Listen to the Folk-Driven Western Gothic of Black Snake Moan’s “Lost in Time” LP

I need one more chance
Lost in time and space in my mind
Put your flowers in my hair

Italy’s Black Snake Moan invites the listener to ride out on a profound inner journey with his third album, Lost In Time, an epic collection of songs that feels like a European folk hero finding a new life in the Gothic Americana of the Western Frontier, his shadowy silhouette heading onwards towards the waning sunset

Spearheaded by Italian singer, guitarist, and composer Marco Contestabile, Black Snake Moan draws deep inspiration from the timeless echoes of the ancient Etruscan landscapes. These landscapes, with their tufa rock canyons, enigmatic mazes, and mysterious burial complexes steeped in death cults and beliefs in the afterlife, resonate through his music.

Contestabile seamlessly blends this heritage with the spiritual vistas of the Southwestern United States’ indigenous cultures—lands that appear static yet shift like mirages. Infusing elements of Delta blues, psych-rock, and folk-western traditions, he crafts a series of mini mantras and ritualistic performances that explode into a shamanic realm.

Black Snake Moan evokes strong connections to Dead Can Dance, Arcana, and Coil, while also nodding to the cinematic scores of Ennio Morricone and the expansive, raw energy of the Nuggets garage collection. “Born under the sign of reverb,” he quips,  explaining that the band was named after a song by early blues icon Blind Lemon Jefferson.

In Black Snake Moan’s psychedelic domain, the album’s first half conjures a hypnotic panorama, narrating nocturnal visions and desert dunes burning on the horizon; weaving swirling illusions that cloud the mind and awaken the night’s dormant senses. Lost in Time is marked by the sharp dichotomy of scorching, sunlit days and chilling, dark nights, charting a cyclical course of rebirth and transformation along the sleek curve of the hourglass, which cradles the grains of dreams. The stars’ cyclical dance, shifting between light and dark, creates a fleeting bridge between reality and imagination. As the sun rises, serenity pierces the darkness, opening the gates to a wild dreamscape where everything is born and everything dies.

Each track bursts with its own unique energy, while thoughtfully nodding to its cosmic context. A few standouts include the solid opening number, Dirty Ground, which delivers Americana-forged blues, reflecting on the fleeting nature of memories and identity, embracing isolation and the inevitable fade from consciousness. Put Your Flowers delves into the quest for enlightenment, with shadows obscuring the mind, painting a serene sunset scene where a drifting leaf brings peace. Cross The Border captures the tranquility of yellow flowers on sacred ground, symbolizing a gentle shift to a new, possibly spiritual realm.

The album’s lead single, Light the Incense, arrives with a video directed by Contestabile, offering a psychedelic dream that gradually fades away. The curling smoke of incense unveils a new vision, capturing the timeless essence of the dream world and the ephemeral nature of desires that dissipate under the crescent moon’s gaze. Contestabile’s hypnotic voice and the chant of the guitar lull us into splendid stupour. There’s a clear nod to the 1960s here, with its vivid psychedelic imagery and beautiful animations of divine cells, paying a heartfelt tribute to the cycle of life and death.

Lost In Time involves the special guest appearance of Italian musician Roberto Dell’Era, bass and vocals on the track Sunrise, known with the projects Afterhours and The Winstons, a psychedelic prog rock trio, as well as numerous collaborations including Calibro35. 

Black Snake Moan has made appearances at hundreds of concerts and festivals all over Europe, including ESNS Groningen, MIL Lisbon, MAMA Paris, Sziget Festival Budapest, the Italian Siren Festival, Rome Psych Fest, Mojo Station Blues, Indiegeno, Apolide. In the USA, they have played at IBC Memphis (International Blues Challenge 2020), with a tour along the Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans. Alongside his own project, in 2023 Marco Contestabile was bass player for Italian psychedelic rock band New Candys on European and UK tours, supporting also the Texan band The Black Angels.

Lost In Time will be released on May 24 on vinyl, CD, and digital formats via the Italian label Area Pirata Records and the American label Echodelick Records in two different editions and with different artwork.

Preview the album below, and Order Here.