And here at last is the much promised and much promoted review of Bloody Mary's two current small great masterpieces. A universe of colours fading into black: this is the first sensation that listening to Red leaves on the skin; Aldebran's voice is as always deep and velvety, but not without a strong sexy charge that few of our home-grown singers can boast. Technically perhaps rougher than the second work, Red nonetheless contains two real cameos: The Second Chance, with its full, calmly agitated rhythm, and the beautiful cover of the Twins' Face To Face, so acclaimed in the fabulous 80s, which our boys present again with a strong dose of innovation and originality, placing BM above the usual bands that feed us, day after day, mere performances they then bravely rename covers. Much more polished technically, with a cleaner sound and intensified arrangements, is the second album, Rosemadder.
The title is once again a shade of red, which evokes and fits perfectly the atmospheres of the songs on it. With this work Bloody Mary confirm our intuition about their talent: this is gothic rock, certainly not without authoritative influences from bands such as Type O Negative or The 69 Eyes, but all seasoned Bloody Mary style: a personal touch that goes beyond any imitation and outlines the melodic profile of this band. Among the most interesting songs one cannot fail to mention the splendid Icy Blue, a perfect balance between melody and lyrics: the words seem born together with the music, and Aldebran's voice is the perfect glue. Still very rhythmic but decidedly more abrasive is It's Too Late (do not miss the video, which boasts a plot worthy of Dario Argento), followed, however, by the very sweet ballad Learning To Fly, which breaks the album's hard rock tones and softens the atmosphere. Closing the CD is Before The Rain, a return to harder sounds, as if to put a signature on this noteworthy work, which shows the band's ability to adapt to any kind of sound, from the most spontaneous goth'n'roll to sweeter and more introspective melodies. All in all we can only give these young people a full 8, and wish them to continue the well-deserved career they have embarked on: we will soon see them all over Italy - the Bloody Colonization has already begun.
First published in Italian; in English here.