Reviews:

Rose Rovine E Amanti | Demian

From Compulsion: (by Tony Dickie)

Rose Rovine E Amanti are not afraid to show their influences: Rituale Romanum, their previous album on Cold Spring, was heavily indebted to Von Thronstahl in terms of music and artwork. Early and Unreleased Songs, a short-run release of demos and outtakes, carried a thing for David Bowie. Demian, their second album for Cold Spring, continues these influences, along with nods to Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel.

Demian is an earnest and spirited release, marrying the above influences with Mercuri's solid guitar playing. The neo-folk compositions of Demian draw on Catholicism, to which Mercuri adds tantalising Mediterranean warmth. Mercuri plays to his strengths throughout. He appears much more confident and relaxed. Right from the off the upbeat mediaeval classical sounds of 'Il Gatto Osserva' he's in strong voice, laughing theatrically at points. From then on the track 'Rose Rovine E Amanti' is classic European neo-folk, with Mercuri's fine-picked guitar playing. Switching between soft female vocals courtesy of Noemi York and the emotive voice of Mercuri over passages of mandolin it's a particularly strong and effective track.

The plaintive neo-folk strum of 'Il Grande Tradimento' steals an introduction from Leonard Cohen, and a lyrical nod to 'Soldato Cristiano' from Rituale Romanum, while the acoustic strum of 'From Desperation To Victory' is joined with some effective electric guitar chords. Mercuri is in fine voice on Demian, switching effortlessly between Italian and English, making full use of his melodic tones. 'Mille Serpi' is heavy on the accents carrying a strong Italian flavour but it's not my favourite. There's almost a cabaret feel to the rich romantic tones of 'Noi Ritorneremo'. With its tinkering piano notes, and Weimar strings it captures that post-war feel that Italians, like fellow countrymen IANVA, are so adept at.

A number of tracks take a heavier approach to their neo-folk balladry. 'The End of the World' and 'Demian' are powerful pieces of dark folk with a thunderous performance redolent of Sol Invictus, with 'Demian' even managing to swipe some lines from Brel's 'My Death'. 'Paura Del Demonio' has passages of surging electric guitar work amidst the acoustic strum.

I enjoyed their previous release, Rituale Romanum, but Demian is much better. Mercuri takes advantage of his classically trained guitar playing to create a far more varied outlet for his rich, dramatic compositions. Rituale Romanum derived much of its appeal from its guests (Josef K., Belborn...) and their connection with Von Thronstahl. Demian doesn't need to rely on others as Rose Rovine E Amanti have really come into their own on this one. All in all it's a surprisingly mature and coherent release that will surely garner Rose Rovine E Amanti a number of admirers.

From Necroweb: (by Blizzard)

  Das Projekt Rose Rovine E Amanti war mir bisher kein Begriff. Von daher habe ich den Silberling unbeschwert und ohne irgendwelche Erwartungen in den immer hungrigen Schacht geworfen und siehe da, "Demian" lässt aufhorchen.

  Der Künstler Damaino Mercuri schafft es mit diesem Album, dem Hörer mühelos ein abwechslungsreiches und interessantes Stück Musik vorzulegen. Die Vielseitigkeit der Instrumentierung setzt sich dabei unter anderem aus Keyboard, Mandoline, Violine, Piano und natürlich der für Folkverhältnisse so typischen Gitarre zusammen. Einen Großteil hat der Akteur hier selbst eingespielt, er wird aber ab und an von diversen Gastmusikern unterstützt.

  Stilistisch schwankt "Demian" zwischen Neofolk und dezenten Rockdarbietungen mit leichten Anleihen der Klassik, jedoch immerwährend mit melodischer Melodieführung versehen. Dabei ist ein leichter mediterraner Touch auszumachen, was diesem Album wiederum Frische und merklich Schwung verleiht.

  Besonders mit der stimmigen Gitarre kann mich der Künstler hier verzaubern, daher hätte ich mir noch mehr wunderbare Stücke der Marke "Ave Maria" gewünscht, in welchem jener übrigens gesanglich ebenso glänzen kann. Wer will, sollte einmal genanntes Stück oder "Paura Del Demonio" probieren: schöne Kompositionen, welche wohl mit die Stimmigsten auf "Demian" sein dürften, ohne das restliche ebenso gelungene Material degradieren zu wollen. Am Ende bleibt somit ein überaus angenehm konsumierbares Werk, welches gelungenes Songmaterial parat hält und für lange Zeit interessant bleibt. Liebhaber genannter Stilistiken können hier also unbedenklich zugreifen.

