TRANSITORY STATES

Amministrazione Caos Popolare began life in Rome in 2010 on the initiative of Luigi Ranieri and Nicolas Sabini, two experienced musicians with different backgrounds. At the very beginning they began playing cover but soon they turned their attention to the composition of original pieces and started playing live on the local scene sharing their interests with other musicians that completed the line up. At the end of 2014 the band self released an interesting debut album entitled Sendai Nebula with a line up featuring Luigi Ranieri (guitar, vocals), Nicolas Sabini (bass, synthesizers, flute), Andrea Aliberti (guitar), Andrea Di Giovenale (piano, keyboards, synthesizers) and Attilio Renzetti (vocals). The overall sound of the band is not stuck in the past and combines neo-prog with other influences such as psychedelia, hard rock or new wave. The music is accessible but never banal and every now and again could recall some recent works by Franco Battiato without being too derivative. According to the official website, the title of the album refers to the passage from normality to an emotional, altered state and comes from the combination of two words: "Sendai", a term taken from a cyberpunk novel by William Gibson that defines a cyberdeck, a kind of machine that allows transportation to an electrostatic cloud where the peripheral nervous system changes, and "Nebula", a Latin word that defines a vaporous, transitory state. The art work by Ivan Pedretti in some way depicts this concept dealing with dreams, emotions and thoughts...

The opener "Esistenzialista" (Existentialist) starts by a burst of energy that takes you far away on a cold starry night. A multitude of thoughts and feelings pass through your mind in a stream of consciousness as you are wondering about the mysteries of the universe, trying to discover fragments of your future in the oracles of an ancient divination text called I Ching... In this fantastic, galactic ride there's room for relax and reflection as the rhythm calms down and the atmosphere becomes dreamy. But there's still a deep sense of uneasiness lingering in the air before the rhythm takes off again. You have to open your mind to avoid falling down, you are the maker of your own existence...

The following "Onde" (Waves) features the guest Roberto Segala on drums and begins with the sound of the sea in the background and a delicate piano passage. Then the rhythm rises evoking lively dances and the far echoes of a summer spent on a solitary beach... The music and lyrics draw games of light on the water and dreamy, distant horizons, new sensations and melted dreams. Bright memories alternates with the dark shadows of remorse and everything is carried away by the raging waves of destiny...

The melancholic, introspective "Buio assoluto" (Absolute dark) is my favourite track on this album. The music and lyrics depict a heavy silence coming down that begins to freeze a river of dancing words between smiles and sadness... Well, imagine a man who is looking at his dying father: asking for a few more words he begins to fly down into deep memories, between waves and regrets, errors and fears, joy and tears...

The folksy "Liverpool" is sung in English and depicts the image of a lady on a ship in the port of Liverpool. She's got a flower in her hand. She's ready to set off on her journey and hopes to leave poverty and famine behind her, maybe she's directed to America... It's an old, dramatic story of emigration that unfortunately has not lost its actuality.

The long, dark instrumental "Abandon" every now and again reminds me of Pink Floyd and leads to the surreal, dreamy "E la luna fuma" (And the moon smokes) where the music and lyrics conjure up the image of a strange moon that comes down from the sky just to sit in front of a glass of wine, smoking a cigarette like a black and white diva in an old movie. Maybe you will find her in a desert coloured of utopia trying to make real what people believe is nothing but fantasy...

The notes of Jingle Bells open the last track of the album, the long epic "Noël" (Christmas) where the hopes and feelings of a little child on Christmas Night are compared with the hopes and feelings of an old man who has not lost all his dreams and hopes. Time and space are intertwined in a dance of memories... There are sounds to cover the silences and smiles to smother the screams as Father Christmas comes on a bolero rhythm just to put another brick in the wall...

On the whole a very interesting album, full of poetry and dreamy atmospheres! Have a try and judge by yourselves, you can listen to the complete album HERE.

More info:

http://www.acpmusic.net/ 

https://www.facebook.com/Amministrazione-Caos-Popolare-117963204977657/ 

THE RIGHT MOMENT

Blank Forest began life in Udine in 2012 on the initiative of Luca Moreale (guitar, vocals) and Valerio Simonini (keyboards) with the aim of creating original music blending different genres. Later the line up was completed by Michele Di Gleria (drums) and Carlo De Biaggio (bass) and in 2014 the band self released a debut album entitled Kayros. The title of the album refers to a word in Ancient Greek that means "the right or the opportune moment" and that can describe in some way the lyrical content of this interesting work. The overall sound of the band is varied and rich, the music swings from calm, acoustic passages to heavier moments but without growling or screaming voices. Although the vocal parts are not particularly theatrical nor operatic they fit the melancholic mood of the album...

album cover

The long opener "Drawing Lines" starts softly and sets the atmosphere. The music and words evoke melancholy and rage, doubts and determination, pain and rebellion. There are many changes in rhythm, strummed acoustic guitars passages alternate with more aggressive electric parts while the dreamy vocals every now and again remind me slightly of Anthony Kiedis...

