DYSTOPIAN TALES

Hailing from Terni, in Umbria, Tom Shepperd’s Production began life in 2013 from the meeting of Andrea Pierini (guitar), Lorenzo Francioli (keyboards) and Marco Aurelio Ursini (drums) with Emanuele Viali (bass). Inspired by progressive bands from the past and present era, their aim was to compose original music to give form to the thoughts of an invented character, a crazy man called Tom Shepperd.

Tom Shepperd's Production on stage 2016

After a home made demo in 2013, in 2014 they self released an interesting first EP entitled A Quiet Walk In The Desert, featuring an instrumental suite divided into two parts. According to the band, it tells the journey of a boy reliving a trauma during a dream. The music starts softly, in the beginning the pace is slow… Then tension rises and many changes of rhythm and mood follow. Well, the atmosphere and the art cover remind me of a famous novel about a dark tower and a long walk in the desert of a man and a boy... There are quests and roads that lead ever onward, and all of them end in the same place – upon the killing ground. Except, perhaps, the road to the Tower. There ka might show its true face… (quote from The Gunslinger by Stephen King).

In 2017 the band self released another EP entitled Synolon – Subconscious. In my opinion, the new work marks a step forward and features two guest vocalists on one track, Thomas Soares and Weronika Bielecka. According to the band, the EP tells in music and words the first part of a tale set in a dystopic future, in a city where the inhabitants don't have the ability of feeling emotions but where something is slowly changing... 

The opener “Awakening” begins by the hypnotic ticking of an alarm clock and an ominous sound of hooters. The atmosphere is disquieting and frenzied as the metallic noise of time rumbles across the streets… The following “Looping Voices” with its marching beat and the threatening voices in the background describes a nightmarish city where blind work, separation and isolationism rule and nobody cares about each other. “Dead Dream” is calmer and depicts a dark, hopeless night. Here the music could recall Pink Floyd as in the following “The Craze” where you can listen to the voice of a rebel spirit asking for help and to back vocals that seem coming from the dark side of the moon. The last track, “The Thing”, is full of energy and increasing rage and leaves you in front of a difficult choice…

On the whole, an interesting work that deserves a try!

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/TomShepperdsProduction/

UMBRIA

An now we go east, to UMBRIA and to its capital PERUGIA. Perugia is a beautiful city full of art and history but nowadays it’s best known for a mysterious crime that continues to make the highlights of the newspapers, the Murder of Meredith Kercher. Perhaps it is not by chance that an excellent prog band such as Il Bacio della Medusa (MySpace) comes from here. In 2007 they released a wonderful concept album inspired by the dark story of Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, Discesa agl’inferi d’un giovane amante.

Recently three members of Il Bacio della Medusa started a side project called Ornithos (MySpace) and in 2012 released an excellent debut album, La trasfigurazione. Another member of Il Bacio della Medusa, Simone Cecchini, recently teamed up with keyboardist Alfio Costa (Tilion, Prowlers, Daal) for another side project called Fufluns - Complesso Embrionale Fossile (MySpace).

Other contemporary bands and artists from Perugia are Vitalba (MySpace), formed in 1991, which came back to life in 2009 after a long hiatus, the classically inspired This Harmony (MySpace), the metal influenced Lunocode (Reverbnation), the young solo project Fiordaligi (MySpace) and the psychedelic Red Onions (MySpace). In the seventies the city gave also us L’Estate di San Martino (Official Website), another band that recently reunited. By the way, Perugia is the home city of Augusto Croce, founder of the site Italianprog.com, a precious resource for Italian prog lovers.

A town north east of Perugia, Gubbio, is home to the emerging TheGeneration (MySpace), Le Chiavi del Faro (Facebook) and to The Titans (MySpace) that recently released their debut album on Musea Records while the prog guitarist Giampaolo Cavalieri (MySpace) comes from the nearby town of Gualdo Tadino. South east of Perugia there’s Assisi, the birthplace of Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. From here comes an emerging prog band called Pneuma (MySpace). 

Heading south we pass through the town of Foligno with bands such as Melpein (MySpace), In Assenza (MySpace), Niagara (MySpace) and the post rock L’Uomo di Vetro (MySpace). Then we visit Spoleto where a famous summer music and opera festival called  the Festival dei Due Mondi is held every year. Here we can listen to Vieux Carrè (MySpace), a band that was formed in 2003 as Chiaroscuro. In 2005 they changed name and released their first self-produced full length album Gli spiriti, i corpi e le menti. They have been influenced by historic progressive bands such as Genesis, BMS and PFM but their music has its own touch of originality and it’s really worth checking out.

Spoleto is also home to Alias Mundi (MySpace) and Emisferi Paralleli (MySpace), bands that were born from the ashes of Semi Infermità Mentale (MySpace). Our next stop is TERNI, the city of Saint Valentine, where the prog artist Roberto Vallerignani and his project called UD (MySpace) comes from. Other local bands that deserve a mention are Il Sogno di Copernico (MySpace) and Tom Shepperd's Production (Facebook). We conclude our visit to Umbria in Orvieto where we can listen to a band called Gerico (MySpace) and to the Old Rock City Orchestra (MySpace).