From Orkus: (by Thomas Sonder)

"Falsche Freunde" hin oder her, der Italiener Damiano Mercuri hat mit Rose Rovine e Amanti ein deutlich über der Norm agierendes Neo Folk-Projekt erschaffen, das bereits mit seinem Debut Rituale Romanum (2006) gehörig Eindruck hinterlassen konnte. Nun also Demian, an das große Erwartungen geknüpft wurden, die größtenteils auch eingehalten werden können. Außer dass das Stück Il Grande Tradimento etwas überladen ist und Ave Maria ziemlich salbig-verschmalzt daherkommt, sind die übrigen neun Kompositionen in sich schlüssig – speziell der Titelsong ist eine Klasse für sich, und auch Noi Ritorneremo, The End Of This World oder das eröffnende Il Gatto Osserva mit ihrem treibenden Charakter und mitreißenden, nahe mittelalterlichen bis osteuropäisch anmutenden Ausführung(en) können sofort begeisternd ein innerliches Aufbegehren zu Bewegung in Leib und Geist hervorbeschwören. Zusätzlich ist Damianos Gesang nach wie vor innerhalb des Neo Folk-Kosmos einzigartig und außergewöhnlich, da er wie kein anderer mit den Gefühlen und den begleitenden (akustisch-klassischen) Instrumenten sein Spiel spielt, authentisch die Inhalte der einzelnen Lieder in voller Pracht mitlebt und dementsprechend wiedergibt, sich aber mit Rose Rovine e Amanti glücklicherweise nicht allein darauf verlässt, sondern neben inbrünstigem, mit Blut und Liebe vollführtem Streich- und Tasten-"Inferno" auch auf anrührende Melodien sehr viel Wert legt. (9/10)

From Side-Line: (by ED)

Hailing from Rome Damiano Mercuri brings us a new opus from his Rose Rovine E Amanti project. Known for his neo-folk compositions the split-album with Sol Invictus and Andrew King released in 2006 remains one of his main pieces so far. D. Mercuri evolved in sound and especially in influences since than and even moved on with a solo-project where he injected a neo-classical touch to his music. “Demian” has a clear and strong neo-folk basis, which might remind you of Dead In June, but that’s just one element belonging to a wider constellation. This album has been elaborated by other musical ideas moving from ballads to rock to a kind of pop. All influences are melting together like the arms of a river. Joined by several guest musicians the piano and violin are mixing folk and neo-classical influences. The songs are mainly sung in the Italian language, but a few other tracks in English bring a nice twist in the singing. With “Noi Ritorneremo” as absolute high light from this album “Demian” will definitely appeal for a wider audience. The main force from this album is the way all musical ideas are coming together in a fluent and spontaneous way. The album is accompanied by a nice booklet featuring artistic drawings full of religious symbolism, which totally fit to the lyrical content of “Demian”. A very pleasant and enjoyable opus!

From Rockline: (by Edoardo Baldini)

Introdotto da un artwork che fa immergere in un contesto antico e meditativo e provvisto di un booklet arricchito dai quadri dell'artista bulgaro Emil Ivanov Saparevski, il capitolo discografico Demian del progetto Rose Rovine E Amanti costituisce una viva testimonianza di come la scena Neo Folk italiana stia gradualmente affermandosi con tinte peculiari ed inedite al florido sottobosco europeo. Se nel precedente episodio Rituale Romanum il polistrumentista Damiano Mercuri si era concentrato sulla commistione di Neo Folk e sfaccettature neoclassiche, in Demian viene maggiormente valorizzata la sezione folcloristica, attraverso l’impiego di una tavolozza timbrica dai tratti mediterranei e da un bizzarro approccio cantautorale.

Il viaggio affrontato nelle dieci tracce che compongono Demian delinea un contesto mistico dove prende forma una visione dell’Europa cattolica medievale, tema molto caro a innumerevoli realtà del panorama Neo Folk di stampo cristiano.

Su un tessuto influenzato profondamente da storiche formazioni Neo Folk (quali Death In June e i compagni d’etichetta Sol Invictus) emergono arrangiamenti derivati dalla tradizione folcloristica italiana, plasmati anche grazie all’inserimento di strumenti acustici come archi, mandolino e pianoforte.

