Kev Rowland
There aren’t many bands where the two brothers are involved, and even less when one of the brothers is also the father of the drummer, but that is the case with this quartet from Italy. Here we have traditional heavy metal that sounds as if it has come straight from the Eighties where it has been heavily influenced by the recent NWOBHM revival and tempered with some of the more melodic styles then coming out of America. There is no thrash, death, black or any of the other multiple sub genres on offer, it is heavy metal pure and simple. The naivety is quite refreshing and to those of us of a certain age (i.e. we remember it first time around) this is quite nostalgic in some ways but this is way more than just a trip down memory lane, these guys really know what they are doing.
If I was to pick just one band as a point of reference then it would probably be Accept, but in a more melodic and less Teutonic way. Singer Daniele "Bud" Ancillotti, (Strana Officina, as well as forming Bud Tribe, which also features his bassist brother Sandro “Bid” Ancillotti) has a voice that in some ways is reminiscent of Ozzy, but not with the same range. But, the band always play to their strengths and have constructed the songs accordingly and the result is a lot less dandruff as this is music that really makes you want to do what they ask with the opening track, “Bang Your Head”. This is the sort of metal I grew up with, and these Italians certainly know what they are doing with it. http://www.ancillottiband.com