There are some groups that are content with just hovering around on the surface and playing it safe and then there are others whom like to dig deep down in the dirt and pull up a little treasure now and then. The Black Smokers are definitely the later and their newest album titled "Used" is most definitely a treasure, especially to listen to.

Hailing out of Italy, Black Smokers have already taken Europe by storm and now have there sights set on winning over the North American public, with their astonishingly infectious blend of Deep Delta Blues and Straight Up Rock "n" Roll.

Reminiscent of ZZ Top and often called a "Psycho Blues Duo", band members Marcello "Blues" Milanese (Guitar, Vocals), and Ivano "Little Lung" Zanotti (Drummer), brings us 16 Power Packed Tracks, all original, except for Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, which they have put a little burner underneath and cranked up the heat and the beat, successfully branding it to their style.

Listening to "Used" will give you not much time to rest because as their name signifies, their music is really smoking.

This is the first I have heard of Black Smokers and after listening to this Album, it fills me with anticipation for the next treasure they manage to dig up. 

Congrats Guys and Welcome to America...

Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

SMALL REFLECTIONS

So, let’s see…

We’ve always listened to a lot of Delta Blues: Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson…but unfortunately it was always our private passion, we always played with people who picked up blues after Muddy Waters. Or rather, in many cases, after The Blues Brothers. 
When we discovered RL Burnside, Fat Possum, Bob Log and we were lucky enough first to see John Schooley and then to play with Jimbo Matthus, we discovered that you could simply ‘do it’. We needed the expressive and artistic freedom that only a duo could provide: the search for the true spirit of improvisation, the photography of music, without stylistic limits. Of course, you can hear Tom Waits, James Brown and AC/DC in our blues but, in the free form of the down home style of blues, we’ve found a more direct vehicle for our music. We know the tradition but we don’t always respect it because we’re telling our stories not borrowing the lives of others. 

Furthermore, ‘essentiality’, in other words the desire to keep things simple, plays a part in our musical journey and you can hear this in even the most standard formations we work with. Musically, I went through a difficult period when I couldn’t understand the lack of ‘artistic need’ in other musicians. This sense of solitude strengthened me and I faced my fears through the duo where, on one hand, I’m limited but, on the other, I’m free… and only honest music works! Whilst we will always keep both Hendrix and John Spencer in our sights, our main focus is always on our music.

Marcello Milanese & Ivano Zanotti

Smokin' Mexico - BLACK SMOKERS

www.myspace.com/blacksmokers