STRANGE WAVES

Live: Waves From the Underground is the ninth studio album by Daal and was released in 2025 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash Records label. Despite the title, it’s not a live album but the fruit of three days of jam sessions that took place in Rome during October 2023. During those days the band featuring Alfio Costa (Mellotron, MiniMoog, PolyMoog, Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, synthesizers), Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion), Ettore Salati (guitars) and Roberto “Bobo” Aiolfi (bass) the band was particularly inspired and productive, so much so that they decided to select the best moments from the jam sessions and rework them, giving them a more definite shape and meaning. Anyway, the artwork seems to suggest a rather dark atmosphere...

Almost all the individual tracks are identified by a date and a location derived from geographical coordinates. The first, “W.F.T.U. 09.03.2020 (45°41'42''N 9°40'12''E)”, takes us to Bergamo during the sad days of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of victims was so high that military vehicles were required to transport the bodies and incinerate them. The images of those events, broadcast by the media, are etched in the memory of all Italians and it's not by chance that the music here is so sinister and disturbing...

The following “W.F.T.U. 15.09.2008 (51°30'N 0°11'W)” takes us to Kensington, London, on the day of Richard Wright's death, to whom the piece is dedicated. On the same day, Lehman Brothers (the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank) went bankrupt in New York, and soon the streets of London would be invaded by protests over the Wall Street Crisis, but this is another story... Her you have a slow pace, melancholy atmospheres, and Gilmour-esque guitar sounds for a requiem in honour of the Pink Floyd keyboardist, an artist who, with his talent, opened new paths to travel to the far side of the moon...

“W.F.T.U. 26.04.1986 (51°23'21.98''N 30°05'57.01''E)” takes us to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the moment of the explosion of reactor No. 4. The tragic consequences of the episode are well known. In the background, a female voice can be heard speaking in Russian, while percussion instruments and strange sound effects convey a strong sense of anguish. A warning about the mistakes of the past and the dangers of the present...

“Daeconstruction Brain Melody” is a brilliant new interpretation of a piece that appeared on the band's debut album from 2009, Disorcanicorigami. Compared to the original, it lacks the unsettling power of Alessandro Papotto's sax, but its absence is compensated by the excellent guitar work...

“W.F.T.U. 20.07.1969 (8°30'N 31°24'E)” takes us to South Sudan on the day a human being walked on the Moon for the first time. The rarefied atmospheres of space soon give way to ethnic influences reminiscent of caravan journeys through the desert: two different types of desert to explore. What emerges is the contrast between humanity's ambition to explore space and its inability to focus on the desolate realities of Earth, forgotten because they hold no interest...

“Daeconstruction Decalogue Part 1” is the reinterpretation of a piece from the 2018 album Decalogue of Darkness. Back in 2018 the band shot a video for it: the video features the images of some monks attempting to defeat the devil, followed by rides of witches, dark Sabbaths and satanic rituals. Well, this new version captures the atmosphere of the original perfectly...

“W.F.T.U. 01.09.1928 (51°31'2'N 0°10'23'W)” is a long piece with a dreamy and relaxed atmosphere, but not without rhythmic and melodic surprises, that takes us to St. Mary's Hospital in London at the time when the Scottish doctor Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. Regarding his discovery, later Dr. Fleming stated: "One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionise all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I suppose that was exactly what I did..."...

“W.F.T.U. 02.06.1946 (41°53'35'N 12°28'58'E)” takes us to Italy on the day the Italian Republic was founded. From the Tyrrhenian Sea, we can admire the coast of a country at the dawn of a new era, a country eager to leave behind the burdensome legacy of monarchy and fascism and turn the page. Drum rolls and a disquieting opening reminiscent of Goblins in Deep Red seem to suggest that this day of celebration is only the beginning of a long and challenging journey...

The last track, “W.F.T.U. 25.07.1943 (41°53'46.32''N 12°28'53.4''E)”, takes us to Rome on the day of the fall of fascism. World War II was still raging, but the piece's solemn pace seems to suggest feelings of hope, resilience, and faith in the future...

On the whole, an interesting and challenging album that need its time to be fully appreciated but that will reward you in the end.

