Progfest

This year too, the tireless Black Widow Records brings high-quality live music to the city of Genoa, in the striking setting of the Porto Antico, with a prog-inspired lineup centered this year on the relationship between music and cinema.

Saturday, August 3rd kicks off in style with special guest Fabio Frizzi and his Frizzi2Fulci project, dedicated, of course, to the scores the maestro composed for Lucio Fulci's films (such as "Sette note in nero" and "Zombi 2") — a genuine chance to catch one of his live shows in Italy, given that Frizzi is usually busy touring extensively in the United States.

The day opens with Horror Bach, a project created by Diego Banchero (also of Il segno del comando), who deliver a set built around pieces drawn from horror soundtracks, including “Profondo rosso”, rearranged in a highly personal, hard-edged style.

Next up are Delirio and the Phantoms, the band led by Freddy Delirio (longtime keyboardist of Death Ss and founder of H.A.R.E.M.), who conjure a visually striking atmosphere through their masks and makeup, somewhere between theatre and horror rock. Worth noting is the presence of Freddy's son, Chris, behind the drums — father and son united by their shared passion for music.

At 9pm La maschera di cera take the stage: active since 2002, the Genoa-based lineup of Corvaglia, Zuffanti, Orlando, Macor and veteran Martin Grice are playing on home turf, opening the show with “Fino all’aurora” from the 2009 album “Petali di fuoco”, followed by more tracks drawn from their other work.

As darkness falls (though sadly not the heat!) the much-awaited Frizzi arrives with his band (including Genoa's own Giulietta Zanardi, a former collaborator of Claudio Simonetti) to transport the crowd into a horror mood straight out of another era, playing now-cult pieces such as the theme from “Zombi 2”, “Paura nella città dei morti viventi”, “Silver Saddle” and “Un gatto nel cervello”.

The ever-charming Frizzi jokes around, clearly at ease at this Genoa gathering, while the crowd shows its appreciation with applause and ovations.

The second day opens with Gotho, featuring Fabio Cuomo on synths (an outstanding Genoa-based musician, currently also drummer for Malombra) alongside Andrea Peracchia on drums. The nimble duo bring to the stage tracks from their debut album “Mindblowing”, with a disorienting sound that juxtaposes near-ambient passages with furious blasts of noise. Truly engaging and entertaining, both progressive and experimental.

Next up is La Grazia Obliqua. A singer-songwriter-styled outfit steeped in darkwave with electronic touches, playing Genoa for the first time, they offer the sweltering crowd highly refined songs, including material from their new album “Canzoni d’amore e morte e altri eventi accidentali”.

Universal Totem Orchestra have a special guest today, Sophya Baccini of Presence. Their symphonic jazz-rock, with Magma-inspired touches, draws the crowd in. They also take the chance to premiere a new track released that very day as a limited edition picture disc, with cover art by Danilo Capua, longtime collaborator of Uto and other Bwr bands.

L’ombra della sera begin their set at 9.40pm, a fitting hour for the dark themes the band embodies, namely tributes to memorable Italian TV dramas from the 1970s such as “Gamma”, “Ritratto di donna velata” and “Il segno del comando”. Anticipation was high, especially since live appearances by the band are far from common, and the group led by Fabio Zuffanti doesn't disappoint, delivering their dark/progressive sound. At the close of the concert, alongside Massimo Gasperini, Zuffanti himself hints that something is brewing courtesy of Black Widow Records. Stay tuned!

The evening's headline act, Il segno del comando led by Diego Banchero (speaking of dark TV dramas), remains one of the finest exponents of so-called Italian-style dark sound, performing tracks from their latest album alongside material from earlier works, and using the occasion to introduce new drummer Paolo Serboli and the new picture disc “Live in studio”.

Once again this year, the effort and passion of BWR have allowed fans to enjoy excellent music — let's not take that for granted.

Ride the wave of great music

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