  L’opener Il Gatto Osserva conserva la matrice più legata al folclore, in cui la voce di Damiano Mercuri si erge liberatoria e solenne; viene descritta un’atmosfera suadente, che si sviluppa in un’esplosione di suoni e colori prima del brano più intimo e nostalgico Rose Rovine E Amanti. Il pathos espresso consente al pezzo di scorrere via fluidamente, trascinando l’ascoltatore in un alone avvolgente e dalle forti componenti cantautorali, tratte addirittura dallo stile dell’eterno Leonard Cohen.

  Demian è un platter in equilibrio tra tensioni più energiche ed intermezzi più soffusi, garantendo una dimensione lontana e dimenticata, tra echi rinascimentali e soluzioni contemporanee.

  Il tributo a Leonard Cohen risulta chiaro in Il Grande Tradimento, introdotto da una frase del celebre cantautore e sviluppato in un’ottica densa di riferimenti allo stile del grande maestro.

  La chitarra acustica accompagna un’ampia sezione di Demian, culminando nel dialogo Paura Del Demonio, avvolgente brano dalla cadenza cupa e decadente, che conferisce un profilo diverso al disco. Immancabili poi due danze, Mille Serpi e Noi Ritorneremo, la prima orientata a percorrere meandri più Rock e la seconda più legata ad un contesto popolare sferzato dall’onirico binomio violino-pianoforte.

In definitiva, il progetto Rose Rovine E Amanti offre ancora un lavoro di alto livello che va a collocarsi in un’avanguardia Neo Folk italiana dotata di una sensibilità unica e di un gusto raffinato ed elegante. Il panorama Neo Folk-Industrial europeo ha già avuto modo di scoprire tale promettente realtà, rappresentata da esponenti del calibro di Ianva, Corde Oblique e Spiritural Front, e quindi occorre che anche il pubblico della Penisola possa accedere alle opere di artisti meritevoli e spesso troppo poco noti.

From Judas Kiss: (by Simon Collins)

  Demian is the third release from the Rome-based neo-folk band Rose Rovine E Amanti (RR&A hereafter) to appear on Cold Spring Records, following the 2006 debut album Rituale Romanum and the split release A Mythological Prospect Of The Citie Of Londinium, with Sol Invictus and Andrew King, which also appeared in 2006. In the interim, several RR&A releases have appeared on other labels, such as the split album Grain with Belborn, released by War Office Propaganda in 2006, Early And Unreleased Songs compilation which was released by The Eastern Front in 2007 (reviewed elsewhere on Judas Kiss), and the 2008 Schwanenspiel split live album with Von Thronstahl (which, to the best of my knowledge, was unauthorised by RR&A).

  The Rituale Romanum album was generally acknowledged to signal the arrival of an important new force in Italian neo-folk, but many reviewers (myself included) found the album uneven and self-indulgent in parts, with thin, underwhelming production and too many moments of campy excess - not to mention an ultra-Catholic agenda which was inimical to the large numbers of pagans within the neo-folk scene. The good news is that Demian is a big improvement over RR&A’s debut, with much better production and a more coherent overall approach, although there are still problems, as we will see.

Demian contains ten tracks, totalling 43 minutes. All music and lyrics were composed by the band’s founder, Damiano Mercuri, with the lyrics being a mixture of Italian and English. Several guest musicians contributed to the album, namely violinist Guiseppe Lorenzoni, singer and pianist Noemi York, drummer Daniele Befanucci, and pianist Pietro Marinelli. Damiano himself plays mandolin, keyboards, bass, percussion and samples, in addition to singing and playing guitar. Mention should also be made of the gorgeous album booklet, which features paintings by the Bulgarian artist Emil Ivanov Saparevski, as well as full lyrics.

  There are several important literary and musical influences to be discerned in Demian. Most obviously, the album title itself is derived from Hermann Hesse’s famous novella of the same name, first published in 1919. This Bildungsroman describes the process of self-realisation in the life of the narrator Emil Sinclair, under the aegis of his older friend Max Demian, and it includes a lot of discussion of dualism, Gnosticism and Jungian psychology - as the refrain of the RR&A song ‘Demain’ puts it, ‘Angel or devil… I don’t care...’ (Hesse’s book also directly inspired the Seelenlicht album Gods And Devils, released by Cold Spring in 2008 and reviewed elsewhere on Judas Kiss.) Aside from Hermann Hesse, other influences on RR&A’s album include the poet William Blake, who’s directly quoted in the opening track ‘Il Gatto Osserva’ (‘Look At The Cat’) and ‘Demian’, along with Iggy Pop, whose track ‘American Caesar’ is also quoted in ‘Il Gatto Osserva’. The voice of Leonard Cohen is sampled for the opening of ‘Il Grande Tradimento’, and the French singer Jacques Brel is quoted in ‘Demian’.

