Lost In Tyme Blog

Standarte (Italy) - 1994 - Standarte

Hard Psych concept with floating Mellotron and aggressive Hammond.

Tracks :
1. Dream Love Sequence Nr 9 (7:53)
2. One Strange December Evening (4:55)
3. As I Wandered (3:24)
4. Tolerance Town (3:40)
5. Beat Pimp Muzak (5:07)
6. A War Was Declared (7:22)
7. In My Time Of Dying (6:33)
8. Traumland (5:20)
9. I Want You (2:39)

Line-up :
- Daniele Caputo / drums, vocal
- Michele Profeti / organ, Mellotron
- Stefano Gabbani / bass

Releases information
Black Widow Records, BWR007
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Standarte is a 90's band with a 70's sound reminiscent of Atomic Rooster. 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. They produce a 70's retro sound complete with Hammond organ, harpsichord, piano, 2 Mellotrons, 2 Moogs 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 and surreal, but yet the music is surprisingly uplifting. The first self-titled album (1994) is dedicated to the late Vincent Crane, keyboardist from Atomic Rooster. Both have some spoken words (English w/British accent) interspersed with some excellent vocals that set the tone of gothic horror. The Hammond organ dominates almost every track, followed by hard-edged vocals, scorching bass and tight percussion. There is good change of pace and plenty of variety to keep you on your toes. Maybe one thing that is intriguing about this group is the stark contrast between dark and light, old and new, etc. Third album called 'Stimmung'.