Nick Oliveri
Death Acoustic

This album, when it was released, monopolized my stereo, iPod, and the CD player in my humble car for a long time. I happened to listen to it again recently, and since the artist in question (as a soloist) has zero reviews in the database (which is my prerogative to write on this site), I propose it to you.

Nick Oliveri, I believe, needs no introduction; if you really don't know him, go (re)check who plays the bass in "Blues For The Red Sun" or "Songs For The Deaf", or in Dwarves or Mondo Generator. For the writer, Oliveri is the bassist who would join a hypothetical "all-stars band" of the '90s alternative scene.

"Death Acoustic" is his second solo album; released in 2009, it received rather lukewarm reviews, deemed by most as a 'must' only for fans. As far as I'm concerned, I fell in love with it from the first listen. Why? Because it is UNIQUE IN ITS GENRE. And thinking about it, only Nick Oliveri could have done such a job. It's an acoustic album that is not acoustic at all. I mean... Yes, there are acoustic guitars, but this is an album much more punk and metal in spirit than many other true punk and metal albums. The title "Death Acoustic" explains everything you should know before listening to the album: the death of the acoustic guitar used by good old Nick to record the songs on the album. Just so we're clear, it's not an album like City And Colour. These 10 songs (mostly covers) were born in the simplest of ways: Oliveri found himself in a forced break with the recordings of the new Mondo Generator album (due to the guitarist's paternity), and wanting to find an excuse to play in some dive (he will do a tour in the first months of 2010 playing for 20/30 people per night) he recorded this "acoustic death." Guitar and voice? No. Guitar and throat: screams. Of course, I'm not talking about scream or growl (which are 'styles' of singing that, if done well, do not imply vocal problems), or a vocal similar to the latest Tom Waits, but of true and proper screams. Pretend you're calling a person 30 meters away from you. While listening, it feels like Nick is always on the verge of messing up his vocal cords. To demonstrate this and the mood that runs through the 30 minutes of the album, the first track is an excellent example. It's an unusual cover for an unusual acoustic album. I'm talking about "Start A Fight" by the very Italian Raw Power (100% hardcore)! Which here, among other things, takes on (strange) oriental hues. Among covers of Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age, I also highlight "Hybrid Moments" by the Misfits and the original unreleased "Invisible Like The Sky". Don't think of the usual acoustic funeral; here the songs are full of groove and violence (in the way he plays the guitar: sometimes it seems like there's more than one rhythm section, such is the vehemence of our Nick).

As thrilling as it is disarming for its genuineness, "Death Acoustic" is undoubtedly the rowdiest acoustic album that has ever crossed my path. Listen to it!