GOAD were first formed in the Florence area by the Rossi brothers, Gianni and Maurilio, in the late Seventies. At the end of 1983 they released the album “Creatures” for Northcott Production, a New York label that had already released in the USA their album of covers, “Who Can It Be”. The album was issued by Emmegi (distributed by Polygram) in 1985. In spite of lack of support from the label, another album was completed. “Perfume” is a collection of pieces written and recorded from 1985 to 1988, which was never released.
In the following years Maurilio started working on a project dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe. The recording took place in the summer of 1994. The band, besides Rossi (vocals, keyboards and bass), consisted of drummer Giancarlo “Bronco” Gaglioti and various guests, among whom were guitarist Marcello Becattini and the late Marcello Masi, formerly of Strana Officina. “Tribute to Edgar Allan Poe” was released in 1995 and distributed in the same year by Multipromo. This time, the tone was very different from the other two albums: it was a more atmospheric and evocative brand of progressive rock.
The relationship with Multipromo ended after the publication of the fourth album, “Glimpse”, released in 1998 after numerous cuts and a mix not approved by Rossi. Their fifth album, called “Streghe?”, was the soundtrack to the play of the same name. The album was never released, but is still part of Multipromo’s catalogue. The next year, Rossi’s band recorded the official soundtrack to the film “La Scacchiera” (The Chessboard) by director Massimiliano Mauceri. The CD contains 6 tracks, but only “La Scacchiera” featured on the short film of the same name.
In 1999 GOAD released “Il Minosse”, one of their most complex and individual works, a play written by Franco Petrone and Luca Leonello Rimbotti. Their sound got darker and more progressive, with symphonic overtones and hard rock stylings, combining the solemnity of early King Crimson with Zeppelin’s harsh energy. In 2002 Rossi returned to work on a very ambitious project, a musical version of Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology”, a cornerstone of American literature. It was released in the summer of 2004 by Mellow records as a single album (though the original was a double) with the title of “Raomen – Spoon River Anthology Songs” – a sophisticated, progressive rock offering, influenced by both symphonic prog (early King Crimson, Genesis) and complex hard rock.
In 2004 GOAD participated in the much-awaited “Tribute to King Crimson”, issued by Mellow with the collaboration of other Italian labels. They chose “Epitaph”, one of the most beautiful songs from Robert Fripp’s band, one of the main influences for Rossi and the band. They also recorded a cover of “Have You Heard – The Voyage” by The Moody Blues, which would appear soon after on a Moody Blues tribute CD released by Mellow Records.
The years 2005-2006 brought a flurry of activity in the band’s ranks. First, they recorded the album “The Wood – Dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft”, with the help of several notable guest musicians; it was released by Mellow Records in 2006. Toward the end of 2005, the group had got in touch with Black Widow Records, possibly the most “alchemical” label in Italy, if not on the whole planet. The result of this cooperation was the live recording “In the House of Dark Shining Dreams”, which included some tracks from their self-produced, 2001 album “Dark Virgin”, as well as covers of prog masterpieces like “Killer” by VDGG and “21st Century Schizoid Man” by King Crimson. The album was also released in 2006, and marked the beginning of a new era for GOAD.
Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com: Though they have been active for a long time, GOAD haven’t yet received the recognition they deserve for their very individual brand of dark, Crimson-influenced prog. (from PROGARCHIVES.COM)
In 2011 the band released “Masquerade”, a complex prog concept album mostly inspired by E.A. Poe and H.P. Lovecraft poems with lot of musical 70s influences as Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Black Widow, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Atomic Rooster…
The Brand of Goad music goes on with this new album; long songs Mellotron dominated with a suffered and emotional atmospheres with some special guests as Martin Grice (Delirium), Silvana Aliotta (Circus 2000), Guido Wassermann (Alphataurus).
TRACK LIST:
1) EXCEPT HATE 5:23
2) FOR YOU 6:40
3) HERE WITH ME 7:40
4) CLAY MASKS 6:28
5) THE SILENT MOONCHILD (The Song) 4:28
6) THE SILENT MOONCHILD (Instr) 2:44
7) FADING UNDER A LARGE HAT 3:31
8) THE BOOK OF TIME 4:10
9) BALLAD IN THE MOONLIGHT 3:28
10) THE SILENT MOONCHILD (The End) 7:57
11) MOONCHILD SUNRISE 3:44
MAURILIO ROSSI: Vocals, Bass keyboards, Electric Nylon Guitars
FILIPPO TRENTASTASI: Drums, Percussions
FRANCESCO DIDDI: Guitars, Violin, Flute
GIANNI ROSSI: Electric Guitar
and :
ALESSANDRO BRUNO: Slide Guitar, Violin, Flute
SILVANA ALIOTTA: Backing Vocals (CIRCUS 2000)
GUIDO WASSERMAN: Guitar (ALPHATAURUS)
MARTIN GRICE: Sax (DELIRIUM)
FREDDY “DELIRIO” PEDICHINI: Keyboards
