Janus
Al Maestrale

Who the hell were the Janus? The Janus in question (not to be confused with hundreds of namesake bands) were an old progressive rock band from the capital, a band advocating an uncertain and unrefined sound, seasoned with a touch of hard, folk, rock'n'roll, and dark sound.

The group, for the record, was "politically aligned" and certainly not to the left. The Janus, in fact, were the first exponents of Italian neo-fascist rock, the rock played at the so-called "Campi Hobbit," rock for those who truly believed in those ideas, the rock of those who hated communism and who dreamed of a world, seemingly populated by friendly medieval warriors and quirky Tolkien-esque figures, but that, in reality, tried to revive certain totalitarian scenarios typical of Italy.

Even though these ideas are as far as possible from my worldview and politics, it is still necessary to specify the political orientation of the group in question. Not to showcase my supposed "open-mindedness" but rather to highlight a reality: for Janus, music and political militancy were not two separate dimensions. Not at all!

But let's now talk about this album, an album often criticized and equally often praised, but almost never considered objectively.

"Al maestrale" was released back in 1979 and was a success mainly among the most attentive fans of Italian progressive rock and those who, in one way or another, sympathized with the political environment in which Janus was formed. As an album, to be entirely frank, "Al maestrale" is nothing extraordinary, but in its simplicity, its rawness, and its uncertainty, it was able to offer some quite interesting ideas. We are not talking about extremely technical musicians like Area, nor are we talking about an experienced lineup like Goblin! However, it is true that the guys in question could play decent and very modest progressive rock. A predominantly instrumental progressive rock with strong "Celtic" hues, characterized by some hard riffs and sometimes "punk-oriented" (see the unusual "Manifestazione Non Autorizzata"), but also by strange dark-flavored sound interludes ("Il Ritorno Del Cavaliere Nero") and semi-noise ("Tempo Di Vittoria").

The production of the album, however, is the real weak point! I understand that, especially at the time, it was a challenging task for a group of this type to find a good producer and a valid recording studio. I understand that, perhaps, the money available to them was not much. I understand everything, but honestly, from a group leaning towards progressive rock, one can and should expect more in terms of output and sound clarity!.

I stop here because there is little else to add. "Al Maestrale" is not a fundamental work, and I do not believe it has influenced many musicians. However, it remains an emblematic record often discussed, a record rich in Tolkien-like and fairy-tale suggestions that perhaps might appeal to those who love a certain type of rare and unusual sounds coming, indeed, from the boot that hosts us.