  It also seems evident that Damiano Mercuri’s dramatic, declamatory singing style is derived in large part from David Bowie. There’s no direct reference to Bowie on Demain, but there’s a cover of ‘Candidate’ from Diamond Dogs on RR&A’s Early And Unreleased Songs, and the resemblance between Damiano’s and David Bowie’s voices will be apparent to anyone who’s ever listened to very much Bowie.

  Musically, Demain is firmly rooted in Damiano’s technically accomplished guitar and mandolin playing (he’s a classically trained guitarist, and has released an instrumental album of renaissance and baroque guitar pieces). ‘Il Gatto Osserva’ opens the album in rousing, vigorous fashion, with delicately picked mandolin arpeggios reinforced by melodramatic laughter and a heavy rhythm section. The next track, ‘Rose Rovine E Amanti’ (which translates as ‘Roses of Love and Ruin’, I believe), is a lushly romantic ballad, in keeping with the spirit of its title and indeed the entire RR&A project, with beautiful female vocals and a swelling refrain reinforced with violin and crisp snare drum. ‘Demain’ is more forceful and rock-inflected, with driving drums and electric fuzz guitar, in the style of RR&A’s friends and frequent collaborators Von Thronstahl, as is ‘From Desperation To Victory’.

  ‘Il Grande Tradimento’ (‘The Great Betrayal’) opens in an orthodox neo-folk manner, with strummed acoustic guitar and tinkling bar chimes accompanying mixed Italian and English lyrics, as on the first track, before building into a Bowie-style rock ballad. This is one of Damiano’s Catholic call-to-arms songs (‘Here’s the glory of the Christian soldier’), like ‘Soldato Cristiano (Let Us Pray In Silence)’ from the Rituale Romanum album and ‘Ave Maria’, the closing track of Demain, and whilst I can’t share Damiano’s enthusiasm for the Church Militant, the song itself is a powerful piece of work.

  ‘The End Of This World’ features some superlative, fluid bass work, whilst ‘Paura Del Demonio’ (‘Fear of the Devil’) has perhaps the album’s most evocative lyrics - ‘Drinking sangria / In old Andalucia / Old cabaret whores / Are marching flamenco tunes…’ Both these songs are again performed as bombastic rock songs, with the latter even featuring a tremolo guitar, and by this point in the album it’s obvious that those who want quiet, acoustic neo-folk with soothing violin and flutes should look elsewhere, since although Demain contains plenty of neo-folk influences, it’s more of a rock album than anything else.

  ‘Noi Ritornimento’ (‘We Return’) opens with swinging violin and rippling piano lines, settling down into a sort of cabaret arrangement. Damiano’s tendencies towards flamboyant vocal delivery are given full rein here, as he whoops, yelps, cackles and croons his way through the song. This is one of the things that many people found off-putting about Rituale Romanum. But like it or not, it’s very much part of the characteristic RR&A sound.

  It seems to me that Demian is a distillation of everything that’s good and bad about Rose Rovine E Amanti. On the one hand, there’s some superb musicianship on display here, especially from Damiano Mercuri, the album contains several catchy, memorable rock songs, and the title track is a classic.. But then you have all those florid, overwrought vocals and all that Catholicism to contend with. In fact, my mixed feelings about RR&A are, in a way, analogous to my feelings about the Catholic church, which manifests itself both in magnificent works of art like the Sistine Chapel frescoes, and in tacky glow-in-the-dark statues of the Virgin Mary and 3-D postcards of Jesus with eyes that follow you around the room. As the refrain of ‘Demian’ has it, ‘Angel or devil… I don’t care...’ - but both good and bad art can be strongly flavoured. Rose Rovine E Amanti have a very particular style and sound, and Demian is the best example of it to date. It’s clearly a better album than Rituale Romanum, but, to paraphrase Kenny Everett, it doesn’t always seem to me to be in the best possible taste.

