Dreams for Sale

While most modern metal fans have probably never heard of Italian band Hocculta these lads have a long running history. They released their first two full lengths in 1984 and 1988 but then went more or less with some breaks into hiatus. Why the two founding members Marco (guitars) and Massimo (vocals) have finally decided to drop another album on the market after all those years is something I don’t know. That being said “Dreams for Sale” is a really good piece of music and in the end this is all that matters. I was surprised though as my understanding is that Hocculta used to be a very old school metal / hard rock band, but this new record does not sound dusty at all. There are thrashy overflows, sometimes effected vocals, and not pure preaching of the eighties: this one sounds like listening to a recently formed band grappling with the composition of a modern heavy metal album, but one that still has its roots in the classic days.

After the hypnotic intro "Delirium" seamlessly linked to the first track "Coward Rage", the title track is finally in line with the most classic eighties paradigms, but the attachment to tradition and the glory of a distant time stops here. "Dreams For Sale," in fact, is not the typical album that dusts off the sound of the past and attempts to revive time-worn riffs, but a set of compositions that, while maybe reflecting the history of the band and each musician in it, flaunts a renewed artistic and compositional vein. Just the riff of the first track is a striking example of this, and where the guitars and the rhythm section intertwine with elegance and aggressiveness shouldering the burden of giving voice to a renewed heavy sound, Massimo’s melodic vocals complete the design with catchy interventions that go to seal the band's trademark.

"Dreams For Sale," the heavy track that gives the title to Hooculta's new album, leaves no breathing room: a pressing and powerful character that has nothing to do with the sound of the eighties and the most daring virtuosity, but finds its strength in the cohesion of the band: rhythm, harmony and melody are one. To show their feeling for variety they follow up with the rhythmic mid-tempo stomper “Falling Apart”, which still shows a strong melodic character. Next are the enthralling "If You Know" with its vaguely eighties-sounding riff, and the single "Luck Around," which for its part manages to strike the right balance between radio-friendly tempos and refrains and the heavy attitude with aggressive riffs and peculiar arrangements. Hocculta do not stop there as they bring thrashy sections and some modern staccato into play. They also do not shy away from implement a few proggier moments without expanding too much on those. All in this album is a surprisingly colorful listen.

In a world so tied to particular definitions and the pigeonholing of musical genres into predefined tables, Hocculta's renewed style struggles to find a place on its own, but this is not negative as it is precisely because it is the result of the cohesion of a staff of musicians with so much experience and so much music behind them. Bold and powerful are the guitars of Marco and his colleague Gianmaria, pulsating is the rhythm tandem, and a handful of heavy rock-like songs that also leave room for the moods of thrash and more modern style. As mentioned, it is difficult to find a single stylistic reference but, wanting to condense, this is a heavy metal album that, while anchored in the broad enclosure of this music, shows the peculiar sound of a band driven by the will to play. Released by Underground Symphony and rounded off by a dynamic production and an interesting cover artwork “Dreams for Sale” is an album absolutely worth the time of a broad range of metal fans.