Album Review: 'Casagrande' by Casagrande

By Maxwell McClellan

Oftentimes, people try many things to attain their dreams and goals only to face many roadblocks that they must overcome. Born in the Italian village of Soncino in 1973, Simone Casagrande’s fascination with music started at a young age, with the introduction to bands like Europe, Iron Maiden and Metallica serving as inspirations to pursue music. 

He spent his youth learning the classical guitar before attempting to follow metal by practicing with bands such as Aphelion. After leaving the band due to a disagreement, and a brief five-year retirement, he returned to the music world and would eventually release his first full-length album, “Casagrande,” taking from all of his past experiences and inspirations, as well as reconnecting with Aphelion, in order to dust off his guitar and deliver the vision he has had since childhood. 

“Dying Forever” was interesting in that it had a more mellow introduction with the guitar, almost hypnotic. (VideoIndipendente | YouTube)

“Casagrande” is an interesting album, made up of 12 songs that tackle their own unique topics. Upon listening to these songs, it is easy to see how Casagrande was inspired by Iron Maiden and Metallica, as there were many times where I could hear their influence throughout the songs. Of all of the tracks in the album, there were three which stood out to me the most: “Dying Forever,” “Inferno,” and “Scream!” “Dying Forever” was interesting in that it had a more mellow introduction with the guitar, almost hypnotic. 

Then, the percussion kicks in for a smoother-sounding song than the ones we have heard in the album. The vocals appear to be vocoded, and the song tends to switch through its runtime, going from calm and steady to aggressive and loud. This pattern persists for the first two minutes, where it starts to sound like more traditional thrash metal. 

“Inferno” is another interesting one for me, being a song with vocals in Italian, Casagrande’s mother tongue. The organ-like notes throughout the song are another way to win me over, as well as having a title that reminds me of my favorite piece of literature. “Scream!” is a very fun song, going all the way with the rebellious themes of thrash metal and doing so in creative ways such as the placement of news broadcasts, various scream sound effects, and overall, just having a lot going on throughout the song. 

Out of all of the songs on the album, “Scream!” was probably the one I had the most fun with. The other songs on this album were also very enjoyable and Casagrande certainly makes his passion and skill clear in each piece. Listening to this album and thinking back on all of the other metal I’ve listened to it makes me admire the artist so much more. Casagrande routinely breaks down his barriers and pushes forward with his original musical dreams. 

“Casagrande” is the first full-length album in Casagrande’s discography, and after a long journey of finding his passion for music, I say he delivered a very fun and entertaining album. He takes inspiration from some of his favorite songs and bands while also adding his own identity to his work, and while each song may remind you of something like Iron Maiden or Metallica, this album is still unique enough to stand on its own. With 12 entertaining songs and the possibility of more on the way, “Casagrande” is definitely an album worthy of a listen, and Casagrande himself should be proud of this final product.

Maxwell is a culture writer for La Tonique.