Italian dark folk/desert rock project Song Of The Lizard released debut album »May 2, 2026«; out now via Rivertale Productions!

Brescia, Italy based dark folk/desert rock project Song Of The Lizard led by singer-songwriter and producer Andrea Van Cleef (ex-Humulus, ex-Van Cleef Continental) presents its debut album, »May 2, 2026«, which was just released on September 18th, 2026 via Rivertale Productions.

Tracklist:
01. Coyote
02. White Rhino
03. Maud And The Black Moon
04. Heliobatis Radians
05. Apache Road
06. Rama Kushna

Courtesy of Rivertale Productions:

»May 2, 2026« is the first project from Andrea Van Cleef’s new lineup, featuring Alessandro Serioli (keyboards and backing vocals, previously with Irish singer-songwriter Mark Geary and with Il Diluvio), Mauro Maurer (bassist and respected tattoo artist, who handles the band’s graphics and visuals), and Mauro Carraro (drums, a Brescia-based session player who’s worked with numerous artists on the local and national scene).

It’s a single-day live session (May 2, 2026) of six tracks, recorded at Buca Recording Studio in Montichiari (Brescia). Six tracks that had already appeared in Van Cleef’s past repertoire – he’s the band’s voice and guitar – across three different stoner rock lineups: Van Cleef Continental, Humulus, and The Fuzz Resistance. A natural evolution, especially given Andrea’s time in Vic DuMonte’s band (Chris Cockrell, original bassist of the legendary Kyuss). In this new form, though, the material takes on a completely different character thanks to the vision and reinterpretation of the band’s other members.

Photo credit: Aldeghi Michele

The immediacy of the recording delivers a more spontaneous, direct approach, pulling away from the band’s stoner rock roots and closer to neo-psychedelia and desert rock territory. An original reworking of »Coyote« and »Apache Road«, with a whiff of desert session about them, plus the heavier »White Rhino« and the near-ballad, dark »Maud & The Black Moon«. The heavier distortion and doom nods are still there too, especially clear on »Rama Kushna«.

Above all, this live session marks the starting point for a new lineup already at work on an entirely original repertoire, which will soon lead to the recording of their debut album of new material. For now, though, here’s a snapshot taken on a warm spring afternoon: no studio tricks, no overdubs, just vintage amps, guitars and basses, powerful drums, and keyboards. A sincere, straight-to-the-point calling card with which Song Of The Lizard introduces itself to the public and steps back into the European stoner and heavy rock scene.

Order »May 2, 2026« on CD here: andreavancleef.bandcamp.com

Recorded by Simone Piccinelli at La Buca Recording Studio.

Line-up:
Andrea Van Cleef – Vocals, Guitars
Mauro Maurer Crescini – Bass Guitar
Ale Serio Serioli – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Mauro Carraro – Drums

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well