A band's third record is usually its record of maturity, and here it also happens to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Milan band. A cover depicting a post-apocalyptic landscape does not reflect the many musical influences the band draws on, a sort of melodic goth rock whose best-known Italian exponents are Dope Stars Inc; there are echoes of the post-split Sisters Of Mercy, the ones with Patricia Morrison in the line-up; "Crawling" and "Concrete Jungle" move between the steel riffs and electronic devilry of Oomph and Farmer Boys; "So Far Away" recalls Héroes del Silencio, HIM and H-Blockx; "Chase The Nowhere" and "Judith" smell of dark crowd-pleasing à la The 69 Eyes; while "Did You Let Me Down" takes half a spin to catch you, get into your brain and lodge there for good. The strength of the record lies in catchy, groove-laden ideas that at times spill over into a little kitsch — "I Keep Pretending" — but all of it belongs to the love metal with which the work has more than a few points of contact. Although the musical references are obvious, the band's personality lies in giving them the touch that never lets them slip into mannerism for its own sake, and if you find yourself humming at least three songs from the record without realising it, then it means: mission accomplished.

First published in Italian; in English here. Where it appeared ↗