From Mentenebre: (by Pedro Ortega)

No es nueva la inclusión de la guitarra eléctrica dentro de la escena Neofolk, los primeros que lo hicieron fueron Current 93 en lo que en su día se denomino como Apocalyptic Folk. Aunque se trata de un fenómenoal que han recurridootros grupos, Rose Rovine e Amanti lo recuperan pero dándole su particular toque personalista. Pero este elemento no vela al ciento por ciento la carga de Neofolk de este trabajo: siguen habiendo guitarra acústica (el instrumento que mejor domina Damiano Mercuri como hemos visto recientemente en la reseña de su trabajo como intérprete de música renacentista y barroca), violines y percusiones que le siguen dando ese toque de esencia folk tan presente en todos sus trabajos.

Rose Rovine e Amanti - "Demian"Formalmente "Demian" es el segundo larga duración propiamente dicho de Rose Rovine e Amanti, ya que en su trayectoria hay varios compartidos e incluso algún trabajo que recogía rarezas, y en el aparecen muestras de cambio de perspectiva, como hemos visto, y también de una madurez musical que ha crecido en el desarrollo de su trayectoria.

El CD comienza con dos temas puramente neofolkeros: ‘Il Gatto Osserva’ y ‘Rose Rovine e Amanti’. Me detendré un instante en el segundo tema. Es relevante que un grupo le ponga su nombre a una canción y, si es así, es porque la esencia del grupo debe estar contenida en ella, y, en parte así es: una preciosa balada folk, pero con un elemento sorprendente: la voz femenina de Noemi York, elemento totalmente nuevo, ya que siempre la voz ha corrido a cargo de Damiano. Lo que no cabe duda es de que es un gran tema, dentro de lo mejor de toda la producción de Rose Rovine e Amanti.

A partir de aquí comienza la caña, primero con 'Demian', que innegablemente tiene ese toque a lo Current 93, entre guitarra eléctrica y percusión de tambor, dándole una tremenda contundencia: dureza frente a dulzura, energía frente a calma, con un Damiano que casi se desgañita. El siguiente desgarramiento lo vemos en 'Paura del Demonio', un tema que combina el tempo tranquilo y armónico, con la crudeza de una voz que se desgañita (cuando habla el Demonio) al coro de la guitarra eléctrica. Con la eléctrica tenemos también 'Mille Serpi', y aquí si que tenemos un claro deje a lo Current 93, pues Damiano fuerza su voz con un falsete de lo más perverso (como usualmente hace David Tibet), que dicho sea de paso, convierte este tema en uno de los mejores del álbum.

Otro fenómeno curioso es la aproximación en el uso de los elementos a una banda contemporánea y de la misma ciudad, me refiero a Spiritual Front, es esa especie de country folk, con los violines y el medio tiempo. Este deje se aprecia en dos temas: ‘Noi Ritorneremo’ y ‘From Desperation to Victory’.

Entre medias seguimos encontrando Neofolk a la vieja usanza en temas como ‘The End of this World’ o la muy bella ‘Ave Maria’ que cierra el álbum. En este último tema Damiano expresa su tributo a la fe católica, de la que, a su manera, es fiel. Pese a mi discrepancia no dejo de reconocer que cuando uno escribe o compone sobre algo que le llena casi siempre el resultado es muy bello. Un cristiano en la escena Neofolk que se reivindica.

Rose Rovine e Amanti termina de consagrarse, si no lo había hecho ya, como una de las formaciones neofolk más activas y relevantes dentro de un panorama en el que abunda demasiado la repetición de la archiconocida fórmula de la guitarrita. Este álbum es rico en elementos, bueno en composición y fresco para escucharlo de un tirón. Si quieres estar al día en la escena Neofolk has de tener este disco. (9.5/10)

From The Shadows Commence: (by Markus)

  A couple of years ago, ROSE ROVINE E AMANTI was more like a rumor. Later, they started to appear on various compilations and also a split with the late BELBORN. After that, they released their first official album, ”Rituale Romanum”, and album I never learned to appreciate properly even though it had lots of potential, but also lots of silly voices and a pretty boring production.

  More recently, ROSE ROVINE E AMANTI’s front man has been singing some for SAGITTARIUS and just months ago, he also released a solo album with pure classical guitar music, displaying a new side, and some extreme skills.

