Release Date July 24th, 2026
Format CD/Vinyl/Digital
Genre Hard Rock
Origin Italy
Vice Business Only was formed in Italy in 2023 by Wind Rose singer Francesco Cavalieri and electronic producer Simone Giusti, longtime friends whose musical backgrounds sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Cavalieri is known for fantasy themed power metal, whereas Giusti brings basslines, programmed rhythm and synthesizer culture into the band. Guitarist Claudio Falconcini, keyboardist Federico Meranda and drummer Angelo Carmignani complete the lineup, expanding the original duo into a five member band.
Its references reach back to Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears, Daft Punk and Justice, with eighties nightlife imagery placed beside rock guitar and a heavier vocal edge. The visual character leans on neon, luxury, tailored excess and Miami after dark, a long distance from Cavalieri’s dwarf metal day job. Vice Business Only made its live debut in January 2026 at 70000 Tons Of Metal in the United States. "Vice Business Only" is its first full length release and the first proof that this detour has enough material for more than a single or side project.
Produced by Lasse Lammert, "Vice Business Only" contains nine songs and runs for around thirty five minutes. The mix places broad synthesizer layers, programmed beats and Cavalieri’s melodic voice up front, while Falconcini’s guitar adds accents, leads and occasional metal heat. This is like electro pop rather than hard rock. The album lives on dance beats, bright keyboard hooks
and an eighties club atmosphere, with live drums and guitar used to stiffen the pulse. The choruses are immediate and the compact length helps, although several songs share the same tempo, synth colors and dramatic lift.
The production is sleek and detailed, though its bright sheen can flatten the contrast between guitar, keys and rhythm section. Cavalieri’s voice supplies human drama as it reaches from restrained verses to broad melodic choruses. His operatic scale adds character. On some songs it towers over the plain writing below. When the hooks connect, the band produces catchy nightclub rock with enough edge to separate it from background music. When they miss, the same neon pose begins to look like branding stretched past its musical value.
"Vice Business Only" is a competent and replayable debut with a coherent visual concept, though the music often resembles a high budget version of ideas already exhausted by the synthwave revival. Efficient songwriting and strong vocals justify a second spin. The band needs sharper contrasts and stranger ideas before its style turns into personality. The result is a good debut, entertaining in small doses and limited by a crowded genre it never escapes.
|7.0
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