Novembre
Classica

November is perhaps the Italian band that, after the renowned Rhapsody, enjoys the greatest international prominence.

Their music is clearly inspired by Death-Gothic metal in the style of Opeth and Katatonia, with whom they have played on tour multiple times. After debuting with "Wish I Could Dream It Again..." in '94 and the strong performance of "Arte Novecento," the band achieved consecration in 1999 with "Classica".

The album is a true gem: supported by powerful and fast guitar riffs in pure Death style, and melancholically resting on cold and autumnal melodies typical of Gothic. The album opens with a bang with the distorted riff of "Cold Blue Steel", which gives way in the central part to an interplay between guitar and vocals (the only track consistently featuring growl); the final part picks up the beginning, pushing a bit more. The second track "Tales From A Winter To Come" is purely gothic, and the lead guitar shines in slow and measured scales, culminating in one of the few true solos of the album with a technically exquisite blazing passage. Towards the end, the double bass drum becomes increasingly insistent: this will be a constant in many tracks of the album. We then arrive at the absolute masterpiece: "Nostalgiaplatz" can move and touch like few other metal songs, Carmelo Orlando's clean, sad, and melancholic voice evokes images of dry leaves blown by the wind beyond the trees, into the gray sky, dancing with the sharp drops of a November rain (never a more appropriate name!).

The album continues with two tracks that, despite the titles "My Starving Bambina" and "Love Story", are the most death and heavy of the entire album, where the drummer, the other Orlando brother, Giuseppe, shines. "L'Epoque Noire (March The 7th 12976 AD)", the sixth track, opens with a gothic-doom riff, suggesting a small tribute to Sabbath, over which the contribution of the double bass drum increases as the track progresses. "Onirica East" is the most varied track on the album: starting with an arpeggiated intro, it moves from the classic purely death powerful riff to calmer gothic digressions, to a central part that combines in an interesting and partially novel way a very thrash drum with a partially clean gothic-style guitar riff. "Foto Blue Infinito" and "Winter 1941" add nothing new to what has already been heard, but that doesn't mean they should be skipped during listening, as they are still very beautiful. The masterpiece concludes with an orchestral outro.

This album, besides being a national treasure, is truly moving and already a classic (certainly, when it comes to names, November never misses!). I feel like recommending it to all Gothic lovers first and foremost, and then to anyone wishing to know more about the Italian metal scene: November is definitely an excellent start.