NoiZe Machine
The Jumping Clown

LA RECENSIONE

One day three friends, not to mention incredibly skilled virtuosos of their instruments, including Dario Mollo for guitar playing (do Voodoo Hill? Tony Martin? Glenn Hughes? Don Airey mean anything to you? No? Then brush up on rock history, you ignoramus!), so not just any reckless passerby, along with Roberto Gualdi as the drummer (I'll just say PFM, the rest you'll have to discover yourselves..) and Guido Block for bass playing (Electric Zoo, Graham Bonnet) came up with a wonderful idea (Cesare Ragazzi has nothing to do with it, just to be clear).

So, these three cheerful musicians thought of forming a band to freely express each one's creativity, a band to have fun, no virtuosities, no "monstrosities," just the pure desire to play what they like best without thinking too much, without pressures, carefree stuff, in short…

But “the voice” was missing, and for three artists of such caliber, the first bozo at the door wouldn't suffice. So they set out to find a singer a bit over the top. One evening, during a Jam session, a guy steps on stage, officially named Andrea Dal Santo, better known as Mitzi (and who the hell is this Mitzi?), the former frontman of Diumvana (or what's left of Vanadium if you will… Ah yes.. That “Jumping Clown!” citation), who, after years of toiling, jumping, sweating, and shouting on stages across Northern Italy, with cover music, decides to take the big leap, try the path of original songs, he believes he is ready (and he is, trust me).

After the Jam, the three are so impressed by the guy's performance that they immediately decide to bring him on board this crazy project. Thus are born the NoiZe Machine and the legend of the Jumping Clown begins.

What comes out, after a joyful period in the recording studio, is an explosive album (“The Jumping Clown”), a ticking time bomb with the timer set to -1 second, a fresh, fast, powerful album, even though the genre proposed is not the youngest, it's still hard rock mixed with metal, but the four know how to blend it skillfully, with electronic gadget inserts, guitar playing and solos on completely different levels, as monstrously technical as they are “simple” to the human ear, hammering drums and bass, solid, surgical, perfect... Tempo changes without feeling them, crossover, metal, nu metal, who offers more? All seasoned with a singing that leaves you open-mouthed… What? OPEN-MOUTHED! Are you deaf? Are you, like, a tribe of tough crowd? A like Awfully fantastic album. Double B like Beastly tight these guys are! O like OH! Double CC like Unbelievably amazing, A like Expect a slap with every track, P like They hit hard, E as in Now listen and break your horns, R for Listen again, T like I’ll split you in two, A as in Now that it's over I would play it again from the start.

Highly recommended tracks: all of them. But if I really have to pick just one, I'd say two: “I Like It” both for the astonishing genius and because Piero Pelù likes it too, and “So Far Away” because there's not just one Mike Patton and Faith No More, the others are NoiZe Machine.

Actually, I’d say three: “The Jumping Clown” for the craziness, the rhythm, the groove, the funky and especially the video.

It’s Funky, It’s Groovy…

Let’s make some NoiZe.. Jump!