Mab
Decay

LA RECENSIONE

Aristotle, in his time, wrote that some melodies, some musical harmonies, served to educate the youth, in other words, they formed the basis of the ethical project within an ideal society. But Plato had already written this. Aristotle goes further. Aristotle says there are also melodies that couldn't care less about being edifying and having a social function, and they are the so-called 'enthusiastic melodies': in other words, those that simply have a cathartic effect on the listener.

Let's get to the point. This 'DECAY' is strongly, strongly cathartic, it is a record that marks, overwhelms and enchants. The enchantresses in question are the Mab, four Sardinian girls transplanted to London, who after the self-produced demo 'Unstable Dream', released 'Decay' on November 9, 2007, also self-produced and distributed by Universal Music.

From the cover of 'Decay', the girls appear like new witches (not like the Rag Dolls) who in their cauldron mix a highly successful blend of Rock, Gothic Metal, but also several flashes of lyrical music (take a look at the closing of 'Suicidal Angel', the refrain of 'Last Tango in London', and the lung-busting conclusion of the cover 'Adrenalina' (no, not the one by Finley) in particular. The singer PJ's (Psycho Jeremy) voice turns out to be something never heard before, shocking both in the desperate and shouted passion of the already mentioned 'Last Tango in London', as well as in the sweetness (behind a strongly melancholic text) of the first verse of 'Black', in my opinion the best of the album, the true peak, the extraordinary excellence amid excellence. The album does feature slightly lower points, but we are not talking about worse tracks, merely pieces ('More' and 'Adrenalina' specifically), where the more gothic atmospheres are momentarily set aside (and speaking of gothic one must mention the fourth track 'Astrophel', spine-chilling), and thus more strictly touching and evocative.

But now comes the bad part. The movie scene where the villain takes out our hero (or if you prefer the one where the Titanic disappears into the depths after hitting the iceberg). The end. Yes, because the Mab have disbanded, and I tried to console myself partly by thinking that at least over time they might have worsened, but since things went this way, we'll be left with, in its unchanging state, this little masterpiece, this jewel of catharsis. Because music can also be a social tool, but first and foremost it is catharsis.  

P.S. A thanks to Marco-Lovelorn (another Debaseriota) who introduced me to this album.