User:Der Blutsauger/Mediterranean scene

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The Mediterranean scene is a musical collective created in Sciacca, Sicily, in the early 1990s by Michele "Agghiastru" Venezia. The collective's goal is to experiment with the fusion of extreme metal and Mediterranean folk influences. Since then they formed several bands, a dedicated label (INCH Productions, distributed worldwide by Audioglobe[1]) and they built a musical studio (CASTIU Studios). Since 2008 some of their EPs are also co-published by Taurina Rec., the label of Fabrizio Salina, another member of the scene.

The Scene[edit]

The Mediterranean scene is formed by eight projects: Inchiuvatu, Astimi, Inquietu, La Caruta di li Dei, Lamentu, Lava, Sartanah, Ultima Missa and Visina.

It comprises also some soloist project by its members: Agghiastru, Maleficu Santificatu, 3 - Rosario Badalamenti, Addraunara.

Two more projects (Vasamatri and Il Vitello d'Oro) were announced in the first months of 2011 without any other information. Bujo Celeste, another new project, was first mentioned in an interview in April 2012. Another new project, Tabula Rasa, appeared on the official INCH Productions website in 2013.

Almost all lyrics are in Italian or in the Sicilian dialect.

The scene since its foundation got coverage on Italian metal magazines, such as Flash,[2] Grind Zone[3] and Psycho.[4]

Agghiastru, with other members of the scene, toured Italy extensively, playing in important festivals like Agglutination and opening for acts like Afterhours and Luca Madonia.[5]

Relationship between the Mediterranean scene and other bands[edit]

In an interview with the Italian magazine Flash in 2002, the guitarist of Lamentu, LiotruM, talked about the relationships between Agghiastru and other major metal bands in the first years of the "Scene" and the common musical ideas shared by early Moonspell, Inchiuvatu and Nightfall, reaffirming, at the same time, the uniqueness of his own band.

Agghiastru talked with Fernando of Moonspell (Wolfheart-era) about this stage of "Mediterranean Metal" that was quite a lot interesting, that had as main character also Nightfall from Greece and other big names...

— LiotruM[6]

In an interview for Grind Zone in 2007, Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell talked about what he called the "Mediterranean black metal" and reaffirmed the role of Moonspell as the forerunner of this new direction in black metal.

Moonspell were the authors of Mediterranean Black Metal, as it's called now.

— Fernando Ribeiro[7]

Inchiuvatu[edit]

Inchiuvatu (In Sicilian "Nailed") are the most important band of the scene.

Astimi[edit]

Astimi
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresBlack metal
Death metal
Folk metal
Years active1995-present
LabelsINCH Productions
Audioglobe[8]
MembersAgghiastru
Rosario Badalamenti
Fantasima

Astimi (In Sicilian "Curses" or "Imprecations") are a death metal band strongly influenced by Deicide and Morbid Angel. They started as a classical black metal band with Opus I & II. Since Hammurabi their sound has some Mesopotamian folk influences. They also played some songs in the Inchiuvatu album Viogna (2000).[9]

Releases[edit]

  • Opus I (EP, 1996)
  • Opus II (EP, 1997)
  • Opus I&2 (Compilation, 1999)
  • Demo (Demo, 1999)
  • TrinaCapronuM (Album, 2001)
  • Hammurabi (EP, 2005)

Inquietu[edit]

Inquietu
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresBlack metal
Years active1997-present
LabelsINCH Productions
MembersLord Timpesta
War Cunnanna
Fantasima

Inquietu (In Sicilian "Not quiet") play classic black metal, influenced by psychedelia.[10]

Releases[edit]

  • South's Torment (EP, 2001)
  • Restless God (EP, 2002)
  • Angelic Fall (EP, 2004)

La Caruta di li Dei[edit]

La Caruta di li Dei
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresProgressive metal
Epic black metal
Black metal
Years active1997-present
LabelsINCH Productions
Audioglobe
MembersAgghiastru
Nadur
Lifinia

La Caruta di li Dei (In Sicilian "The Fall of the Gods") are an epic black metal project with prog influences and with lyrics based upon Roman and Greek mythologies.
The story of a great warrior named Keleo, which mission is to liberate his conscience from the oppression of the gods, unfolds during the releases of La Caruta, with plenty of epic battles in the Mediterranean sea.[11]

Releases[edit]

  • La Caruta di li Dei ["The Fall of the Gods"] (Demo album, 1997)
  • Mediterraneo Atto I ["Mediterranean: Act I"] (Album, 1999)
  • Scilla & Cariddi ["Scylla & Charybdis"] (EP, 2002)
  • La Coscienza ["The Conscience"] (EP, 2005)
  • Era ["Hera"] (EP, 2011)

Lamentu[edit]

Lamentu
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresBlack metal
Folk metal
Years active1998-present
LabelsINCH Productions
Audioglobe[12]
MembersAgghiastru
Liotrum
Lord Timpesta
Ummira
Jafà

Lamentu (In Sicilian "Lament") play black metal heavily influenced by the tribal music from Africa, to create an occult, ritualistic music.
Their lyrics are about Liack-Aru (an ancient African demon) and his ancient African kingdom.[13]

Releases[edit]

  • Erva Tinta + Aggrissu (Double EP, 1998)
  • Liack (Album, 2001)
  • niurAfrica (EP, 2005)
  • taButu (EP, 2011)

Lava[edit]

Lava
OriginSciacca, Italy
Turin, Italy
GenresDrone doom
Years active1995-present
LabelsINCH Productions
MembersFabrizio Salina
Agghiastru
Rosario Badalamenti

Lava are a trio formed by Agghiastru, Fabrizio Salina and Rosario Badalamenti. Rooted in some experimental projects of the early nineties, Lava play drone doom.[citation needed]

Releases[edit]

  • Incandescenza ["Incandescence"] (EP, 2011)[citation needed]
  • Crateri ["Craters"] (EP, 2013)

Sartanah[edit]

Sartanah
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresSurf rock
Spaghetti western soundtrack
Years active2012-present
LabelsINCH Productions
MembersAgghiastru
Fabrizio Salina

Sartanah are a project inspired by Spaghetti western soundtracks of the seventies expecially from musician like Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani and Piero Piccioni.
The name recalls a famous spaghetti western character usually played by Gianni Garko, Sartana.

