Description

Black vinyl with printed innersleeve. Limited 400 copies

Sad Minstrel is the solo debut of Malombra’s Fabio Casanova. Fabio wants to create progressive folk music with his new side project. Think of flute and heavy tempo passages somewhat reminiscent of seventies Jethro Tull mixed with digital keyboard and programmed drums sequences ala Alan Parsons around the same time period, but overlaid with both English and Italian vocals of an emotive and bard-like Latin singer, plus lyrics that tend toward dark fanciful themes in the vein of Aqualung or Broadsword And The Beast and you’ll have a sense of what this album sounds like. Sort of. But although comparisons can be made to individual facets of these tracks, nobody I can think of has managed to put all of them together into a single album. That is, until the Sad Minstrel came along.
The title track, in which Casanova melds chanting and shouting vocals with a persistent beat and heavy guitar in a rollicking version of the mythical Phoenix’s tale of destruction and resurrection, all with a uniquely Italian warm-blooded sense of theatrics and passion, is a truly inspiring piece of music. The opening track is more subdued in tone, but a read of the lyrics sheds some light on the dark nature of these songs: Betrayed by false friends after timeless deceptions, by witches and bitches he once loved so much; by the cyclical tricks of his private obsessions – he watched in the mirror and saw his brain crack. Overall this is a charming and engaging collection of animated and vibrant folk-tinged tunes with very modern treatments. Any fan of progressive music fan that wont mind some folk influences should ad this to his/her collection.

Track list:
1. Mad Minstrel
2. Canzone Della Bambina Di Triora
3. Flight Of The Phoenix
4. Silent Revolution
5. Butterfly
6. A Friend Of Mine
7. Night Of Beltaine
8. The
9. Wood Of Memories