  And now then, ”Demian” is released. I’ll try not to be prolix here; this is a really good album. And very multilateral. Not only does it have THE best intro in the history of Italian neofolk (no kidding, it’s amazing!), it also has sad tunes (”Rose Rovine e Amanti”), rocky tunes (”Demian”), LEONARD COHEN’s sampled voice (”Il Grande Tradimento”), swaging electric guitars a’la MORRICONE (”From Desperation to Victory”), rough and aggressive tunes with rasping vocals (”The End of the World”), stripped bare, super emotional neofolk (”Paura Del Demonio”), a big let down (”Mille Serpi”), some cabaret influences (”Noi Ritorneremo”) and finally a great outro with a dismal chorus (”Ave Maria”).

  Lyrics seem to be very influenced by the works of William Blake; one of the songs are completely adopted and several of the rest are throwing references from that particular one all the time. Beyond that, we also get our share of IGGY POP adoration and lots of decadent visions of nights, ladies and wine. The lyrics also alternate between Italian and English, however, I prefer the first mentioned. The voices are still taking up a pretty big space but this time, Damiano is taking advantage of this unique voice and instead of sounding silly, he’s now creating some very interesting effects with it.

  Musicwise, he’s also certainly on a higher level this time around. The guitar playing is often splendid, and melts together with the additional instruments very fine.

  I’m also amazed how much life has been put in these songs, even the most mellow and sad ones, like my favorite ”Rose Rovine e Amanti” is really sparkling with it!

  And to conclude things, which I really should be doing about now, I can only say that this is the ROSE ROVINE E AMANTI album I’ve been waiting for. It’s really fine neofolk dotted with more traditional and experimental touches. And it really lives up to its role as a successor to ”Rituale Romanum” - everything that album lacked, is now guilty for the high, interesting quality of ”Demian”.

From Obliveon: (by MK)

Rose Rovine E Amanti werden zwar immer dem Neofolk zugerechnet, doch das künstlerische Potential, das in Damiano Mercuri schlummert, geht doch weit über, nennen wir es einmal ein bisschen verklärt und keinesfalls negativ gemeint, Lagerfeuermusik, hinaus. Dies machte bereits das Solo-Album von Damiano Mercuri deutlich, und „Demian“ vollendet diese Einschätzung. „Demian“ beinhaltet sicherlich musikalische Elemente des Neofolk, in seiner Gesamtheit ist dieses Werk aber vielmehr das Album eines Singers/Songriters, als dass sich Damiano Mercuri auch vielmehr begreift. Stücke wie „Rose Rovine E Amanti“ mit wundervollen Melodiebögen, das vergleichsweise rockige Titelstück oder „Il Grande Tradimento“ – im übrigen durch ein Leonard Cohen-Zitat eingeleitet – zeigen all die musikalische Vielseitigkeit des Italieners, der in seinen Texten das kämpferische Element für die Sache (s)eines gerechten Glaubens nicht vermissen lässt. Neben der Musik soll das Cover Artwork hier noch Erwähnung finden, das durch Zeichnungen des bulgarischen Malers Emil Ivanov Saparewski stilistisch wirklich ausgesprochen geschmackvoll ausgefallen ist. „Demian“ ist einmal mehr ein wundervolles Werk Rose Rovines mit zehn wirklich wunderschönen Kompositionen, das zu kaufen sich wirklich lohnt. (9/10)

From Blow Up: (by Paolo Bertoni)

Decisamente più impetuoso e battagliero l’approccio di Damiano Mercuri in “Demian”, album che segna un sensibile passo in avanti rispetto al precedentemente, pur apprezzato, “Ritual Romanum” (BU#103). La continuità dei testi, che alternano italiano e inglese, che efficacemente evocano per temi e irruenza letture e fondamenti dell’Europa cattolica medioevale, avvicina il vigore di frangenti come Il gatto osserva, con fragorose esplosioni di coinvolgente animo popolare, la ruvida e marziale Demian, Paura del demonio in cui si riaffaccia ispirazione Death In June attenuata dall’intromissione di chitarre hard, la cruenta e anthemica Mille serpi che profuma di universale giudizio, e ballate come The End Of This World o Rose Rovine E Amanti, di un epos pronunciato e toccante, Noi ritorneremo o Il grande tradimento, folk noir fortemente belligerante e dal canto opportunamente non esente da tratteggi potentemente enfatici, in una sicuramente compatta visione che naturalmente e con evidenza si riflette e proietta nei contemporanei tormenti del nostro Continente. (7/8)

From Rockline: (by Edoardo Baldini)

  Su un tessuto influenzato profondamente da storiche formazioni Neo Folk (quali Death In June e i compagni d’etichetta Sol Invictus) emergono arrangiamenti derivati dalla tradizione folcloristica italiana, plasmati anche grazie all’inserimento di strumenti acustici come archi, mandolino e pianoforte.

