The Great Divide (IT)
Union

From California to Rome, twenty years later. The The Great Divide Roman quintet debuts with "Union" and they do so by taking a path, that of independent artists, increasingly abandoned and less traveled by young musicians blinded by the pursuit of a breakthrough, one that today inevitably involves the flattening of one's artistic identity.
The Great Divide, on the other hand, seem to have plenty of identity, and they prove it immediately with the opening track "Rise," with a distinctive character of a sound influenced from overseas, influences that forcefully enter a garage on the outskirts of Rome, materializing in the pair of tracks "So Wrong" and "LoveSick Dog," songs comparable to American sleaze rock in a Buckcherry style. From an emerging band, you'd expect everything right away, but surprisingly, after the initial listen, there's still much to appreciate, like the track "Bone," among the peaks of the ten tracks on the album and characterized by the high and equally convinced notes of Roman vocalist Mauro Pala.
As testimony to the utmost freedom in artistic and production terms, a faculty only possible for realities not too compliant with major labels, the tracks of the album leave little room for pauses or filler moments. Guitarist Pierpaolo Cianca showcases solos and excellent composition skills in tracks like "Heroes" and "Bad Habits," but after "Grinder," which in the title and sound recalls the famous "Slither" by Velvet Revolver, the gem is hidden in the closing track "Sleeper"; harmonies that intersect perfectly as well as the first, deserved, moment of intimacy of the album, consistently carried forward at a high pace. As mentioned, The Great Divide are an emerging reality and just for this, they deserve the chance of an objective listen, a listen that even the most demanding will appreciate for the quality and variety of the sound. From Rome to California is a moment, and The Great Divide, if they had been born and bred in the lands facing the Pacific, would certainly have already had their moment long ago.