Area, the Italian progressive rock group, formed in Milan in 1972 under the leadership of Demetrio Stratos, a vocalist of Greek parentage who was born in Alexandria, and drummer Giulio Capiozzo. Their first album, Arbeit macht frei (1973), released by Cramps Records, brought together an experimental blend of rock, jazz, and Eastern influences. Over the next decade the group issued Caution Radiation Area (1974), Crac! (1975), 1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano! (1978), and Tic&Tac (1980), touring extensively, including performances at the Biennale de Paris, the Parco Lambro Festival, and the World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana. Stratos left the band in early 1979 and died later that year while waiting for a bone marrow transplant, yet the group carried on until it disbanded in 1983. A spin-off project, Area II, appeared in the mid-1980s, led by Capiozzo, and Area itself resumed live activity in 1993, issuing the album Chernobyl 7991 (1997). Reunions from 2009 onward, with Walter Paoli on drums and Mauro Pagani as a guest, grew into a sustained Reunion Tour, from which the double live album Live 2012 was drawn in 2012, reflecting the group’s standing as one of the most innovative bands in Italian progressive rock.
