EMERGING

I admit it: I attended the second evening of the provincial selections for Arezzo Wave exclusively to see the set of S.o.P. I had the chance to see them in September 2001, again during a contest for emerging bands. The impact with their music was overwhelming, then after two or three songs, the effect faded away… More than a year has passed since then, and I didn't want to miss the great opportunity to attend their concert practically at my doorstep, to see how they have evolved.

The Son of Prediction come from the Valle Aurina, that strip of land in South Tyrol that juts into Austrian territory. A dead-end valley, the same valley where youth distress made sad headlines over 10 years ago: years in which a multitude of very young people chose to end it all by diverting car exhaust into the cabin. For a few years now, the valley has managed to give the music scene several respectable groups (Bad Jokers, R.O.T and indeed S.o.P.), born around the youth group Aggregat, the true engine of cultural life in the valley.

For years in my judgments, I placed musical innovation above all else. But since the autumn of 2001, I have had to reconsider. The S.O.P. performed immediately after "my" Punto.exe (taking the opportunity: www.dotexe.it) and managed to convey a rare energy. Their musical reference was and is very clear: Rage Against The Machine (let it be clear: the S.o.P. offer only their own songs).
The thing that struck me most at the time was the performance of the singer, able to bring out his soul, in the true sense of the word, on that occasion.

At the Arezzo Wave selections on 25 January, in the group's lineup, S.o.P. inexplicably played second (out of six - I expected to see them towards the end of the evening). Whether it was because it was still early or because the audience was still arriving, it took the four boys a full three songs to "get their bearings."

The S.o.P. define their sound as "rap metal," and indeed the first 10 minutes of their show are confusing. Some flashes, interspersed with too many sudden rhythm changes with extreme accelerations (almost grind core). Technique, yes, grit too, but the four managed to control and channel it from the fourth song onwards.
The group has matured, so to speak, it is more of a GROUP. Even the audience noticed (quadrupling in the hall during the performance), which appreciated the extreme conviction on stage.
The singer Höno, calm before the concert, becomes more of an animal on stage (in a positive sense) and is a rapper with a high, almost shrill voice (perhaps that's why he recalls the early Zack de la Rocha). He moves on stage like a possessed man. The bassist Wolfi and the guitarist Amme are no less, whose instrument necks threatened on some occasions to knock their singer out.

Their concert was adrenaline-filled, but also managed to create more reflective interludes. I am sure that the S.o.P. are ready to take on any stage. My wish is to soon know of them traveling around the continent.