Track Premiere: The Pilgrim ‘Obsessed By The West Part I, II, III, IV’

Gabriele Fiori must be one of the busiest people in our fabled underground. It’s a name you should recognise as being the head honcho of the prolific Heavy Psych Sounds, and as a musicianplies his trade in Black Rainbows and Killer Boogie. But that wasn’t enough, as along with drummer Filippo Ragazzoni, also from Black Rainbows, return in the guise of The Pilgrim as they prepare to release their sophomore album, …From The Earth To The Sky And Back featuring fourteen tracks of stripped back country folk psych rock that were lovingly mixed and mastered by Shane Trimble of High Reeper.

The Pilgrim

And today, it’s our absolute pleasure to bring you a slice of Americana with Italian flair in the form of the track Obsessed By The West Part I, II, III, IV, the band comments…

Obsessed By The West Part I, II, III, IV would like to be a suite, an ode to the desert and the spaghetti western. It is an imaginary story about a cowboy and his adventures, divided into 4 parts. It took a while to combine the different sections that cross the song but in the end it became a favourite song of ours.’

More on The Pilgrim & …From The Earth To The Sky And Back

Gabriele Fiori — already frontman of Rome-based outfits Black Rainbows and Killer Boogie and a key figure in Europe’s heavy underground as the head of the Heavy Psych Sounds label and booking agency — was not exactly lacking for things to do. And yet, a couple years back, The Pilgrim started to nebulously take shape as an idea for a solo-project, something different than the hard-driving psychedelia and garage heavy rock for which he’d already been so revered.

The Pilgrim '…From The Earth To The Sky And Back'

It wasn’t until Jan. 2018 that he really got to putting songs together, but the end result on debut album Walking Into The Forest is a space-folk release with a personality unto itself. In completing the arrangements, Fiori turned to Black Rainbows drummer Filippo Ragazzoni, and as he says, ‘Songs came out so spontaneously and easy. I always played acoustic guitar and wanted to push further on this path. The songwriting, rehearsing and recording approach was so different from usual Rainbows or Boogie style, both to me and Filippo for drums, because all the instruments needed to be played smoothly, softly.’

With debut album Walking Into The Forest, Fiori evoked a sound that is both classic and fresh, melodically rich and creatively constructed. It is a new outlet for Fiori that demands spiritual as well as auditory engagement, and an all-things-permissible sonic context that The Pilgrim will continue to explore with their upcoming effort …From The Earth To The Sky And Back. With a refined work on production and recording, and more drums all throughout the record, their sophomore album …From The Earth To The Sky And Back has all the assets to meet the fans’ expectations, and more. The album was mixed and mastered by Shane Trimble (High Reeper), with a fantastic artwork designed by Maarten Donders. The first part of the record is inspired by a classic Americana vibe, while the rest of the record conjures up a sound reminiscent of Santana, The Eagles, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Faces, Spirit, Captain Beyond and recent Motorpsycho work.

…From The Earth To The Sky And Back Tracklist:
01. Mexico ’84
02. Sitting Down On The Porch
03. Obsessed By The West Part I, II ,III, IV
04. Lion
05. Fool Around
06. Riding The Horse
07. Cuba
08. Secrets In The Kingdom
09. I’m Just Scared
10. Solitude
11. At Your Door
12. Sounds In The Night
13. Space And Time
14. Waiting For The Sun

The Pilgrim are:
Gabriele Fiori – Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Synths
Filippo Ragazzoni – Drums

The Pilgrim and their new album …From The Earth To The Sky And Back will be released via Heavy Psych Sounds on the 2nd October. Pre-orders for various vinly pressings, CD and bundles are available from the labels webstore, and digital downloads from Bandcamp.

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Band Links: Facebook | Instagram