From: Richard Stockwell
<>
The Cranium Music Album Of The Month for August 1998 is "CURSES AND
INVOCATIONS" by three piece Italian band STANDARTE. The group feature two mellotrons,
organ, piano, harpsichord, bass, drums & vocals. Released on the Italian Black Widow
label, this is Standarte's 2nd release. The group have managed to capture a feeling of the
music coming from the '70's even though this album was only recorded in the last two
years. If you like the music from such 70's keyboard heavy bands as Atomic Rooster, Czar
or Gracious then be prepared for a keyboard and mellotron drenched "CURSES AND
INVOCATIONS". All the tracks on this release are written by Standarte with the
exception of "The Arrival Of The Traveller" which was written by Davis Kitkat of
the band Gracious. Three sound samples in Real audio format are available on our samples
page. If you are a fan of walls of keyboards then check out this excellent album.
From: Mark Fonda
<>
Standarte is a 90's band with a 70's sound reminiscent of Atomic Rooster. They have
two albums - the first is self-titled (1995) and the second is 'Curses and Invocations'
(1996)... a third called 'Stimmung' is due out in September. They are an Italian trio
featuring the strong keyboards of Michele Profeti, solid percussion and vocals from
Daniele Caputo and scorching bass guitar (and additional keys) by Stefano Gabbani... these
are all men, despite the names. They are a 70's retro sound complete with hammond organ,
harpsichord, piano, 2 mellotrons, 2 moogs, etc... and vocals sounding like The Doors (or
actually more like Atomic Rooster from 'In Hearing of...'). Both albums are hard driving
but with a smooth structured feel and the concepts are very dark, but yet I find the music
surprisingly uplifting.
The first album is actually dedicated to the late Vincent Crane, keyboardist from
Atomic Rooster, who committed suicide in 1989. It has some spoken words (English w/British
accent) interspersed with some excellent vocals that set the tone of gothic horror. The
vocals are in English which are not always clear and only the spoken word lyrics are shown
in the liner notes. The hammond organ dominates almost every song, but the other
instruments are all well balanced and equally strong. One song is called "Charge of
the Light Brigade" which is very fast and fiery, reminiscent of ELP 'Tarkus', but
with a much coarser edge. Then there's 'Peace in the Garden' which is a church hymn... a
very dark ominous organ, followed by 'In My Time of Dying' whose lyrics go "In my
time of dying don't want nobody to moan... meet me lord, meet me in the meddle of the air
and if my wings should fail me won't you provide (me) with another pair... all I want from
you to do is to burn my body to the bone." The last song is called 'I Want You' which
is a rip roarin' guitar and organ extravaganza which sounds strikingly similar to Atomic
Rooster's 'Break the Ice' song from 1971.
The second album 'Curses and Invocations' picks up right where the first album leaves off.
More spoken words followed by crunching organ passages, hard-edged vocals, scorching bass
and tight percussion. There is good change of pace and plenty of variety to keep you on
your toes. "What More I Have To Pay" has some really cool harpsichord and some
twisty off-beat vocals. All the lyrics are shown in the liner notes. "City of
Towers" has some more bright harpsichord and organ with some very catchy vocals...
followed by a real trippy electronic synth passage that is the only hint of any 90's
technology at all. In the notes there is a caption under a picture of some tortured
demon-looking face which says "Evil is luxury, loneliness a conquest"... funny,
the music is so positive that the morose backdrop is overshadowed and without the liner
notes or the lyrics, I'd say this is a very upbeat album!! Maybe one thing that intrigues
me about this group is the dichotomy between dark and light, old and new, etc.
I am not normally into gothic nor 'hard prog' but Standarte seem to have a formula that
works for me. I was a fan of Atomic Rooster way back and maybe this takes me back to that
feel, I'm not sure. I wouldn't say this is a must for every keyboard enthusiast, but for a
change of pace and a unique retro sound, it may be worth a listen. I find these tunes
going through my head for hours after listening to them... They have a website (in
English) which is http://space.tin.it/musica/dnicoli/standarte.html
and Cranium Music has some sound clips.
From: "Mark Fonda" <>
Standarte 'Stimmung' - excellent new live recording with more power than ever
and more upbeat... still plenty of great Hammond... imagine Deep Purple with a
contemporary polished presentation.