: prog rock.

In 1971, they released their first album, "La Bibbia," for RCA, a contract earned through the band's participation in the Avant-Garde and New Trends Music Festival in Viareggio. The title immediately suggests an extremely ambitious project, but at the same time, it demonstrates the group's culture (not just musical); a characteristic that would also influence the next two records "Io Come Io," inspired by Hegelian philosophy, and "Contaminazione," in collaboration with maestro Bacalov (yes, the one from "Concerto Grosso").

The album, released in '71, opens with "Il Nulla," an introductory track characterized by a chaotic and above all cacophonic atmosphere based on guitar distortions and a continuous bass line that appears halfway through the track. The sound is powerful and defined, the technical preparation sublime (one can almost explicitly feel the call of Hendrix and Blackmore, which remain persistent throughout the piece). Moving on with the second track... "La Creazione." The latter is the only sung song, which cites Bible passages (from Genesis, the first book) and typical pop solfeggi on a subtle and continuous bass line with distorted guitar intrusions. "L'Ammonimento," the third track, picks up where the second left off. Instrumentally impeccable and embellished by a solo by Vita that responds to Campoli's drum beats, fostering a sound dialogue. The lyrics are menacing, but not well rendered by Ballarini's singing (who performs the piece's theme with the flute at the beginning). "Sodoma e Gomorra" is a decidedly more hard rock instrumental piece where the British influence is evident, particularly of Deep Purple's "In Rock" (1970). "Il Giudizio," my favorite track on the album, opens with a clear gong sound that introduces a bass groove leaving no room for ambiguity: the quartet knows what they are doing, they are fully aware. The track, which exceeds 10 minutes, is nothing but a summary of the entire LP: distorted guitar, progressive bass lines, never truly memorable singing, tremendous energy, the cacophony of the beginning and the end, a sound dialogue featuring drums and guitar as protagonists. The work concludes with "Il Diluvio," which reprises the beginning's characteristics and adds a plausible storm noise.

In conclusion, we are talking about an extremely spontaneous and slightly immature album, but being this the first release and with the year being 1971, it is a pleasant and introspective project, much more homogeneous than other albums of the era. Recorded entirely live, it was made completely without keyboards, a typical prog element, to make room for a mad guitar reflecting the examples of UK-made blues and hard rock.

The band will forever remain in the history of the Peninsula's music, partly due to their equipment, which included a Sonex amplification system, a 6000 Watt Mack vocal system, Semprini microphones, Gibson Les Paul guitars, Hayman drums with Paiste and Premier percussion, and a Fender bass. For this reason, they are remembered as the most respected Italian rockers on stage, a match for some foreign bands.

RATING: 6.5