Based in Switzerland
Pure Inc. is a melting pot with members from Germany, Switzerland and members of Italian origin.
I consider myself an old hand in Hard Rock and it's quite rare that I get blown away by a debuting band. My introduction to
Pure Inc. was by lucky accident - I attended a
Doro show in Denmark on a cold November night.
Pure Inc. was second band on the 3 band bill and after the first crappy opening band I couldn't wait for
Doro to begin. Well, I thought things could only get better when
Pure Inc. went on stage. WOW -
Pure Inc. rocked the house oozing lots of self-confidence coming straight off their support trek for Michael Schenker. They played a fantastic concert and after the show I had a quick chat with guitarist Sandro Pellegrini and the fabulous singer Gianni Pontillo, who kindly provided me with their debut album released in September on AFM records.
Even though I first got home at 3 in the morning I couldn't wait to hear the CD. I tried to lower my expectations by convincing myself that it was impossible for
Pure Inc. to transfer all their live energy to disc. I was so wrong - these guys succeeded in doing that with an album packed with massive grooves, cool guitars and amazing vocals.
Album highlights? Well, track 1 till track 10 is all album highlights. This debut album is a strong unit with 10 top class tracks and a running order that creates a natural flow of the album.
Fear my Eyes strongly opens the disc with harsh lyrics addressed to an ex. Band member underlining the personal friendship of the musicians that is the fundament for
Pure Inc.
Genius has a nice smooth bass riff and a fantastic vocal performance. The song builds up for climax with powerful vocals belting out the great chorus.
Piece of Mind brings it down a bit after the aggressive openers. The ballad melts the record together perfectly.
Piece of Mind is a short ballad running a little more than 2 minutes - without an actual chorus the song ends promptly to be followed by the massive riff of
On the Verge. Guitarist Sandro Pellegrini shines on this song, which has a great drive ala Dio's classic
Holy Diver.
Next to you is a bit pared down and the mellow verse builds up to a melodic chorus with hooks and a great middle piece.
Promise You is a stripped down acoustic song, which of course like thunder and lightning is followed by the hard driven
T.O.T with a very doomy verse. The dark lyrics deals with the world in the year 2004. The lyrics are cleverly written as a cry for help to god.
Black Tea has a fantastic drive that gets you hooked immediately and another masterpiece of a chorus. The solo is very cool and overall the solos always fit the songs flawlessly. In
Black Tea Sandro Pellegrini experiments with a pick-up switch technique, which really spices the solo
Believin' is a melodic power ballad, which lights the fire to the atmospheric epic closer
Falling Season. The heavy riff repeated towards the end gives the song a moody feel and the use of sound effects also helps create a special emotion to the song.
Most songs revolve around a strong melodic chorus. The verse is often the fuse to a firing kick ass chorus. The shining star of the band is singer Gianni Pontillo, who delivers a unique vocal performance on the album giving himself 110 percent. His vocals are strong, a bit raspy but very powerful and yet melodic.
Pure Inc. doesn't use backing vocals but totally rely on singer Pontillo, who lives up to his responsibility by leaving the listener blown away by his vocals.
Guitarist Sandro Pellegrini lays a solid foundation to
Pure Inc.'s guitar driven material. Pellegrini plays solid and he is an interesting guitarist with powerful riffs and creativity ala Zakk Wylde. There is no doubt that these guys are great musicians. Bass player Genti plays a 5 string bass and the rhythm section is very tight. The production justifies the great musicianship with a potent sound by Tommy Vetterli (ex-Coroner), who successfully transfers the live power of
Pure Inc. to disc.
After listening to the disc you wanna play it again and PLAY it Loud, which is the finest certified quality stamp in music. It is well earned since the album keeps progressing and
Pure Inc.'s songs sound stronger after each listen.
Written by
Michael Wednesday, January 5, 2005
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