Plakkaggio
Cosmo

We had last left Plakkaggio with an excellent album that had solidly confirmed the group’s ever more uncontested tendency towards heavy metal, and we pick up - essentially - right from there.

“Labaro” as a single hadn’t fully convinced me; not so much because of the song itself, but because I feared Plakkaggio had embraced much less impactful sounds. But I was wrong, and “Cosmo” marks a new chapter in the band’s journey.

The title track opens with a sound reminiscent of power metal, provided that such an abrasive voice could ever be considered power, according to a modus operandi that the Colleferro group seems to appreciate: an excellent track that serves as a great calling card. However, despite being a very good song, it pales in comparison to “Verso la vetta.” “Spada” eases off and, honestly, even “La Nostra Curva” isn’t unforgettable as a song, though it’s certainly decent and tells the group’s identity well. Instead, there are high points with the catchy and “melancholic” “Cibo Scaduto,” which really brought me back to the band’s more HC soul and to certain styles that were all the rage in Italy in the ’90s. “Labaro” is good as well, lightening up the sound yet proving convincing, followed by the solid “Dimora” and another highlight represented by “Posto di Blocco,” which also does justice to the more 883-tinged tones with a catchy chorus. Then comes cover time with “Tornado,” a reinterpretation of the legendary “Tornado of Souls,” one of the most beautiful tracks by the immortal Megadeth, and then there’s “Granito,” which already came out back in the day with Plakkaggio HC. Closing the album is “Uro - Bos Primigenius,” which cleverly matches a ferocious blast beat with a very heavy riff.

The band, therefore, convinces once again: the riffing and solos are of high quality, and I would pinpoint Dave Mustaine and company as the most evident influences in this regard; the vocals carry the more Oi! component, and there’s a certain variety. It’s precisely on this last point that a very strange phenomenon about Plakkaggio is tied. Similarly to when Elio e le Storie Tese set out to write rap or metal songs, and while they do it well, you can feel they aren’t true rap or metal tracks “as” rap or metal, in the same way there’s an odd effect when Plakkaggio — in certain spots here and there — insert, for example, power or black elements. It sounds as if — no matter how well they pull it off — it’s not their natural element and they’re merely lending themselves to it; however, I believe this is a production matter, since it’s well known that our guys are seasoned consumers of Marduk, DarkThrone, and Helloween.

“Cosmo” is a step back compared to “Verso la vetta” because it repeats its formula while widening some horizons but doesn’t prove to be as incisive, and for that reason, I believe that if Plakkaggio were to continue exactly on this path, they would soon end up repeating themselves — but I trust that won’t be the case. Regardless of comparisons with the band’s other works, “Cosmo” is a good album: although it seems to me that not all punk fanbases appreciate this increasingly metal turn of the group, the songwriting and arrangements are spot on, and so this is another win for the Lazio band. The year thus kicks off in both metal and punk circles, and Plakkaggio confirm themselves as a more than solid group. Rating: 79/100.