The Power Trio known as Doctor Cyclops was founded in 2007 in Bosmenso (a really small village situated some 50 km North by North-East of Genova, in the Appenine mountains of North Italy) by childhood friends, singer/ guitarist Christian Draghi and bassist Francesco Filippini (who, if I got the info correct, had already played in another band together, but only went for their own personal tastes in music by forming DC), and drummer Alessandro Dallera.
Inspired by the vintage sound of Black Sabbath and other, more underground heroes from the '70s and '80s (such as Truth, janey, Sir Lord Baltimore, Captain Beyond, and Witchfinder General), as well more recent acts of the kind (including Witchcraft, Firebird, Cathedral, and Spiritual Beggars to name but a few), the band records a first demo-EP (consisting of two original songs, and covers of Ramones' “Born To Die In Berlin” and Leaf Hound's “Freelance Fiend”) in the Spring of 2008. In spite of only being a self-produced home recording, the demo attracts the attention of renowned specialist website Perkele.it, who give the 4-tracker a really good review.
Although the band doés play a coupe of shows during that year, they consider their live activities to only have started seriously in early 2009, and in May DC opens the first show of Firebird's Italian Tour Of Fire. Early 2009 is also when the band records two more original songs, which they release as a self-produced single. This time, the guys attract the attention of English website thesleepingshaman.com, who compliment the band on their vintage '70s sound. During Summer the band again hits the studio, this time to record their song “Silver Serpent”, which is subsequently included in the soundtrack of the Italian edition of the 20th Century Fox movie Megiddo: The Omega Code (in Italy it gets the title 2012 L'Avvento Del Male). Meanwhile, they continue to roam the North of Italy, touring with bands from both the Italian and European Underground, such as Stake Off The Witch, Matra, Phased, Black Cargo, and Sidharta...and playing support on the last Italian tour dates of Last Barons.
In November 2010 then, the band has its first live experience outside Italy, playing some shows in Germany at the occasion of the release of their self-titled EP, which simply gathers the band's earlier recorded 5 original songs, with a bonus live track as bonus. More abroad experiences follow in April 2011, when the band tours through France and Belgium. The highlight of that tour was a support slot for Blood Ceremony in Paris. Over that Summer, the band enters the studio to record their debut full-length Borgofondo, which will eventually be released digitally in March 2012. However, that didn't end 2011 yet, as the band fulfilled touring commitments in the UK and Austria. To celebrate the release of their album, the boys tour Italy in early 2012, supporting Sienna Root on two occasions, and soon after they sign a two-album deal with German label World In Sound, who start off that commitment by releasing Borgofondo in May.
Whatever happened with the band in between, I have no idea, as that's where the story on the band's official website (www.) facebook.com/Doctor-Cyclops ends. Of course, in the meantime we've gotten the second installment of the aforementioned contract delivered and, I must say, it was a great trip backwards in time! And the experience can be yours as well, as the “Listen now/ BUY” section of their facebook page re-directs one to the album's Bandcamp page (which allows you to listen to the complete album, see!?). Especially nice about the band, is the fact that the vocals are completely accent-free. In fact, one might easily mistake the album for a genuine lost British or American gem of the 1973 era!