The Dust
Remembrance

I have already had the pleasure of reviewing a work by The DusT here on DeBaser, a local band that seems to be anything but Italian. The English singing and the proposed sounds seem far too distant from those flaunted by our country, characteristics that also steer them away from fame. Yes, because this band has something like about 200 fans on their official Facebook page and a following that is far too modest for the technical and artistic qualities demonstrated by these guys.

The "The DusT" project originated in the hands of its historical leader, Roberto Grillo, who was eager to create his own band as early as at fifteen, in 1995. The project would see its first realizations only in 2000, with the first performances in front of the public, followed by the release of The DusT's first official work: In God We Trust (2001). Despite continuous adventures and numerous lineup changes, The DusT still managed to release four other albums: Golden Horizons (2004), cinema rétro (2005) and Portrait Of a Change (2010) showcase all the qualities of the band, including strong "seventies" inspiration from which Grillo draws heavily, between Progressive Rock and Glam.

In 2014 comes yet another self-produced album, which we will discuss in this review: Remembrance (2014) is perhaps less "progressive" than its predecessor, but no less varied for this reason. Each track has a completely different musical fabric from the others: it seamlessly ranges from ballads to rock, from violins to sax, and perhaps this is the real reason that has barred The DusT from the big stages. Variety is their great strength, but paradoxically it also seems to reveal itself as the worst flaw: the only thing that truly connects the tracks is Grillo's compelling voice, the only point of connection in a series of technically impeccable songs, catchy enough but too different from each other, a peculiarity that deprives the album of its own distinctive musical identity. The resemblance to the sixties/seventies is mostly felt in the heaviness of some arrangements, which give the sound a touch of "brilliance" and epicness: the track that probably shines more than any other is the closing track, Lord Of The Flies, a piece that very much recalls the old-style Toto. The other tracks also show their claws: in Are You Gonna Get It the guitar style even recalls that of Queen, while other pieces seem to draw from the repertoires of more recent rock bands like Train.

We are therefore faced with a melting pot of sounds and styles, a testimony to a very precise choice by both Grillo and the rest of the band: a choice that has to do with their way of playing, for an album that will give you forty minutes of good music, in the hope that The DusT will manage to gain the visibility they, after all, richly deserve.