We are heading back to Italy, that wonderful land and people where there remains an extremely vibrant rock music scene, and acquainting ourselves with a fine outfit, Juglans Regia, which, as the classical scholars amongst you reading this will have already surmised, is the Latin for “Royal Walnut”. For the rest of you, don’t say you don’t learn anything on this website!
The band have been around for quite some time, forming in 1992, initially as Raising Fear before changing their name a couple of years later. The founding trio of Massimiliano Dionigi (bass), Alessandro Parigi (vocals) and David Carretti (drums) are still together, and since 2021 Samuele Scandariato (guitar) and Riccardo Iacono (keyboards) have been with the group. If you head off to their Bandcamp page, you can see and purchase five full albums and a digital track https://juglansregia.bandcamp.com/ The record label, Loud N’ Proud output can be seen at www.facebook.com/loudnproudrecords
We are reviewing their latest album, “Neranotte” (Black Night) which was recorded and released in February 2023. Ten tracks to enjoy on this, and it opens with Giù, which translates as “below”, a short introduction to proceedings with dark, mysterious noises and effective percussion work.
Fragili Equilibri (Fragile Balances) is up next, and again the effects and how well they are produced is very noticeable. Nice keys and a solid rhythm section introduce us to the main opening riffs of Scandariato. Parigi has a powerful voice and sounds magnificent anchoring the band and as the track develops, we veer between the dreamy to the heavy via some spacey keys and female voice, all the while extremely listenable. The guitar solo three minutes in is very good and Iacono is all over the closing passage. I have embedded this below, as tight a performance as you are likely to hear all year.
Chimera has a couple of meanings, notably a Greek mythological figure, but I am guessing that the band mean the illusory definition of the word. It is a shortish track, sub-four minutes, with some belting riffs underneath the keyboards and we are once again made plainly aware of just how powerfully Parigi leads with his voice on a track which has a distinctly commercial vibe to its hard rock. It is very good indeed.
Troppo e Niente (Too Much and Nothing) is up next and is a modern sort of Five Per Cent For Nothing, a very brief mish mash of television noise and it leads into Oltre Lo Schermo (Beyond the Screen). I have embedded this below, and you will once again hear just how well this album has been mixed and produced. The soaring keys, a very strong bassline, some cracking riffs, and a huge vocal performance, the sound of a band right at the top of their musical game, intelligent heavy progressive rock exemplified by a fantastic guitar solo ninety seconds out leading the charge to the close.
Confine follows this and is a starkly different track in its feel, with almost whimsical keys introducing the song with some nice vocal harmonies. Even when the track expands, it does so in an understated manner before an extended killer guitar solo fills the senses with more than a tinge of Rothery in his more urgent moments.
Guser is another of those disturbing short interlude tracks with dark noises, running water, menacing footsteps and it leads into Dentro Il Mare (Into the Sea), a slab of prog metal bursting with dark energy, the Sith if you will to the Jedi of Confine. The instrumental mid-section has more of those effects before the guitar solo spits its notes out, the rhythm section throughout providing for a solid underbelly.
The title track follows, opening with some dextrous guitar work and pretty key notes supported by a lovely bass melody. It is quite a long track over seven minutes, but I think that there is a single edit within this which would have great potential. The ghostly guitar is wonderful, the funky bass parts bring life, and the vocals continue to leave that positive impression. The sea change in tempo some three minutes out is very clever before the guitar solo evokes the pitiless dark of the night alongside keyboards which are slightly reminiscent of Banks on Mama and Home by the Sea. I have also embedded this below for your enjoyment.
Se (Self) is another brief instrumental to close the album and is really rather mournful in a delicate way.
This is another of those wonderful albums which have been sent to me and fill me with joy. Juglans Regia are a very good band, yet another class act added to the wonderful Italian roster in my collection I am so proud of. Neranotte comes to you very highly recommended. A joy from start to finish, the band started off as a metal outfit. This album shows a group which has developed into a truly modern progressive outfit.