Το 1972 ο συγγραφέας Italo Calvino κυκλοφόρησε / εξέδωσε το μυθιστόρημα Le citta invisibili (Οι αόρατες πόλεις) με βασικό "ήρωα" τον Μάρκο Πόλο (και τον Κουμπλάι Χαν), αλλά δεν είναι της παρούσης. Το βιβλίο ενέπνευσε το όνομα του συγκροτήματος Pentesilea Road. Pentesilea είναι η αλληγορική πόλη που περιγράφεται στο βιβλίο του Calvino.
Η μπάντα σχηματίσθηκε προ επταετίας, το 2014, από τον κιθαρίστα Vito F. Mainolfi κι ακολουθεί progressive rock / metal μονοπάτια. Τον Ιούλιο του 2020 ο Mainolfi ηχογράφησε ένα ολοκληρωμένο demo 11 τραγουδιών στο σπίτι του κι άρχισε να προσεγγίζει μουσικούς για να ηχογραφήσει τον πρώτο δίσκο.
Μέχρι το τέλος του περασμένου Οκτωβρίου η σύνθεση της μπάντας ολοκληρώθηκε, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των guest όπως ο
Ray Alder (
Fates Warning, Engine,
Redemption) και ο
Mark Zonder (Ex-Fates Warning,
Warlord). Το ομώνυμο ντεμπούτο των Pentesilea Road κυκλοφόρησε στα τελειώματα του χειμώνα.
Ηχογραφήθηκε ως συνεργασία εξ' αποστάσεων από αρκετούς μουσικούς, ο καθένας ηχογράφησε στη χώρα διαμονής του, λόγω της πανδημίας COVID-19 (κιθάρες / μπάσο ηχογραφημένα στην Ολλανδία, φωνητικά στην Ιταλία και Ισπανία, πλήκτρα στην Ιταλία, τύμπανα σε Ιταλία και ΗΠΑ).
Αν και στιχουργικά το άλμπουμ δεν είναι concept η φιλοσοφία πίσω από την κύρια ιδέα επαναλαμβάνεται συνεχώς στους στίχους (
“Stuck in a dream of a steady decline / while dancing the cosmopolitan pantomime”, “this Cybercircus / a neo-feudal constitutional / architecture camouflage”, “the media mouth has all the answers for those who have no questions”). Σύμφωνα με την μπάντα:
«Pentesilea Road is a post-progressive journey along the roads of the Invisible Cities. A tale of dissidence; an irreverent act of protest against the modern world.»
A band's short biography: «“Pentesilea Road” is a post-progressive rock band, originally formed as a one-man solo project of the Italian guitarist Vito F. Mainolfi in 2014. Until 2019, the band published several demos, mostly instrumental, over SoundCloud and BandCamp.
In July 2020 Vito F. Mainolfi home-recorded a full-length demo of 11 tracks and started recruiting several musicians in order to record the first self-titled album. By the end of October 2020, the band line up was completed, including guest stars Ray Alder (Fates Warning, Engine, Redemption) and Mark Zonder (Ex-Fates Warning, Warlord).
Recording of the first album was completed by the end of 2020 and the first single, “Shades of the Night”, was released on January the 29th, 2021. The first full-length album “Pentesilea Road” was released on February, the 26th 2021. The band's name is a reference to Pentesilea, the diluted city described in Italo Calvino’s book “Invisible Cities”.»
About the "Pentesilea Road" album: «The album was recorded as a long-distance collaboration of several musicians, each one recording in the Country of residence, due to COVID-19 pandemic (Guitars/Bass recorded in the Netherlands, Vocals in Italy and Spain, Keys in Italy, Drums in Italy and USA).
The musical style is a contamination of a few genres, including clear influences from the Progressive, Post-Rock and Metal areas. The band's name is a reference to Pentesilea, the diluted city described in Italo Calvino’s book “Invisible Cities”, clearly mentioned as a metaphor for the sense of displacement in the post-modern era (the album was initially advertised as “Pentesilea Road is a post-progressive journey along the roads of the Invisible Cities.
A tale of dissidence; an irreverent act of protest against the modern world”). Although the album is not a concept, the philosophy behind the main concept is constantly recurring in the lyrics (“Stuck in a dream of a steady decline/ while dancing the cosmopolitan pantomime”, “this Cybercircus/a neo-feudal constitutional / architecture camouflage”, “the media mouth has all the answers for those who have no questions”). The album that has been published is self-produced, the band is independent and unsigned and was initially released only in digital version (the first physical batch was ready by release date).»
: Vito F. Mainolfi
: Vito F. Mainolfi
: Vito F. Mainolfi
01.
(Feat. Mark Zonder)
02. Stranded
03. Genius Loci
04. Spectral Regrowth (Feat. Mark Zonder)
05. Stains (Feat. Michele Guaitoli)
06.
(Feat. Mark Zonder)
07.
08. The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
09.
(feat. Ray Alder)
10.
11. A Tale of Dissidence
12.
(Feat. Ray Alder)
Vito F. Mainolfi - Guitars, Bass, Backing Vocals, Programming, whatever else
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