So, in Italy we have this modern rock band here called Måneskin who really hit it big in the last years, after winning both the Sanremo festival and the Eurovision song contest. Might be because of Italy's utter lack of interest in the rock scene since... well, always, and the consequent long-lasting absence of some really worldwide known acts, but it seems like the country's gone crazy about them. Like, they're everywhere, in the most frequent ads, even with the national TV newscast dedicating report to them, their life on the road, etc. (the same mainstream newscast that didn't care to even mention Jeff Beck after his death, to put you into perspective). Nevertheless, to my partial surprise, they seem to have had a considerable success abroad as well, notably opening for the Rolling Stones in the USA, or hosting Tom Morello in one of their latest singles. Still, I found out they were never mentioned in this very forum. I'm just curious, does anyone here know about them? What's your opinion on them?

I, for one, think they're incredibly generic and bland, but can see why they're liked. As a country with no previous well-known, international 'rockstars', at least on the outside, it's clear that they're somewhat of a novelty, but they really tread grounds already beaten millions of times elsewhere, both in the music and in the way they act. I'll concede that their breakthrough song was honestly pretty good though, especially for being sung in Italian (I found their English kinda average):


Meanwhile, tracks like these are just borefests with vocals and guitars riding the same annoying sequence of notes in unison for almost their entire lengths. But hey, they were huge successes...


At the very least, I hoped their Eurovision triumph (and the concurrent 6th place of Blind Channel, hehe) would have meant some kind of mainstream hard rock resurgence, but it doesn't seem to have been the case. But, you know, that would also have brought more and more mediocre bands to the spotlight... maybe it's better this way.

The couple of reviews I've read of their new album (in US-based publications) have absolutely savaged their record. I've heard a song or two and it didn't do anything for me. I don't really know much else about them other than they won Eurovision (a thing I knew nothing about until Will Farrell made a movie about it) and their bass player is an attractive woman who had a "wardrobe malfunction" on MTV (this was actually the first thing I ever heard about them).

Yeah I read something about, now that I think about it. I was actually relieved that I wasn't the only one with a similar opinion. I know I should be happy about a band from Italy hitting it big, but I can't help but think the overwhelming success they met was a slight bit exaggerated when compared to their actual merits. We really went from one extreme to the other...

As for the bassist, I confirm, it's another thing they (she?) ride waaay too much. Needless to say, it works.

Someone I know made a Facebook group post about a few rock/metal bands performing at Eurovision 2021 at the time, so I'd seen their name before and immediately forgotten it again. I didn't know/care that they won and hadn't listened to even a snippet of them until now.

I had a thought along the lines of "yo do those 'four dudes with guitars' type rock bands really exist anymore did people just stop doing that?" so of course my lazy search led me to Maneskin. I listened to however many albums they had out but I must not have liked them very much because I never went back to them and don't remember what they sounded like at all. Were they kinda like... Aerosmith-y? I might not even be remembering the right band, which would be a pretty damning indictment lol.

I've heard of them; I've heard maybe a couple of songs from before they put out their newest album, I think they were covers. Honestly I remember it being kind of embarrassing stuff, but maybe I wasn't in the mood. Apparently that new album is meant to be awful, though I haven't listened to it. I've also heard from Italian listeners that their older material, if nothing revolutionary, was both fun and a hell of a lot better than that album was. Pity.

They're another one of mainstream rock's death rattles, I guess.

if you read the credits their last album is 90% build by producers and songwriters paid by the label

Here's a brutal review from Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/maneskin-rush/

I know a lot of people around here don't like Pitchfork's reviews, particularly of metal stuff, but the amount of bile this guy has for the album is really amusing to me.

I personally rather agree with him. Especially when he mentions 'Mammamia' (God, that title) being basically the same melody repeated by every instrument and vocals alike, Christ, some of their songs really are on another level of blandness. The inexplicably popular 'I Wanna Be Your Slave' is close, though. As for the angry tone, it's peculiar but also partly justified wherever something like this gets so pumped and overplayed. I don't expect a band of this status to be the second coming of Genesis, and rock doesn't need to be innovative to be fun, but holy shit we're talking about the bare minimum of the genre here.


They made a lot of covers AFAIK but their 'Beggin' one is abysmal, to name one. I don't know a lot about their previous material, except for a song a friend of mine played, basically to prove the same point – it still sounded somewhat like some RATM outtake. Maybe mixed with RHCP now that I re-listen it:


Also, that dude has a nice voice sometimes but he really can get on your nerves after a while...


Pretty much nailed it here.

What I've heard of Måneskin I like. I like their stripped down production. Most of what they call "rock" today is so over-produced. (that people call Turnstile "hardcore" is laughable.) When I was in Europe last summer, I heard "Beggin'" twice, once in a cab and again covered by a band at a gin bar in Dubrovnik.

I also heard a hell of a lot of Oasis on that trip.

So I was at the gym today and heard this song for the first time:


I take everything back, their new album deserves all the hatred contained in that review. Man this is possibly the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. Give me back Limp Bizkit, even.

Cool bass line. Good vocal performance. Lyrically, it's about slaying pussy which is probably why Pitchfork doesn't like it.

Not too bad. Thanks for posting.

That's hilarious. At least they have some variety in their sound, I guess...

Yep, dogshit lol. Vapid annoying rubbish. Hardly 'stripped down' in its sound either; very mainstream rock-type production.

I like them. Lol. The older white men on this website aren’t going to, though; they wouldn’t understand a young band that primarily appeals to the younger generations and women. It’s really no wonder they aren’t talked about.

I gotta say though I absolutely hate their newest album. The English song are pure child-like sounding drivel. It’s obvious to anyone that Damiano is still uncomfortable singing in a different language. I have no doubt in my mind that their new dipshit American producers convinced them they needed to sing in English to appeal to the ‘international audience’; despite the recent K-pop craze proving this stupid, xenophobic Americentric theory wrong.

It seems they’ve fallen into the ‘foreign band trap’ of thinking that they need to sing in English to get more popular in the West and subsequently become like other western groups, when the reason they got famous here in the first place is BECAUSE they were different than American bands! It’s really disappointing. Their Italian songs are so pretty.

Pretty much agree with the fan base talk, based on what I've seen I'd add that for most of those people Måneskin are among the heaviest stuff they listen to, as well. So yeah here we're definitely outside of their target audience, I mostly wanted to hear some opinions abroad.

Same for the new album (based on what I've listened to, of course). Just manufactured, plastic stuff, mostly boring, when not outright dumb like the song I posted earlier. I didn't like them before either, but they were no doubt more spontaneous and sincere.

Honestly I've warmed a little to their older shit. Certainly compared to their newest album, it's a lot more admirable.

There's definitely some merit to the fan base thing but it's definitely not that simple. I've seen a lot of older white guys for example hold them up as an example of 'real rock coming back'.

They've quickly become one of my wife's favorite bands, and I've had to listen to a LOT of them this year as a result. My opinion? Eh, they're fine. Some good songs, some not so good ones, and some that are genuinely really fun to listen to like "Gossip". Not something I'd go out of my way to listen to on my own, but overall they aren't the worst thing in the world.

That "Bla Bla Bla" song is the absolute drizzling shits though.

I gotta admit that when gathering the songs for the first post, 'Gossip' indeed stayed in my head for a bit too long than I'd have expected – even if the fact that it's used on a very frequent TV ad here might have something to do with it. Overall, yep, completely agree with your last sentence. I might occasionally have an instant eye-rolling reflex when I hear one of their songs in public (especially the worse ones), but considering they could have broadcasted your average vapid pop/trap/whatever song in their place, I guess it isn't too bad after all.