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Rating: "A train hit me head-on, I'm dead for eternal life.
Nothing has changed: I'm the same!" ("L'Angelo")
Have you ever wondered what might happen if, on a calm sunny day, a very cute little girl with long hair and an innocent look suddenly went mad and wielded any kind of weapon (in this case, a hammer) to destroy anything around her, whether dolls or simple objects?
The conclusion is simple: that innocent look from before turns into something seeking revenge, swearing against all who have mistreated that child by destroying her hopes, until her anger is finally calmed. What could have made her explode? Perhaps a sudden fit of nerves, or perhaps this explosion was in the air. Or maybe it was the effects of something we can call "The Other Education".
And it's about this work that I want to talk about. Initially a demo, this album from the Roman band Surgery, enveloped in an aura of mystery, with a look between cybernetic and gore, was officially released in 2007 as their first work. Almost the Italian answer to Slipknot, but beware: we are dealing with a whole different breed. Our artists offer our musical palates a genre not easily classifiable. What is it? Industrial? EBM? Simple electronica? Rock? Punk? New Wave? Dance? The soundtrack of some splatter video game with a touch of humor? Or even Suppomusic, as Caparezza also said? The last hypothesis seems to be the case, judging by the content of this work.
"I will climb the stairs with indifference, I'll leave you a gift...
The bomb will explode when I'm on the street..." ("Grandine")
The lyrics are surprising, crazy and wild, yet at the same time very interesting, imbued with homicidal desires ("L'Erba Cattiva", with lyrics that are quite an agenda, with almost Mr. Bungle-like influences, a bit like "Violenza Domestica": "I want to turn you into an inflatable doll, squeeze you hard until you burst, I want to transform you with muriatic acid, mold you so much you look like me", or "Barracuda": "The good angel tells me no, the bad one begs me. HATE tanning lamps, HATE multinationals...BARRACUDA IN FISHNET STOCKINGS, BARRACUDA IN DNV") and sometimes suicidal ("Lamette", a cover of the namesake classic by Rettore, sung again with her), regrets of those "desperate beaches" belonging to a summer that risks never returning ("Stupida Estate": "I can't shout words of love, don't want to sing my profound horror, I'm suspended, staring into the void, the northern sun can't cure me"), the urge to stand against do-gooders who see certain music as something pushing to kill ("Elettroshock", introduced by sounds of off-air radio and TV antennas: "I killed mom and dad, with a plastic bag, music ordered me to do it") and against any imposition ("Nessun Dogma"), culminating even in a sort of mantra able to bring out the most aggressive sides of us humans ("Siamo Animali").
The powerful voice of Dan Koch and the voice of Cristina Badaracco, sometimes raucous, sometimes simply angry, have an excellent effect on the listener, proving themselves always engaging, never boring nor repetitive.
And after the first listen, there's a feeling of astonishment, an interest steadily growing for the product offered. Perhaps what Surgery proposes isn't the pinnacle of originality, but it's certainly something far more enjoyable in today's Italian music scene, which can mix various genres to create a potpourri not lacking in personality.
Whoever wants to give it a listen, step forward, there's something for everyone.
"The bad grass will never die...
soulless and a heart to defeat..." ("L'Erba Cattiva")
The video of "Stupida Estate" HERE
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