Raw-edged heavy rock, fronted by Lino Ajello’s powerful electric guitars, channeling the dark, jagged energy of Jimmy Page, Adrian Gurvitz, and Jeff Beck. Il Balletto di Bronzo absorbed their influences (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds), but moved from there into an inspired, hard-edged musical space; the band’s overwhelming power and great melodies make them irresistible. ‘Un posto’ and ‘Neve Calda’ are centered around simple but effective guitar riffs. ‘Eh eh ah ah’ starts like a nice mellow ballad, but gets into a hard blues rock groove. On side two, there’s the seven-minute mammoth heavy grind of ‘Incantesimo’ and the colossal ‘Missione Sirio 2222,’ almost ten minutes of droning acid rock with whirling guitars and heavy pounding drums, sandwiched between an acoustic intro and outro. No surprise then that Nurse With Wound cited Il Balletto di Bronzo as an influence.

•LP limited to 1,000 copies in replica metallic jackets

•Incredibly rare album: original copies sell for more than $5,000, if and when they appear (they don’t)

•Comes with four-panel poster-sized color insert which delves into Il Balletto Di Bronzo’s strange legacy

•Licensed from Sony Music Entertainment Italy S.p.A.