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Sacri Monti — Retrieval
(Black Widow BWR285, 2025, CD / LP / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2026-01-07

Retrieval Cover art

Sacri Monti hails from San Diego, but you might honestly mistake them for an Italian prog rock band since their name sounds like one of Black Widow’s bands, not to mention the fact that their album Retrieval has been reissued by Black Widow. Sacri Monti’s music pays tribute to 70s bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, and Kansas. Retrieval was originally released on vinyl in the US in 2024 on Tee Pee Records, and now Black Widow has reissued it on CD along with three live bonus tracks: “Desirable Sequel” and “Intermediate Death,” plus “Sacri Monti” from their debut album. The original album consists of six tracks:  “Maelstrom,” “Desirable Sequel,” “Intermediate Death,” “Brackish Honeycomb,” “Moon Canyon,” and “More Than I.” The first four songs are hard hitting 70s-inspired prog rock with some insanely great Hammond organ. Then they shift the mood with the calm instrumental “Moon Canyon” that makes me think of The Rolling Stones’ “Moonlight Mile.” The album closer “More Than I” is an excellent blend of trippy prog rock and psych that grabs your attention for its full 9½ minutes. Then we encounter the three live tracks, faithful and inspired recreations of their studio tracks. What makes Sacri Monti stand out from similar bands is Brenden Dellar’s excellent vocals, Dylan Donovan’s guitar playing, Anthony Meier’s bass, Evan Wenskay’s keyboard chops, and Thomas Dibenedetto’s drumming.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Sacri Monti

More info
http://sacri-monti.bandcamp.com/album/retrieval

 

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