Don't hate on me for this, and don't
think I'm a patriot in any way but I must say it: my country, Italy,
is developing a really sick modern progressive/tech-metal scene. A
lot of interesting acts focused around prog/math/djent music are emerging
everywhere across our nation.
Latest but definitely not least,
progressive deathcore act Despite Exile is ready to bring the whole
scene to an even higher level with the release of their forthcoming
debut “Sentience”. The album is due to release November 26th. The
video for the first single “Immanence” just hit the world wide
web through BeheadingTheTraitor on Youtube. And it's just massive.
Mighty vocals, devastating riffage, and all kinds of greatness included. If you don't believe me, let
this stuff crush you. Check em out.
Italian tech-heads Damned Spring Fragrantia released their debut album “Divergences” through Basick Records on June 24th (and you can read our review HERE). That same night they were supposed to play a show in Milan supporting Thy Art Is Murder, but the show was canceled because of an injury sustained by TAIM's drummer. Fortunately they brought together another amazing show in a few days. And that show was their official release party. It took place on Saturday June 29th in Vicenza, north-east of Italy, with the support of two of the most interesting bands of our local scene: Despite Exile and Lies Of Nazca. After a long and adventurous travel by train I managed to get to the venue just in time to meet some friends and see the beginning of the show.
Lies Of Nazca took the stage about ten minutes after my arrival and I'm glad I made it to see their live debut. For those of you that don't know these guys, they're a new progressive deathcore band which debuted a few months ago releasing their first song and videoclip “Cosmogonal Grounds” and you can read their story HERE. They premiered a few new songs tonight which will be featured on their debut album, which we'll have some updates for soon. After a first shy and frigid moment the crowd began to move when they played their already known single. From that moment onwards the show was really fun and there was a really good response from the audience that was already there (which was already a good number). They played a total of six songs and I'd like to focus your attention especially on the forth one called “We. Unrelenting Mechanism” which sounded insane. Keep an eye on these guys because they've got something sick coming for you in the near future.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Setlist
Periapsis: Condemnation
Periapsis: New Form
Cosmogonal Grounds
We. Unrelenting Mechanism
I. Sideral Messiah
Cardinality Of Perfection
__________________________________________________________________________________
After a short break, Despite Exile got on stage. A larger number of people arrived at the venue before and during their performance. I already had the chance to see these guys perform live, supporting The Algorithm, and I'm glad to claim that the quality of their live performance even improved. They brought an intense and energetic live show which started mosh pits and heavy headbanging in the first lines - especially during the second half of their set. A fast, groovy and heavy exhibition by a band that's now capable of perfectly owning the stage and delivering an almost flawless performance. They opened their set with the song “Oscillate” and then performed some of their most known tracks like “Perfection Naturalized” and even a new song called “Immanence” that sounded pretty sick! Their last song was the single “Mecahnical” in which the band gave its real best. They're working on some new material right now and they hope to release it in the beginning of 2014. Expect big things and more heavy gigs!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Setlist
Oscillate
Pure Crimson
Perfection Neutralized
Immanence (New song)
Kawabonga
Scarlet Reverie
Mechanical
__________________________________________________________________________________
And now it's time for the main event, the band we're all here to celebrate. Damned Spring Fragrantia has brought our scene to be recognized by the prestigious label Basick Records. We're proud of the results these guys achieved. So much that many of us decided to travel and get here to support them and have fun together. This was actually one of the funniest shows I've ever been to, a truly amazing party and an unforgettable night. The band immediately started off its set with the opening track of their album “Still Alive”, followed by “A Common Tragedy” and one of the most appreciated songs off their album “The Obsidian Fate”. Two of my favourite songs followed: “Drowned In Cyan” and the title track “Divergences”. The performance was solid and heavy, while the sound was clean and huge. The audience responded with crazy and weird moshing. We had human-bananas and inflatable crocodiles in the mosh pit, a giant bottle of beer crowdsurfing, and many people stage diving on the same bass drop of “DMZ”. The show was really funny and insane for the entire audience. Fruit madness aside, the band also performed “The Refusal Effect” and the single “Lost Shores” which ended their set. They didn't have the time to perform the last song “Heritage” which should have ended their show, but the venue had trouble with the timing.
Regardless, it was amazing to meet a lot of good people and friends. We had fun all together on such an unforgettable night. We will meet Damned Spring Fragrantia again at Uk Tech-Metal Fest in a couple of weeks and I strongly recommend you all to come there and check 'em out!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Setlist
Still Alive
A Common Tragedy
The Obsidian Fate
Drowned In Cyan
Divergences
D.M.Z.
The Refusal Effect
Lost Shores
__________________________________________________________________________________
This is one of those things that makes you think there's still some kind of hope for your country's cultural future. A FREE SHOW was held at La Tenda in Modena, the north end of Italy, with The Algorithm (featuring Mike Malyan on drums!) and 3 Italian bands. It was a very underground show in a really cool venue. And even though this is not a big city, an outstanding number of people came to enjoy this amazing night.
The show started off around 9 pm with the performance of Psychostasy, a local Death Metal band which played a really fun set in front of a good number of people. Some friends came down to see them but a lot more people could enjoy their showmanship as they waited for the headliners. They have a demo out now wich is available for free download here if you want to give it a listen. You can also check an impressive drum cam video from the night of the show down below.
After their performance, the stage was taken by one of the most interesting bands in the Italian underground metal scene, Despite Exile. Hailing from Udine (wich is pretty far away from Modena), they came down here and melted our faces with a really intense show. I was especially surprised by the skills and the strong live presence of their singer, Jacopo, but the whole band put on an amazing set which was much appreciated by the audience. They played all their best songs, including the track for their new video "Oscillate", which is strongly recommended just like most of their tracks. Check out "Perfection Neutralized" and "Mechanical" on YouTube for example!
And now it's time for Damned Spring Fragrantia, the most promising, forthcoming, underground Italian band. Recently signed by the UK-based label Basick Records, they are going to release their debut album "Divergences" in 2013. Their performance was extremely powerful and explosive. These guys really owned the stage, and you can see they really have what it takes to attain international exposure. They played their single "DMZ", and even some new tunes from their forthcoming album "Divergences" which are sounded really huge. Definitely keep an eye on these guys.
A quick stage change and The Algorithm immediately started his show. Since the venue had some problems with timing, the set lasted about 40 minutes, or a bit less, but it was still enough time to be completely blown away. Rémi played the first song on his own and then he was joined by Mike Malyan (the drummer of Monuments) which really brought the show to a whole other level. Especially "Access Granted", which had the surrounding audicence respond with a slew of moshing and dancing from the very first lines. The whole crowd had a good time and enjoyed the show, even those who just came to give it a simple listen without knowing the artist, since the show was free-entry.
This is definitely a night I will never forget. I had the chance to talk with Mike and Rémi in the afternoon and we will be posting the interview we did very soon on this website. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of amazing people who were very kind and helped me even in some difficult situations. The Algorithm shows are something you need to see to believe. You better not miss it if Rémi and Mike come near you! - MATTIA
Don't hate on me for this, and don't
think I'm a patriot in any way but I must say it: my country, Italy,
is developing a really sick modern progressive/tech-metal scene. A
lot of interesting acts focused around prog/math/djent music are emerging
everywhere across our nation. 
