Track Review: Mr Weak // Matteo Palermo & Vitriol Project
Not one to turn away from controversial topics, Italian singer-songwriter Matteo Palermo chose to share his rock-inspired sound with the world. Previously performing with the rock band ZED, Matteo chose to embrace a solo project beginning with his debut single ‘Land Star’ in 2017. Since then, he has received critical acclaim from numerous notable press including Less Than 1000 Followers, Gasmask Magazine, Italia Rock and Berlin On Air. The latest addition to his discography is the single ‘Mr Weak’.
Collaborating with musicians Francesco Valentino and Domenico Capobianco in the Vitriol Project, their single ‘Mr Weak’ is a melodic representation of two opposing worlds – poverty and wealth, strength and weakness, and social worlds from differing perspectives. Expressing modern society as “a circus, just like in the movie The Truman Show, where the main character is a prisoner of a circus-like world which he himself created by letting technology take him further away from his true self”, the protagonist becomes more part of the crisis instead of leaning to self-empowerment.
As with his previous work, Matteo Palermo retains the juxtaposing philosophical theme in ‘Mr Weak’; however, the melody is as intriguing as the conceptual content. Unlike his previous songs, ‘Mr Weak’ seems to be more intense with a heavier flow of instrumentation. The incorporation of electronic dub melds superbly with the alternative rock/melodic metal influence in ‘Mr Weak’. While there is a jarring aspect to the EDM tones and the metal sound, Matteo Palermo & Vitriol Project create soothing bestiality in the kaleidoscopic soundscape.
Fragile and delicate, but with pounding aggression within the track, ‘Mr Weak’ explores the essence of humanity in a sentimental way. It’s insane, intoxicating and highly infectious, but I love it!