Petali di fuoco is La Maschera di Cera’s fourth studio album
and was released in 2009 on the independent Immaginifica label,
produced by Franz Di Cioccio. It features a renewed line up featuring
Alessandro Corvaglia (vocals), Maurizio Di Tollo (drums, percussion,
guitar), Agostino Macor (keyboards), Andrea Monetti (flute), Matteo
Nahum (guitars) and Fabio Zuffanti (bass, bass pedals). It is a
remarkable work in which compositional skill and visionary poetry
give life to musical structures and melodic lines of absolute beauty,
using vintage sounds and atmospheres to evoke timeless themes and
emotions...
The beautiful and heartfelt opening track, "Fino all'aurora"
(Until Dawn), is a song of hope and rebirth dedicated to all those
who find the strength to live by resisting life's tragedies. The
music and lyrics describe the furious force of the sea battering a
coastal town, causing death and devastation. At dawn, the
protagonist's world no longer exists, swept away along with the faces
and smiles of loved ones swallowed up by the night. Past and future
of the protagonist vanished in an instant. But now it's time to
rebuild on the rubble and blood to continue living...
“D-Sigma” is the snapshot of an emotional short circuit where the
delirious protagonist feels lost in the crowd. His heart is pounding
while his world is falling apart. He experiences a timeless nostalgia
while visions of burning cathedrals rising into the sky and trains
departing for the cosmos appear in his mind...
The calm and dreamy “4.18” is a short instrumental piece for solo
acoustic guitar, written and performed by drummer Maurizio Di Tollo.
It's a pleasant interlude that precedes the emotional storm of the
next track, “Discesa” (Descent), an intense and rhythmically
complex piece that describes a transcendental experience. The
protagonist approaches the centre of a room and a trapdoor opens
before him. He looks into the void where he sees a white vortex and
at the bottom of the spiral a forest of arms reaching out to grab
him. The protagonist loses his balance and falls down. In the abyss,
the protagonist frees himself from his social conditioning and
completely loses all sense of time and space. The arms of Time cradle
him and free him from fear and pain, giving him an infinite sense of
freedom and peace. But suddenly the white light disappears and the
protagonist finds himself in the dark, surrounded by mirrors, with a
strong sense of anguish growing within him...
“Between Two Petals of Fire” is a beautiful, slow piece, rich in
nuances, that opens with the sound of an acoustic guitar arpeggio.
The atmosphere is dreamy and tinged with melancholy. The music and
lyrics describe the protagonist, a man lost in the fog, tired and
blank-eyed, feeling as if time has stopped around him. Suddenly, a
still white light appears before him. Confused, the protagonist tries
to touch the light, but it eludes him. He chases after it and feels
alive again. Seeing itself being chased, the light stops, and in the
darkness something comes to life. A dance between two petals of fire.
The protagonist follows the light through the flames in an endless
embrace. Finally, the light soars toward the sky and vanishes...
“L’inganno” (The deception) opens with a dark bass line. It's a
beautiful song where music and lyrics describe the tormented
awakening of the protagonist, a man dissatisfied with his reality who
seeks refuge in dreams. After a night spent chasing his dreams, his
dark room appears to him like an illusion the next morning and he
doesn't recognise his own face in the mirror: in the dream, he was a
different man. Now his hands move in the void, digging in the mud in
search of someone and something that isn't there. Eventually, reality
and the present of his imploding world can no longer restrain him as
he flies back toward the dream...
“Agli uomini che sanno già volare” (To the men who already know
how to fly) is a delicate ballad drenched in melancholic sweetness.
Here, the music and lyrics evoke a dying father's final message to
his son. Now his place is among the stars, invisible but finally free
and without regrets. His is a farewell that isn't eternal and at the
same time a warning to his son not to give up in the face of life's
difficulties...
“Il declino” (The decline) is a visionary and cryptic piece that
describes the passage of time and the slow decline of a once-powerful
man, now withered and mad, for whom the end of his earthly journey
seems almost a liberation. The music, especially the piano parts, can
at times recall Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, but the compositional
skills are remarkable and never fall into overly predictable
stylistic devices. This piece is seamlessly linked to the following
track, “Phoenix”, where the music seems to convey a breath of
optimism and a hope of rebirth...
The final track, “La notte trasparente” (The Transparent Night),
is another excellent piece describing a man trapped between the
mirrors of his room, waiting for someone or something that can give
him back the world that was his and helping him emerge from a deep
personal crisis. The music and lyrics intertwine to embroider the
emotions of a real dream that can set the protagonist free...
On the whole, a great album and a must-have for every Italianprog
lover!
You can listen to the complete album HERE
La Maschera di Cera: Petali di fuoco (2009). Other opinions:
Jim Russell: Flawless playing and superb production, but
ultimately an album experience that fails to truly excite me. Despite
the positive attributes this album is beautiful and safe at the
expense of the gritty and unpredictable elements that make Italian
prog rock so fantastic. This is a good album in so many ways and most
people are going to wonder how I can criticize it. I really can't
other than to call it a taste issue. RPI fans should check this out
and many should be pleasantly surprised, but this listener finds the
experience a bit middle of the road... (Read the complete review HERE)
