Verdena - Il Suicidio Dei Samurai (Remastered) (2004/2024) [Official Digital Download]

Il Suicidio dei Samurai is the third album by the Italian alternative-rock band Verdena, released in 2004.

"Anyways, Il Suicidio Dei Samurai eh? This is usually considered to be one of the best albums of italian rock history, and it's really easy to see why.

The guitars range from grunge (Luna, Elefante, the title track), to shoegaze (17 Tir Nel Cortile, Glamodrama), to sometimes a mix of both (Mina)

The first half, up to the first part of Glamodrama is really intense, mixing raw guitar tones with usually clean yet aggressive and passionate vocals which sometimes shift into a more emo-like style (Phantastica). It starts off with an apathic, yet aggressive intro, Logorrea, where the whole feeling of frustration is emphasized by the use of the mellotron. Next up is Luna, which features this quiet-loud-quiet dynamic that shifts between the verses and the choruses.

The next track is Mina, which delves into a more shoegaze-inspired sound, while still maintaining the rawness of the guitars that were heard in Luna. This track is especially one of my favourites due to how the vocals blend so well with the aggressive and reverberated sound of the guitars.

The next set of tracks, from Balanite to Elefante are all equally great, featuring some of the best vocal performances from Alberto that sometimes shift into screamed vocals (Balanite and Phantastica's ending)

After Elephante's angry, aggressive and brutal atmosphere, the album starts shifting: the guitars become cleaner and everything seems to be more mellow, and the next song, Glamodrama, captures perfectly that shift.

The track starts off quietly, then immediately goes back to the intensity we found on tracks like Luna and Phantastica when we get to the chorus. But, after the second chorus and the guitar solo that immediately follows after, everything changes: the guitars become cleaner, and the whole track morphs into a long, beautiful crescendo inspired by their previous album.

The next three tracks are quite different from the previous ones, everything's changed, and the guitar tones feel much more cleaner, while the vocals get more mellow. Far fisa is definitely one of the more manic songs in this album, with the guitars and the drums giving this "jumpy" feeling to the track, until in the end it all calms down, and we transition to probably the saddest song in the album, 17 Tir Nel Cortile. Here the song starts off really mellow, featuring reverberated guitars and quieter vocals which give a shoegazey feel to the track, until everything erupts into a cathartic final scream of sadness.
After the melancholy of the previous song, we are greeted with 40 Secondi di Niente, which feels hopeful, and kinda feels comforting after the emotional barrage of the previous songs, almost like a light at the end of a tunnel.

Buuuuut, even good things must end, and we return back to the apathy we found in Logorrea with the ending, which is the title track.

Here the guitars return even rawer and heavier than ever before, almost engulfing the listener in a sea of distortion and reverb that only gets louder and louder, until it stops.

This whole album is great, and definitely one of my favourites from the 2000's and from Italy in general.
Favourite tracks: Mina, Glamodrama, 17 Tir Nel Cortile"

Tracklist:
01 - Logorrea (Esperti All'Opera) (Remastered 2024)
02 - Luna (Remastered 2024)
03 - Mina (Remastered 2024)
04 - Balanite (Remastered 2024)
05 - Phantastica (Remastered 2024)
06 - Elefante (Remastered 2024)
07 - Glamodrama (Remastered 2024)
08 - Far Fisa (Remastered 2024)
09 - 17 Tir Nel Cortile (Remastered 2024)
10 - 40 Secondi Di Niente (Remastered 2024)
11 - Il Suicidio Del Samurai (Remastered 2024)


Thanks to the Original customer!