Linea 77
Horror Vacui

Linea 77 - "Horror Vacui"

A CD that needs to be listened to several times to be fully understood, but not because of listening difficulty, but quite the opposite, because of the creative intention behind the album itself. Massive respect to Mr. Wright - who, it is said, had Emo (with his amazing voice, still praised abroad) use the same microphone used by a certain Legend: Layne Stanley.

I would like to make two notes - which, if made by me, might seem like justifications (but they are not), Touch 2.0, as stated by Linea themselves, marks a point, a new beginning (discographical and creative), certainly if they had also said it about The Sharp Sound Of Blades, from the opening riff just a half-tone below that of Potato Music Machine, I would have appreciated it, but let's be satisfied, because what comes next looks promising. The second track, Sempre Meglio, which I initially didn't like, now I enjoy a lot... Grotesque is tremendous, and screw whoever said there were too many screams on this album....

What no one has addressed is the compactness of the album, even superior to that of "Ketchup Suicide", the transition between Sempre Meglio and Grotesque, is seamless.... and it's the same between Il Mostro and Sogni Risplendono... (there's an impressive perfection of mixing and production at times). It's true there's not the virtuous detail-oriented sonic research of Available for Propaganda... but it doesn't matter, I repeat, this album is well-concentrated.

Il Mostro is the single from Linea 77, different but close to Evoluzione e Fantasma, yet it still rocks.... As for Sogni Risplendono: I raise my hand, I frowned too seeing Tiziano Ferro with Linea 77, especially after they talked rather poorly about him in one of their live shows... but... we welcome the change for one simple reason, and for this alone, the track is a remarkable single; according to those so-called critics who said "Ferro could have been used better" - nonsense, if you liked 66 (biabolous in musica), this is no less....

For the rest, Penelope starts in a way I don't really like, but the rest (lyrics, sound, and vocal blend) is stunning, something the Linea 77 had never done before...

"Go down into the abyss......between breaths exists the place of absence"

Good Mi vida (great chorus), excellent Overload, and Magic Skeleton, holds surprises... and finally La Nuova Musica Italiana: there’s a symbolic shot at that Mamelian guitar riff originally done by the J-Ax band, but the question is, does it shoot at that Italian music, J-Ax, or something else?... - anyway, the track develops that discussion partly started with Isane Lovers and New World Soccer (from Numb), but it's no sin, they were two very respectable pieces..