   L’opener Il Gatto Osserva conserva la matrice più legata al folclore, in cui la voce di Damiano Mercuri si erge liberatoria e solenne; viene descritta un’atmosfera suadente, che si sviluppa in un’esplosione di suoni e colori prima del brano più intimo e nostalgico Rose Rovine E Amanti. Il pathos espresso consente al pezzo di scorrere via fluidamente, trascinando l’ascoltatore in un alone avvolgente e dalle forti componenti cantautorali, tratte addirittura dallo stile dell’eterno Leonard Cohen.

  Demian è un platter in equilibrio tra tensioni più energiche ed intermezzi più soffusi, garantendo una dimensione lontana e dimenticata, tra echi rinascimentali e soluzioni contemporanee.

   Il tributo a Leonard Cohen risulta chiaro in Il Grande Tradimento, introdotto da una frase del celebre cantautore e sviluppato in un’ottica densa di riferimenti allo stile del grande maestro.

   La chitarra acustica accompagna un’ampia sezione di Demian, culminando nel dialogo Paura Del Demonio, avvolgente brano dalla cadenza cupa e decadente, che conferisce un profilo diverso al disco. Immancabili poi due danze, Mille Serpi e Noi Ritorneremo, la prima orientata a percorrere meandri più Rock e la seconda più legata ad un contesto popolare sferzato dall’onirico binomio violino-pianoforte.

From Chain D.L.K.: (by Maurizio Pustianaz)

In balance from neo-folk ballads and rock riffs, DEMIAN is the newest Rose Rovine E Amanti album and in my opinion it is their best to date. Containing ten songs with Italian and English lyrics, on DEMIAN, Damiano don't follow the melancholic atmosphere a la Death In June typical of many neo-folk bands and embrace upbeat tempos and a certain influence from Italian songwriters and rock bands from the 70's. Alternating acoustic guitars/violin/piano duets (check the beautiful "Noi ritorneremo") with acoustic/electric guitars riffs (see "Mille serpi") plus percussions here and there, the album succeed into sounding personal and fresh. With a beautiful 14 page booklet containing exclusive drawings by Bulgarian artist Emil Ivanov Saparevski and every lyrics, DEMIAN is an album you'll be glad to check. (4.5/5)

From Alone Music: (by Princess Vampire)

  Il progetto Rose Rovine E Amanti, attivo fin dal 2002, con “Demian” è arrivato al suo quarto album: Damiano Mercuri, compositore e arrangiatore dei brani, nonché chitarrista e vocalist della band, ha fatto davvero un ottimo lavoro.

  L'album è senza dubbio pregevole: un mix di neofolk – scevro da ogni influenza elettronica -, musica medievale e rock, cantato in parte in inglese e in parte in italiano, davvero godibilissimo e soprendente, all'altezza dei lavori precedenti, se non ad un livello superiore.

  Il nostro “menestrello” Damiano, che ha pubblicato da poco una raccolta di ballate medievali e rinascimentali, stavolta supera se stesso: la sua bella voce profonda di coheniana memoria ci racconta storie e ci disegna immagini, affiancata in alcuni brani dalla altrattanto affascinante voce femminile di Noemi York, e accompagnata da caldi e suadenti arrangiamenti folk, che in alcuni brani diventano piacevolmente rock, regalando una carica in più a questo interessante album.

  Notevoli i testi - da apprezzare soprattutto quelli in italiano, dato che il fascino della nostra lingua madre ben si sposa con le atmosfere del disco -, che spesso sfociano in argomentazioni religiose: il Mercuri è, infatti, molto legato a queste tematiche, che ritornano in quasi tutti i testi.

  Tra i migliori momenti dell'album, “Rose Rovine E Amanti”, “Paura Del Demonio”, “Mille Serpi”; ma tutti i brani sono degni di nota.

  In definitiva, un ottimo disco, che sicuramente può essere apprezzato anche al di fuori della cerchia degli amanti del genere, per la sua originalità e per la bellezza delle sue atmosfere.

