TENEBRA - Moongazer

Emilio Torreggiani was one of the two guitarists in the three Settlefish albums released between 2002 and 2007; the other was Jonathan Clancy, who, after the premature end of that experience (for a while with Stefano Pilia on bass), devoted himself to the projects A Classic Education and His Clancyness. For roughly ten years Emilio, by contrast, stayed on the sidelines of the music business; he tried to get back in the game but wasn't convinced. The right opportunity began to take shape through a meeting in Bologna with a couple of friends, Claudio Troise (bass) and Mesca (drums), and was finalized with the recruitment of Silvia Feninno, found through an online ad.

The result is Tenebra, who, after the two EPs "Gen Nero" (2019) and "What We Do Is Sacred" (2021), now release their first album, "Moongazer".

It takes only a few minutes to discover where the quartet has chosen to position itself stylistically: the opening one-two punch of "Heavy Crusher" and "Cracked Path" immediately reveals a deliberately derivative stance, focused on rebuilding the proto hard rock imagery of the late Sixties and early Seventies, with heavy doses of acid psychedelia, heavy blues references, vague space-doom hints and a touch of soul in Silvia's vocals.

The debts to Sabbath and Zeppelin are very obvious, but Tenebra know how to apply technical skill and convincing songwriting, arriving at results that are solemn yet ultra-powerful at the same time. Nine tracks previewed by the single "Moon Maiden", confirming the excellent health of the new Italian hard rock scene, which important labels from across the border have their eyes on; not by chance, "Moongazer" is released by the respected English label New Heavy Sounds.

The guest list is substantial: Gary Lee Conner of the Screaming Trees takes the lead in the guitar solo that ennobles "Moon Maiden", Chow singer Riccardo Frabetti provides backing vocals on "Winds Of Change", Giorgio Trombino of Assumption plays sax on "Space Child", and Bruno Germano handles slide and mellotron on "Dark And Distant Sky".

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12/05/2022