Review: Carlos Dunga – Oltre Quella Linea

The thin purple line

Ten years have passed since I first met Carlos Dunga. I was still at high school at the time, without any graduation or driver’s license and going to shows was really hard for me, so I used every chance to get the highest amount of infos, CDs and records of any kind. I often didn’t really know how they sounded, I just trusted recommendations of others. Sometimes they were kinda ultra-lame, some other times I found real gems that I still listen to and dig.
At that time, for several reasons, I usually ended up in Tuscany. Sometimes for gigs or just to hang out with friends. And that’s when I first met them from a little new-born D.I.Y. label of some friends of mine – the now defunct BeggarGod Records, one of the embryos that later went forming Punti Scena Records – from which I bought their very first 7” EP and their CD split with Deep Throat. Since then, I have seen them tons of times all over Italy, once I even got my ass kicked at table football. It’s something like seeing an old friend. Seeing him often makes you unable to notice the signs of time on his face. Almost five years have passed since their latest record Sabato Nero, and the Florence thrashpunk squad has not grown older at all. It’s not getting older, it’s getting better. Personal lyrics, sometimes dreamy and exasperated. Like seeing though a window a horrible picture of reality, and despite being repulsed we can’t avoid describing it, even through rage and a sometimes cynical sense of hope. The lyrical razor is even sharper thanks to their solid and restless sound, a synthesis between the roots of classical Italian hardcore and the iconic maiden-esque sound and structure, sometimes even turning in a full blown thrash metal direction.
Eleven tracks, eleven razors straight to your face, all sung in Italian. The cover art is handmade from the almighty Claudio Elias Scialabba, that keeps on signing some of the most cool and iconic graphics for the Italian D.I.Y. circuit. Smooth and precise recording, that keeps in evidence the great guitar riffing. This is “Oltre La Linea”, a really solid and earblasting piece of wax that will force you to play it again and again. In my humble opinion, this record places itself on the best records of the year list, and if you wanna know why just wait, buy it and take a listen to tracks like “il re caduto” (the fallen king) or “l’età dell’ansia” (Anxiety Age). Like a hybrid creature formed from the meeting of the classical Italian hardcore legends Sottopressione and Powerslave-era Iron Maiden. For now, learn the promo by heart, you can find it on YouTube. The umpteenth confirmation that sincerity and D.I.Y. are always the winning formula.

PS: If you don’t like Iron Maiden, you have failed in life.

Rash