Next comes "Passion Brings The Energy" where reflective moments alternate with fiery passages and some echoes of west coast sprinkled with a pinch of exoticism. Suspended between past and future, life appears different and you feel a fire burning inside under the light of a new rising awareness...

The following "Falling Stars" deals with roots and memories that come back. The loss of an important person in your life can't be the end of the world if the light of his (or her) example still shines on you and his (or her) soul can still show the way to follow... Then comes the introspective "Landslip", a disquieting, diluted ballad where dreams turn into nightmares and you can't decide what is real and what is not and where the ground is shaking under your feet on the edge of an impending change...

Blank Forest 2014

The long suite "Crystal Eyes" is the main course of the album. At over thirty one minutes in length, this is a real epic. It's divided into seven parts and is about growing up, trying to heal the consequences of deep traumas, fighting day after day against ghosts and shadows, choosing time after time between good and bad: the music and words drive you through the psychoanalytical analysis of a broken man, beaten by the wild winds of life, a man who now risks to burn out, and is on the edge of suicide... Eventually the short closer "Crucial" ends the album with a final jump into the night on a soft piano pattern.

On the whole, I think that this is a good album and it's really worth listening to. Although the vocal parts might not always be convincing and you could find some passages a bit uneven, the band have a good potential and I'm sure they will do better in the future. Anyway, have a try and judge by yourselves! You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/blankforestproject/ 

BRILLIANT CONTRAST

Adc is the third studio album by Accordo dei Contrari, a band from Bologna. It was released in 2014 on the independent label Altrock with a consolidated line up featuring Marco Marzo (electric and acoustic guitar), Daniele Piccinini (bass), Cristian Franchi (drums) and Giovanni Parmeggiani (Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, Minimoog, acoustic piano). According to the liner notes, the album was recorded live in studio in Riolo Terme, a small town in the province of Ravenna. The recording sessions took only three days with short overdubs and this work is the expression of a very cohesive collective. It reflects the positive atmosphere of the period the members of the band spent together with the aim of depicting the dynamics or the contrasts you see in everyday life through sounds... The result is an excellent instrumental album recommended to fans of bands such as Area, D.F.A or Perigeo.

album cover

The opener "Nadir" begins softly, the mood is dreamy. The title refers to a word coming from Arab that defines the direction pointing directly below a particular location... After a while the dreamy atmosphere changes, the rhythm becomes nervous before calming down again, but it's just a momentary pause before a new electric, frenzied ride towards deep underground spaces...

According to the liner notes, the following "Dandelion" is dedicated to Geoff Logsdon, the founder of Pleasant Green Records. The title refers to a large genus of flowering plants native to Eurasia and North America usually found as commonplace wild flowers worldwide. It's a tense, dynamic piece full of energy that could recall the soundtracks of Italian 70s action films...

The mysterious "Seth Zeugma" is enhanced by the contribute of two guest musicians, Vladimiro Cantaluppi (violin) and Enrico Guerzoni (cello). This piece blends with excellent results classical music elements with electric, jazzy inspirations and Middle Eastern touches of colour. There are many changes in tempos and mood and some passages could recall Area. The title comes from two words taken from the Ancient Greek. Seth refers to the god of the desert, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion while Zeugma is a figure of speech in which one single phrase or word joins different parts of a sentence...

The lively, pulsing "Dua" swings from funky passages to more obscure, disquieting moments and vice versa... The title seems to refer to an Arabic word meaning to "call out" or to "summon". According to wikipedia sources, in the terminology of Islam, dua is an act of supplication and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. Who or what is invoked here? The answer is up to you...

Accordo dei Contrari 2014

The title of the following "Tiglath" could refer to an ancient king of Assyria (in the liner notes there's no explanation). In some way listening to this beautiful piece makes think of the film The Scorpion King, even if it was set in Egypt and not in contemporary Syria. Try to imagine a mysterious, powerful king coming to life again to carry out his terrible vengeance against those found guilty of the raging war that is destroying everything, even the archaeological sites, in his former kingdom... Here the music features some Middle Eastern flavours and could recall again Area and their revolutionary energy and musical force.

The delicate, acoustic "Più limpida e chiara di ogni impressione vissuta, part II" (Clearer, brighter than any lived impression) features the guests Vladimiro Cantaluppi (violin) and Marina Scaramagli (cello) and ends the album with a dreamy mood. According to the liner notes, this piece is dedicated to a woman, Annachiara, and its atmosphere is very different from the frenzied, aggressive first part that was released on the previous album Kublai in 2011. If both parts try to describe in music the hopes and fears of everyone's life, this one is definitively more calm and optimistic and represents a perfect conclusion for a beautiful, intense work that is really worth listening to...

