It never ceases to
amaze the ability of the early '80s Metal to transform a simple and mean riff
in a Wagnerian stadium anthem. Just as the unfailing regularity in trivializing
the slightest poetic inspiration of the lyrics.
Among the great forgotten
by that huge commercial and social boom that was the NWOBHM, Magnum deserve a
place of respect, and among their vast and unknown catalog (a dozen albums
between '78 and '88) deserves a place this Les Mortes Dansant, from On a
Storyteller's Night, 1985, Lp inter alia embellished by a great fantasy cover
by Rodney Matthews. Conceived as yet
another clone of the "heavy ballad," is based entirely on a
descending 4 note riff , some small
change and on a dangerous text about life in the trenches during the Great War.
Catley & Clarkin are able to maintain the balance, on one side with an
attractive color tone (though still very pop ...) as distant bells in Flanders;
on the other with a taste so exquisitely descriptive (By the wall in a
silouette standing Through a flash of sudden light Cigarette from His mouth
just hanging) enough to make us forget some heavy rhetoric part.
A song that goes like winter wind through destroyed
quarters. Not a masterpiece, but a piece to spend 5 minutes of simple and
direct Rock, without entirely disconnecting the brain.
Non smette mai di meravigliare la sconvolgente capacità del Metal dei
primi anni ’80 di trasformare un riff semplice e meschino in una cadenza
wagneriana da stadio. Così come l’infallibile regolarità nel banalizzare ogni minimo
spunto poetico del testo.
Tra i grandi dimenticati di quel enorme boom commerciale e sociale che
fu la NWOBHM, i Magnum meritano un posto di riguardo; e tra la loro sterminata
e ignota produzione (una decina di album tra ’78 e ’88) un accenno in più lo merita
questa Les Mortes Dansant, da On a Storyteller's Night, 1985, Lp impreziosito
tra l’altro dalla notevole copertina fantasy di Rodney Matthews.
Concepita come l’ennesima clonazione della “ballata pesante”, si basa
totalmente su di un riff discendente di 4 note, qualche sua minima variazione e
su di un pericoloso testo sulla vita di trincea durante la Grande Guerra.
Catley & Clarkin riescono a mantenere l’equilibrio da una parte con un
colore timbrico accattivante (pur se assai pop…) come di campane lontane nelle
Fiandre; dall’altro con un gusto così squisitamente descrittivo (By the wall in a silouette standing Through
a flash of sudden light Cigarette from his mouth just hanging) da far
dimenticare una certa pesantezza retorica in eccesso. Una canzone che passa
come il vento invernale per contrade distrutte. Non un capolavoro, ma un brano
per trascorrere 5 minuti di Rock semplice e diretto, senza scollegare del tutto
il cervello.
Cannons roared in the valley they thundered
While the guns lit up the night
Then it rained and both sides wondered
Who is wrong and who is right
On the wire like a ragged old scarecrow
Bloody hands and broken back
When they fire see him pirouette solo
Jump in time to the rat a tat
What a night though it's one of seven
What a night for the dancing dead
What a night to be called to heaven
What a picture to fill your head
By the wall in a silouette standing
Through a flash of sudden light
Cigarette from his mouth just hanging
Paper square to his heart pinned tight
Gather round reluctant marksmen
One of them to take his life
With a smile he gives them pardon
Leaves the dark and takes the light
They dispatch their precious cargo
Knock him back right off his feet
And they pray may no one follow
Better still to face the beast
When the field has become a garden
And the wall has stood the test
Children play and the dogs run barking
Who would think or who would guess
IMMAGINI:
Otto Dix: Trincee (1917)
Otto Dix: Shellhole
with Flowers" (1915)
Otto Dix: Guerra di Trincea
Magnum - Les Mortes Dansant
On A Storyteller's Night - FM – WKFM LP 34 – 1985
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