Fratello Metallo – Misteri

Posted by Pugs Malone on February 5th, 2009 filed in Heavy Metal

Frate Cesare Official Website (Italian)

When I heard that there was a metal band fronted by a Capuchin monk, I was almost afraid to hear the result. This was because I was sure that there was no way that the music could possibly live up to the awesome premise. And guess what? I was right.

Friar Cesare Bonizzi is a 63-year old monk who fronts this band; he has recorded albums in various musical genres in the past. He puts in a pretty good performance; some of his screams are great. The lyrics are all in Italian, so I can’t understand them, although I’m familiar enough with Latin that I can tell that the lyrics to “Venere” are a hoot. It’s the rest of the band that’s the problem. They play some of the most generic European-style metal that I’ve heard in my life. It’s a shame that Friar Cesare Bonizzi couldn’t have found some better collaborators to work with; he’s pretty much the only memorable part of the record. Hopefully, he’ll have a better backing band if he decides to release another album in this style.