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Reviews

Desert Twelve — Desert Twelve
(Bandcamp Orzorock Music no#, 2022, DL)

Desert Twelve — The Last Dark Wood
(Bandcamp Orzorock Music no#, 2024, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-07-13

Desert Twelve Cover artThe Last Dark Wood Cover art

Desert Twelve is an Italian band that combines 70s-style blues-based hard rock with smart arrangements and solid playing to make music that rises above nostalgic appeal. As you listen to their music, you may occasionally think of Uriah Heep (though without the heavy organ), Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, or others from that bygone era, but you’ll also find yourself grooving along to songs that are just plain fun. The two main factors in this are the guitars of Gabriele Finotti and the singing of Vittoria Ipri. Ipri has a strong voice, soulful without being too gritty or flamboyant. She nails the melodies and conveys the lyrics dramatically, dropping down to a whispering tone in the quieter moments. Finotti is in the tradition of Mick Box, Martin Barre, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck — a guitarist whose roots are in the blues but whose interests range beyond the traditional limitations of the genre. He also likes to double his lines at the octave, which adds extra heft to the riffs. There’s plenty of good acoustic work too, which is one of the reasons I mentioned Martin Barre. The band’s self-titled debut album, released in 2022, is a solid opening statement, showing a band fully aware of what they want to do. Unlike many Italian bands, they are not obsessed with the supernatural, though touches of science fiction appear, as with “The Keeper of the Space Time Cage.” An unexpected inclusion is a cover of Phil Collins’ hit “In the Air Tonight” done in the Desert Twelve style. On the longer tracks, like “Your Cold Cold Desert Heart,” I’m reminded a bit of Iron Butterfly’s “Butterfly Bleu” from Metamorphosis. They do venture into odd meters on occasion, adding to the variety of the tracks.

In 2024, the band released The Last Dark Wood, further refining their sound. The opening track, “To Be the King,” is a masterful example of building a powerful rock song from whispering silence to kick-ass riffing over the course of eight minutes. This is followed up with “The Dragon,” a shorter tune that starts off in high gear and never lets down. In addition to mythology, real-world history also serves as subject matter, as on “Bikini Since 1946.” All of the positive qualities of the debut album are in evidence in refined form, resulting in another winner in the realm of hard-hitting rock that isn’t metal or punk. Definitely worth checking out.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Desert Twelve

More info
http://desertwelve.bandcamp.com

 

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