Releases[edit]

  • R.I.P. (Ep, 2013)

Ultima Missa[edit]

Ultima Missa
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresDoom metal
Years active1990-present
LabelsINCH Productions
MembersAgghiastru
Ossarium
Faidda

Ultima Missa (In Sicilian "The last mass") are a project mixing seventies prog rock with modern doom metal. Among their influences there are Death SS and Il Balletto di Bronzo. They record only in places strongly connected with evil forces, like graveyards, catacombs and deconsacrated churches.[14]

Releases[edit]

  • L'Abbandono della Gioia ["To give up the joy"] (EP, 2006)
  • In Assenza di Luce ["Without light"] (EP, 2008)
  • L'Elaborazione del Lutto ["The Grief Process"] (EP, 2013)

Visina[edit]

Visina
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresBlack metal
Years active1995-present
LabelsINCH Productions
MembersAgghiastru
Diana
Lord Timpesta

Visina (Name of a mythological Mediterranean snake) are a project mixing eighties gothic rock and EBM with modern black metal.

Releases[edit]

  • Ixia Vilenu (EP, 2001 - Recorded between 1995 and 1997)
  • Ixia Zunt (EP, 2004)
  • Ixia III (EP, 2013)

Agghiastru[edit]

Agghiastru
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresFolk rock
Years active2007-present
LabelsINCH Productions
Audioglobe[15][16]

Agghiastru (In Sicilian "Wild olive") are the solo project by Michele "Agghiastru" Venezia. In his first album he plays piano rock, while in the second he shifted genre to alternative rock in the veins of singer-songwriters like Nick Cave.

Releases[edit]

  • Incantu ["Enchantment"] (Album, 2007)
  • Straviari (EP, 2007)
  • Agghionna ["Sunrise"] (EP, 2008)
  • Disincantu ["Disenchantment"] (Album, 2008)

Maleficu Santificatu[edit]

Maleficu Santificatu
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresBlack metal
Years active2003-present
LabelsINCH Productions

Maleficu Santificatu (In Sicilian "Evil santified") are one of the two soloist project by Rosario Badalamenti. He plays raw black metal. Sometimes his production is compared to early Immortal.[17]

Releases[edit]

  • Il Male ["Evil"] (EP, 2004)
  • Il Dolore ["Pain"] (EP, 2005)
  • L'Odio ["Hate"] (EP, 2005)
  • La Pietà ["Piety"] (EP, 2006)
  • Il Rancore ["Grudge"] (EP, 2011)

3 - Rosario Badalamenti[edit]

3 - Rosario Badalamenti
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresIndustrial black metal
Years active1992-2005
2008-present
LabelsINCH Productions

3 (Like the divine perfect number) are the other soloist project by Rosario Badalamenti. He plays industrial black metal/splittercore.

Releases[edit]

  • Antichristian Kaos (EP, 2001)
  • 666 Knives to the Son's Heart (EP, 2003)
  • Onnipotenza III ["Almightiness III"] (EP, 2005)
  • Santu Rusariu ["Rosario the Saint"] (EP, 2008)
  • Il Braccio Sinistro ["The Left Arm"] (EP, 2011)
  • Synthetic Satanic KAOS (EP, 2013)

Addraunara[edit]

Addraunara
OriginSciacca, Italy
GenresSymphonic black metal
Years active1995-present
LabelsINCH Productions

Addraunara (name of a mythological Mediterranean storm) is the soloist project of Nadur. He plays symphonic black metal.

Releases[edit]

  • Addraunara (EP, 2000)
  • Izael (EP, 2002)
  • Næl (EP, 2013)

INCH Productions[edit]

INCH Productions is the official record label of the Mediterranean scene. It produces and distributes all the EP of the scene, and produces all the official albums (distributed by Audioglobe).

Catalogue[edit]

No.  Artist Title Format
INCH 001 La Caruta di li Dei Mediterraneo Atto I CD
INCH 002 Inchiuvatu Viogna CD
INCH 003 Lamentu Liack CD
INCH 004 Astimi TrinaCapronuM CD
INCH 005 Inchiuvatu Piccatu CD
INCH 006 Inchiuvatu Addisiu+Demoniu CD
INCH 007 Agghiastru Incantu CD
INCH 008 Inchiuvatu Miseria CD
INCH 009 Agghiastru Disincantu CD

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Audioglobe". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  2. ^ Flash n°186
  3. ^ Grind Zone n°4
  4. ^ Psycho' n°39
  5. ^ "Agghiastru Live". Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  6. ^ Flash n°160/2002
  7. ^ Grind Zone n°5/2007
  8. ^ "TrinaCapronuM". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  9. ^ Grind Zone n°4
  10. ^ "Official scene bio". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  11. ^ "Official scene bio". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  12. ^ "Liack". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  13. ^ "Official scene bio". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  14. ^ "Official scene bio". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  15. ^ "Disincantu". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  16. ^ "Incantu". Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  17. ^ "Official scene bio". Retrieved 2011-05-29.

External links[edit]