The volcanic eruption between guitars, synths, and organ work, sends up this formative ticking time-bomb ready to explode at any second the moment this epic-like scenery is set to bring in the story about the mysterious renaissance-era book Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a dream about Poliphio in which things are a dream inside his head, but there are twists and turns into Dreaming the Strife of Love.
Italian’s own Bedsore has quite the reputation of bringing the thunders combining prog, death metal, and following in the footsteps of Magma, King Crimson, Goblin, Premiata Forneria Marconi, and Genesis. Originally starting out as a side-project of post-black metal ensemble SVNTH back in 2018, they unleashed their 2020 debut release Hypnagogic Hallucinations which contained re-recordings of epics such as ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ and ‘Brains on the Tarmac’ from their two-song demo they released when they formed seven years ago.
Listening to the Strife of Love album released on the 20 Buck Spin label, is a band that are like massive tidal-waves, ready to reign-in destruction with massive amounts of terror in their instruments and shrieking vocal arrangements done by founder Jacopo Gianmaria Pepe. If you think they’re going to pull a love-song ballad on you, think again.
There are moments that reminded me of another prog band which is Norway’s own Ring Van Mobius that comes to mind thanks to their retro-orientations. Bedsore, however, have their own unique wave of sound. It could send shivers down your spine. Whether its Allegretti’s intensive keyboard work, Itri’s fast-pacing drum style, and the nods between Jacula or the Brain Salad Surgery-era from Emerson, Lake and Palmer, they get the job done, nonstop.
When I think of ‘A Colossus, an Elephant, a Winged Horse; the Dragon Rendezvous’ there are some hat-tipping momentum to French prog group Ange that comes to mind in which Allegretti uses his keyboards to sound like the Viscount Organ they would use during their heyday, follow by a mental breakdown that Pepe would create in the midsection as if we’re inside someone else’s mind in the Asylum that would held people who couldn’t be sane.
Bedsore have a way of bringing in the sheer force of darkness into their music, more ways than you can really taste. But it’s the ‘Realm of Eleuterillide’ that’ll make your skin crawl with its twisted organ carousel routine as we’re in the Amusement Park of complete madness. Think of them writing the score to Batman: The Killing Joke for a brief moment, but in their own way.
A mixture of organ-risen thrash death metal with monstrous power, I mean how crazy can it get? Really crazy! Speaking of crazy, the band gallop their way into the pits of hell like a wolverine who’s high on angel dust with its helicopter-effect Pepe does as he transforms himself into this blood-thirsty beast, ready to eat more massive amounts of human flesh and reign terror into sending townspeople of a panic mode.
Since I’ve mentioned about Jacula, they honour their legacy with an eruption of church organs coming back and forth on ‘Fanfare for a Heartfelt Love’ before delving into Banco’s territory with its blackened night coming across the horizon that speaks of the Darwin-era with galloping epic fanfares which speak of the power metal scene and elements of Blind Guardian into the fold.
There are more ideas to come, and hopefully, the real game has just begun for Bedsore to see what kind of brainstorming momentum they’ll have in the years to come during the roaring ‘20s.
