For all lovers of the eighties, here are Bloody Mary! Mind you, the nostalgics I mean are not first-hour old metalheads like yours truly, but all the youngsters who, like me (I know, I'm worse than parsley, I'm everywhere!), were into dark sounds in the early '80s. Perhaps, though, few readers will remember that period vividly!
But I'll drop the subject here (spare me the reminder that 20 years have gone by!) and move on to this young but already well-established band: Bloody Mary were born in 2001 and immediately stood out on the Milan scene for their rousing live performances; the same year they produced their first live record, and within two years they recorded no fewer than three mini CDs and took part in a couple of compilations. As I said, Bloody Mary start from the eighties and contaminate their music with modern, heavy elements. Essentially their music owes a lot to names like the Cure and Depeche Mode, but differs from them in a heavier way of interpreting the songs.
So the fusion of classic dark with heavy, distorted guitars and the tones typical of metal produces a sound perfectly in line with what is in vogue at the start of this third millennium: a gothic, at times heavy, dark wave.
To tell the truth, there's little metal here, and originality is not the predominant element of Bloody Mary's music either: what the Lombard band offers has already been said by groups like HIM, 69 Eyes, Entwine and lately Sentenced and company.
Genre aside, though, this kind of music is meant to make people "have fun", and seen in that light one can only note how the five Milanese succeed.
The record opens with a song that, in my opinion, is a little anonymous, but it is with the danceable "Little Sister" that this promo starts to get interesting. The following "Drops" is very fine too, its strength lying in the music, unusual and intricate.
Before the closing "Face To Face" there is room for a pair of slightly heavier songs (some reminiscence of the old Cult emerges in them), always varied in their passages.
The "song" side described so far is, however, only one part of what Bloody Mary offer: behind the catchiness of the tunes there is also a solid instrumental section that acts as the base for Aldebran's sinuous, warm and fascinating singing. Admittedly, he shows that his best territory is the lower register, and on occasion the limits of his voice show in some higher parts; none of this, however, matters much in a genre where the cavernous, mysterious voice is a typical distinguishing feature.
As anticipated, the mini CD closes with the cover of "Face To Face" by the Twins (an early-eighties group that broke into the charts with this song!); Bloody Mary's version is tasty and arranged in a more rock key — needless to say, this song is the band's warhorse live!
I'll close by going back to the live shows: Bloody Mary are certainly far more rousing live than on record, thanks to the great personality of their singer, the undoubted impact of their show and the fact that the music they play is ideal for a dark wave night in a disco or a club.
A great band! I wonder, though: what will become of these guys when the dark wave fashion passes? For now, let's enjoy them!
First published in Italian; in English here. Where it appeared ↗