Highwire Magazine

‘Dead Man – Held on Hand,’ the second single by the Italian rock band Sharasad, came out everywhere on December 17.

The song followed their first release, ‘Sylvie,’ an explosion of rock that paved the way to the past summer shows, christening the stage and the audiences to a never-ending quest for moments to live. 

If Sylvie got us all chained up, now we have what we deserved: ‘Dead Man – Held on Hand’ is a solid and firm statement, clearly showing the willpower and prowess of the five artists.

The song starts with the guitar accompanying a bare voice in telling the story of a lost soul. The song builds upon the music and voice wove and comes together with the gradual addition of bass and echoing voices, chaining up the listener towards a second part that comes almost unnoticed, betrayed only by a whispered last verse. A second after, a controlled explosion of rhythm: from a minute onwards, the melodic pattern reminds a Muse madness, with high hisses and low bass sounds close to those of the English band.

And then it changes again. A floor tom and kick drum fill, then silence, a leading guitar riff, an urging, open snare roll climaxing in a racing sequence of sounds. A chorus of male voices chanting “Dead Man – Held on Hand” sets the pace as a frenetic march, a boarding of lost souls, led by the main voice who has taken over the power. Then, a sharp, intense, frantic backbeat brings the last part of the song, forgetting control and calm, but exploding in a guitar-led hysteria.

Finally, the closing follows the same scheme used in their first song: crash accents on the bass and guitars notes, then the songs fade with the last sound, the bass in ‘Sylvie,’ the guitar in the latest ‘Dead Man – Held on Hand).’ And we are left hanging, waiting for more, indubitably in good company.