Have a try! You can listen to the complete album HERE

Accordo dei Contrari: Adc (2014). Other opinions:

Olav Martin Bjørnsen: Instrumental progressive rock that ranges from frail chamber rock to ‘70s jazz-rock and progressive hard rock is what ADC explores on their third studio recording "AdC". An intriguing blend of musical styles, explored with care and consideration by high quality musicians. If you have a soft spot for instrumental progressive rock and a taste for variety, this is a disc that merits a closer inspection... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Accordo-dei-Contrari-112658971576/ 

http://www.accordodeicontrari.com/ 

A SLEEPWALK IN THE PARK

Apple Device were a prog Roman band that had been active with different line ups on the live local scene from 2003 to 2011 but did not have the chance to record anything but a couple of demos. In 2013, on the initiative of multi-instrumentalist Marco Berlenghini and vocalist Flavio Stazi, the band came to a new life as a duo and under a different name, Inior, and in 2014 they finally self-released an interesting debut album of original compositions that was recorded with the help of some guests such as Daniele Pomo (drums, from Ranestrane), Stefano Marzioni (guitars) and Domenico Dante (bass). The album is entitled Hypnerotomachia and, according to the liner notes, it is a conceptual work that tells about the spiritual journey of a man leading him from the disruption of the appearances of the contemporary society to the inner self. As for the title, it probably refers to a peculiar path in the Gardens of Bomarzo that was inspired by a book entitled Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (translated into English as Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream or The Dream of Poliphilus) that presents a mysterious arcane allegory in which the protagonist pursues his sweetheart through a dreamlike landscape...

art cover

The dreamy opener "The Paper Ship" sets the atmosphere with a delicate, waltzing instrumental intro where electric guitar and piano perfectly interact backed by the rhythm section. Then the hermetic lyrics theatrically interpreted by the voice of Flavio Stazi draw visionary images and conjure up a vibrating dance of feelings and emotions... Back to the liner notes: "An invocation to a water-Nymph, a propitiatory dance and the journey starts with a huge stone labyrinth pushing you down. No one can save you from the motionless cruelty of a slow dying habit and from the tragedy of not being able to hug anyone else but yourself. And then mirrors, spasms, jumps, understanding, death, seeds and a flower singing you a song of lightness and freedom".

Next comes the beautiful instrumental "Mu.S.E." (Music and Subtle Ensemble) that leads to the dark, nightmarish "Stain of Steel" where the music and words evoke a gloomy scenery and a sense of loss. You can feel the pressure pulsing on your bones and deep shadows cover your thoughts while crimson monsters of stone start coming out from your mind as notes from a musical box. You follow a thread but soon you realize that it is just a false guide that's tying you down to insanity...

The melancholic notes of "Worn-Out" take you in a desperate game of mirrors where the words try to tear apart a veil of solitude and obsolete attitudes. With the following "From Blue To Red" the rhythm rises again and the nightmare continues between lights and shadows, majestic crimson flashes and flat widescreens. The lyrics draw disquieting, confused images while the music every now and again seems to bring the echo of distant voices coming from the eighties. Nonetheless a mighty will is growing...

The ethereal "Starslave" is like a strange sleepwalk towards the sky on a dark, artificial curve. Then, on the following "Resilient", black turns to blue, tension slackens and you begin to float out of control in the empty space, defying the gravity force. On "INI.OR" you crawl into delirium, the rhythm becomes frenzied... Then, suddenly tension melts and the storm calms down on the piano pattern that opens the final track, "Dust". Now you're back to earth with a new awareness and a lighter soul...

All in all, it was just a strange dream. To be honest, the lyrics are not the strength of this album and the concept might be a bit confused but the music is excellent and this work is really worth listening to. Maybe the beautiful art cover by Diego Zura Puntaroni, based on an engraving of Ole Worm's Cabinet of Curiosity, describes the content of the album better than all my words... Have a try and judge by yourselves: you can listen to the complete album HERE.

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/inior/ 

http://www.inior.it/en/ 

WELCOME ON BOARD!

Res Gesta come from San Giovanni in Persiceto, a small town in the province of Bologna and have been around for more than thirty years as a cover band, trying to give new life to old seventies progressive rock pieces. In 2015 they finally self released a debut album of original compositions with a line up featuring Enea Vezzali (drums), Luigi Cerasuolo (bass), Cesare Cavalli (guitar), Simone Muzzi (keyboards) and Roberto Bergamini (vocals). The album is entitled Odissea and is a conceptual one, a sparkling rock opera with more than 73 minutes of good music and strong melodies. Years of hard work have resulted in a very mature sound and although you can hear on this album some influences from the past the band managed to add their own ideas and personality with excellent results. As you can guess, the story-line was inspired by the Odyssey but the band interpreted it in a very personal way trying to link Homer's immortal poetry to our contemporary society...

