PFM
Dracula opera rock

Are you kidding?

These are the words that come to mind after reading the reviews of "Dracula opera rock," by P.F.M. here on the web.

"Dracula opera rock," is an album released in 2006 by the historic Italian progressive rock band formed by musicians, (Franz Di Cioccio-drums&percussions, Patrick Djivas-bass, Franco Mussida-guitars, Flavio Premoli-keyboards) as is well known, all respected musicians, but that doesn't mean we should praise every lousy thing that the "Premiata" tries to pass off as divine works.

Did I say lousy?

So am I saying this album sucks? Absolutely not, because it's well-played, very well recorded, and the singers, (Vittorio Matteucci who played Dracula, Sabrina De Siena, who played Mina, etc), are excellent, but the album is terribly boring, repetitive, and predictable, for those like me (but not only me), who have seen the beautiful film by F. F. COPPOLA.

"DRACULA OPERA ROCK" is a concept album, a type that brought fortune and later led to the artistic and commercial crisis (with the birth of new wave and punk) for many contemporaneous bands like Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Le Orme, Area, etc. Therefore, in 2006 but also today, it is a somewhat unusual genre, and (in my opinion) a bit risky to propose, especially in Italy, but a good lover of progressive rock will appreciate it greatly, if the work in question turns out to be good, which this is not.

The concept, therefore, has the peculiarity of resembling more a novel than a traditional album in terms of the lyrics because the songs' lyrics in the opera refer to a single core concept that can be a novel, (as in this case), a fairy tale, a fictional story, or whatever you like.

From my point of view, this is where things fall apart because taking as a core concept (in my opinion) the famous novel by Bram Stoker, is not original at all, which seems to me to be a nice commercial operation meticulously crafted by P.F.M., to elevate the work to the status of a masterpiece, with a subject (Dracula) that is well-known and predictable.

Brief reconstruction of the events.

Franco Mussida: Hi guys, okay, we need to make a nice concept album, do you agree? Absolutely, answers F. Premoli, maybe we could invent a nice original story that comes from us, naahhh, answers F. Di Cioccio, too tiring and then we must also consider the commercial side, so let's make a well-done album, but not a concept, retorts P. Djivas. Joking.... replies F. Mussida, we are not the Dik Dik.

Mmmmm...... Mmmmm....... Mmmmm....

I've got it, Dracula opera rock, bravo... the others applaud, result? Boring to death. The entire opera (2 discs) is divided into two acts, which altogether consist of 28 tracks, representing the whole novel, "Ouverture" the instrumental track that opens the show is without doubt the best of the entire opera, the problem with this latter, in my opinion, is the sung part, much more suitable for a theatrical performance than a rock one, which hardly matches typical rock instruments.

Other interesting tracks are, "Non guardarmi," "Un destino di rondine," "Il punto debole," definitely better in the second act. Almost the entire opera follows very rigid patterns, predictable, so when the vicissitudes, the story becomes more lively, the music responds accordingly and vice versa, penalizing and trivializing everything.

The sound is powerful, crystal clear, and complete, but forget about the typical virtuosity of the "classic" progressive rock of the past, orchestrations are full throttle to add a lot of drama, the vampire choir is ridiculous. In conclusion: I've reached the end of this hodgepodge, bored, half-asleep, and disappointed, the only consolation is the super luxury book-shaped packaging is very beautiful, and it will gather a lot of dust.

I think I read somewhere that even the homonymous tour was a semi-flop, but it was inevitable, I recommend this album only to the most die-hard fans, and conclude that P.F.M.'s masterpieces belong to the past (remote).