Roman underground band Arpia was founded in 1984, soon experimenting with theatrical forms as an extension to the musical show. In 1987 their first demo tape was released, followed by the ambitious 40 minute «Resurrezione e Metamorfosi», released in 1988. The band continued to develop, especially with the addition of keyboards adding subtlety into the mix of rugged, dark metallic Prog music, leading to the release of their first full CD in 1995, a concept album about liberation from fascism.
After a break, the band reverted to a rougher, less airified metal sound for their latest concept album «Terramare» which explores aspects of sexuality and existence with an expanded line-up that includes female vocals. The band’s early demo tapes are still available to order from their website, and I would recommend a visit to their MySpace site which has full length tracks spanning their history. [.:: Joolz ::.]
Update: The release of «Terramare» marks a turning point in the bands line-up, which sees the entry as a permanent member of Paola Feraiorni on vocals. From this point on begins a research of the expressive nucleus tied to the relation between music and literature, which leads to a new album «Racconto d’inverno» in March 2009, a combination of poetry, tale and melos. It is in reality two art objects: a novel and a long musical suite. The first one - written by Leonardo Bonetti - is published by Marietty Editors of Milan, the second one by the French label Musea. The expressive turning point is shown by the mainly acoustic matrix of the album, a long song articulated in various moments arranging the places and the vicissitudes of the novel to the sensitive suggestions of an intense dramatic lyricism.
http://www.arpia.info