The beautiful, long opener "Overture" starts softly with an instrumental section for piano that could recall Goblin, then the rhythm takes off. In the night you're welcomed on board of a mysterious ship that is setting off on a journey across a raging sea, towards unknown lands where you will find war, ambiguities, unreality and ferocious ogres to deceive. You are troubled by your own fragility and you feel lost, you don't know what are you looking for... Who can save you?

The disquieting "Guerra" (War) is a metaphor of all the wars in human history. It begins by the sound of distant hooters and obsessive bass lines, then recitative vocals evoke the image of a powerful army debarking on a beach from their battle ships under a gray asphalt sky, the rhythm rises... You can see the heroes ready to conquer and defeat their enemy: there's no room for agreements, any mediation is out of question and all the dreams of peace have to be closed in a box, put away and hidden in a remote part of the mind, because war is more remunerative than peace and money is the only real God. From the ancient walls of Troy to the Twin Towers, billions of people have been walking through the flames of an eternal hell between blood and treason, damned forever in the name of their God!

"Il giorno dopo" (The day after) is a dreamy, acoustic ballad filled with emotion and melody that comes like the calm after the storm. The day after the final battle there is still fire on the ruins of the conquered city. The night of tragedy and death is over and all stands still in this morning without heroes, there's no crowd in the streets and you feel stranded and broken inside. Now the fire is behind you and you have to wake up and set off on another journey. In front of you there are sleepless night filled with the desperate voices of your memories but you have no time to waste, you have to go on following a new route towards the horizon, to reach what you can't reach, to see what you can't see, to feel what you can't feel...

The following "Lotofagi" (Lotus-eaters) begins by an exotic percussion pattern and features a strange, mysterious atmosphere. The rhythm is slow, inebriated by the sacred flowers of the Gods you're floating among the clouds of an unreal sky, lost in a kind of artificial psychedelic peace that shines like a light into oblivion... Then the rhythm rises while soaring vocals wake you up from your seep cutting like a knife the curtain of illusion that makes you blind. Now you're back on your route across the see...

album cover

"Ciclope" (Cyclops) is a long, complex track that deals with a terrible, murderous danger that you can meet during your peregrinations. In Greek mythology a cyclops was a member of a primordial race of men-eaters giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. Polyphemus was the name of the one Odysseus met during his mythical journey but here the lyrics use the cyclops just as a metaphor to warn you about the cynicism of media and trash TV. It's described as a dangerous eye that can judge and condemn, it can destroy everything, tame people and make a man special... A wild modern monster that in some way is depicted on the album cover as well!

"Circe" is a lively, sarcastic track where the voice of Roberto Bergamini reminds me more than ever of Francesco Di Giacomo from Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. In Greek mythology Circe is a goddess of magic (or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress) but here she's depicted just as a hard-headed, wise woman who fights for her peace and her moral values. She's not a witch nor a supernatural creature, she's not more wicked than a powerful king can be or than a greedy, egoist business man in our sad contemporary reality where there's no pity for the losers. All in all, if she has transformed some people into swines it's just because so they are the mirror of clergymen and merciless butchers...

"Sirene" (Sirens) is beautiful, evocative track with a Gothic atmosphere and a suggestive sense of mystery. No need for lyrics here, just the female vocals a cappella of the guests from the Macramé choir, Michela Pedrini, Serena Pecoraro and Elisabetta Dell'Argine, who weave seducing harmonies leading to the following "Calipso", a long, romantic piece describing the moment of Odysseus departure from his golden captivity in the island of the nymph Calypso. Well, it's a nice way to describe the end of an intense, complicated relationship with strong melodies, a pinch of blues and a beautiful instrumental coda that could recall a wonderful springtime song...

On "Déjà vu" the rhythm rises again, the mood is dark while aggressive electric guitar riffs are intertwined with raging keyboards waves. The lyrics describe the feelings of a man who seems to have lost his identity, the borders between reality and unreality are blurred by infinite waves and new horizons. Lost memories dance in sleepless nights... Is it magic or madness?

The dreamy, poetical "Eolo" (Aeolus) and "Overture (Reprise)" end the album leading you to a new awareness. You're riding on the wind, flying high in the silence, breathing the intensity of a moment that no one can tell. Well, your journey was nothing but a dream, now the dark night is just a distant memory and you are walking in the present, maker of you own destiny in a world that conjures up strange shadows and illusions that after a while are thrown away... You're playing a big game and now you know where the wind's blowing: get the chance and set off on another journey, pace after pace!

On the whole, I enjoyed very much this album and I'm sure that Italian prog lovers will appreciate it as well. Contact the band to get the CD...

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/Res-Gesta-Odissea-614159418623198/