From Gothtronic : (by TekNoir)

The new album of Rose Rovine E Amanti made very curious given the positive impression that Damiano Mercuri made with previous work, which was described by yours truthfully as the Mediterranean version of Von Thronstahl. These Mediterranean characteristics are again overtly present on the new album Demian in the neo-classical influenced neofolk and folkrock music Damiano presents here. The best example of this is the romance that comes forward in the song ‘Rose Rovine E Amanti’. In the title track ‘Demian’ the band however sounds more militant and a sharp edged guitar sound is assed to the sound which makes the comparison to Von Thronstahl again actual and valid. Also the violin play by Giuseppe Lorenzoni sounds ominous in this track. ‘Il Grande Tradimento’ combines the Von Thronstahl alike approach of neofolk and rock with melancholic pop music in the best tradition of artists such as Leonard Cohen. This again is a strong track with a powerful chorus. ‘From Desparation to Victory’ reflects in the vocal lines the decadence touch often associated with the voice of David Bowie, turned into a neofolk song. The rock influence is most dominant in the tracks ‘Paura Del Demonio’ and ‘Mille Serpi’. On this new partly sung in Italian and partly in English album Rose Rovine E Amanti achieves in presenting a stronger and more distinct sound of their own and leave a better impression than ever before. It is very nice to listen to a musically versatile and original album again in this genre. Rose Rovine E Amanti prove with this album that by now they belong to the top of the European neofolk scene.

From Darkroom : (by Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi)

Dopo un paio di raccolte di materiale più o meno datato (inedito e non) ed un piccolo split in compagnia di B-Machina, finalmente il progetto dello stimato artista capitolino Damiano Mercuri torna con un nuovo album, a poco meno di tre anni dai consensi riscossi col valido "Rituale Romanum". Il buon Damiano sembra aver trovato i suoi partner ideali tanto nell'israeliana The Eastern Front (che, oltre ad una raccolta di vecchi inediti, ha dato recentemente alle stampe anche un disco di musica antica firmato dal Nostro con nome e cognome) quanto nell'inglese Cold Spring (quest'ultima deputata ad occuparsi degli album veri e propri di Rose Rovine E Amanti), ed è ormai innegabile che il musicista romano sia riuscito meritatamente ad imporsi all'attenzione del pubblico neofolk internazionale. La stessa Cold Spring introduce il disco nel migliore dei modi, definendolo "...una potente mistura di neo-folk-rock con una sensibilità mediterranea...", e non possiamo che convenirne, visto che la novità più significativa nel sound di Damiano risiede proprio in un (personalissimo) approccio rock decisamente più marcato rispetto al passato. Nuovamente contornato da un piccolo gruppo di validi musicisti ospiti, il Nostro ci regala dieci nuove canzoni, splendidamente illustrate una ad una dalla sapiente mano dell'artista bulgaro Emil Ivanov Saparevski, fondamentale per rendere il booklet qualcosa che vale davvero la pena ammirare. Il lavoro si apre col folk fragoroso e possente de "Il Gatto Osserva", per poi proseguire con l'eponima "Rose Rovine E Amanti", bel momento delicato e passionale dai pregiati passaggi strumentali che si fregia dell'intreccio fra l'inconfondibile voce di Damiano e quella fragile di Noemi York; il rinnovato piglio rock esplode nella possente title-track, ed anche la ballata "Il Grande Tradimento" svela solide impennate elettriche di buon impatto. Bene le accorate ed intense "From Desperation To Victory" (già apprezzata nel primo sampler di Darkroom Magazine) e "The End Of This World", mentre la delicatezza di "Paura Del Demonio" viene anch'essa squarciata da esplosioni elettriche di chiaro stampo rock, come tipicamente rock è l'impeto della più teatrale "Mille Serpi", non a caso puntualmente 'velenosa'. Il finale ci riserva i due episodi migliori del lotto: "Noi Ritorneremo" sfoggia mirabili arrangiamenti su di un incedere rock, mentre la conclusiva "Ave Maria" si rivela il momento più raffinato e passionale dell'intero lavoro, forte di un finale di rara intensità. Galleggiando agilmente fra italiano (tanto) ed inglese (poco), citazioni di rilievo (William Blake, Iggy Pop, Leonard Cohen) e puntuali influenze neoclassiche, col tocco inconfondibile di Damiano, "Demian" si rivela un'opera riuscita che proietta il progetto Rose Rovine E Amanti verso un nuovo livello di completezza e di concretezza: oggi più che mai, un nome importante per l'intera scena nazionale.