You can listen the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC

FIRST SEPS

Nuova Idea formed in Genoa in 1970 from the ashes of another band called Plep and later J.Plep. After a beat-oriented beginning and a few singles, they changed musical direction and converted to progressive rock, even taking part in the first Viareggio pop festival where they played a lengthy suite. Their debut album, In The Beginning, was released in 1971 on the Ariston label and features a line-up including Marco Zoccheddu (guitar, vocals), Claudio Ghiglino (guitar, vocals), Giorgio Usai (keyboards, vocals), Enrico Casagni (bass, flute, vocals), and Paolo Siani (drums, vocals). According to an interview with Paolo Siani (in Prog Italia magazine 42), the label released the album, without informing the band, using the demo of the suite (recorded with inadequate resources) and the previous singles just to ride the success the band exhibition obtained in Viareggio: Our first album wasn't supposed to exist, at least not as people know it. The Ariston released it without our knowledge... Obviously, the homogeneity between the compositions was ruined: it really seemed like the product of two different bands...

Despite the less than perfect recording quality, the lengthy suite that occupies side A of the album, “Come, Come, Come... (Vieni, vieni, vieni)”, is well-composed and not without interest for fans of the genre. It's a piece inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth and, despite the English title, is sung in Italian. The lyrics don't attempt to literally translate the bard's writing but try to interpret its emotion in an original and personal way. The piece opens with a slow pace and a dark atmosphere, with the organ taking centre stage. Then the pace increases and becomes frenetic, leading to the first sung part, which features Macbeth recalling how he killed Duncan to become king in his place, as foretold by three old witches. He felt the strongest, the greatest of all, and no one could stop him. He killed the traitors and no one could judge him. A calmer section follows, where Macbeth recalls how he loved wandering in the forest at night, where he saw the branches of the trees reaching toward the dark sky, resembling the arms of those he had killed, and heard the desperate cries of those seeking justice all around him. The lyrics then interpret those voices: Macbeth's final hour will come, too; his kingdom will fall in shame and sorrow when the branches of Birnam Wood will move to besiege his castle. Macbeth will fall on the battlefield, and peace will return; only a legend will remain of him, to be told to posterity. The piece ends with a long instrumental section, complete with a drum solo that evokes the thunderous sounds of the battle...

The album's second side - in a beat style - opens with "Realtà" (Reality), a track that alternates dreamy sections and hard rock riffs. The lyrics and music evoke the image of children playing war in front of an adult. The adult reflects on how different the reality of war is from that of children's games and recalls that when he was little boy, he too played war and his mother tried to hide reality from him, because you can't discover the world in a day...

“La mia scelta” (My choice) is a song halfway between hard rock and psychedelia, reflecting hippie ideology and giving voice to a boy who leaves the city he loved so much to seek freedom in the isolation of the mountains. There he will soothe his anger and stress, breathe pure air, gaze at the stars without the filter of smog, and feel like heaven...

“Non dire niente... (Ho già capito)” (Do not say anything... I’ve already understood) is a melodic song in which the protagonist, while sipping good wine, learns from his girlfriend that he'll soon be a father. His reaction is an explosion of joy. The central section recalls C.S.&N. Well, the lyrics don't mention the girl's eyes colour. but I suspect they're blue...

The last track, “Dolce amore” (Sweet love), might recall early New Trolls. It describes the feelings of a man remembering an ex girlfriend and hoping that one day she too will remember him...

On the whole, an interesting but still immature work that documents the band's musical evolution from the beat of the late sixties to the prog of the early seventies.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Nuova Idea: In The Beginning (1971). Other opinions:

Michael “Aussie-Byrd-Brother”: Comparable to what bands like Osanna and the New Trolls were doing at the same time, ‘In the Beginning’ is wild, rough around the edges and a little directionless, but it's still a glorious mess of ideas and styles. Nuova Idea had yet to deliver grander and more polished progressive rock, but this is colourful psychedelic music from a band still finding their feet yet bursting with confidence and imagination. ‘Clowns’ and ‘Mr E Jones’ may be their defining moments, but there's still plenty of inventive psychedelic instrumentation, hazy rock atmospheres and cool tunes on ‘In The Beginning’... (read the complete review HERE)

URBAN MATHEMATICS

Disequazione came to life in 1980 in Trieste on the initiative of Giorgio Radi and Vinicio Marcelli, both fans of bands such as King Crimson or Camel in a period when this kind of music was considered completely out of fashion. After many problems, personnel changes and an intermittent live activity on the local scene, in 2016 the band finally managed to release an excellent debut album, entitled Progressiva desolazione urbana, on the independent Andromeda Relix label with a line up featuring Giorgio Radi (bass), Vinicio Marcelli (guitar, flute), Dario Degrassi (keyboards), Fiodor Cicogna (drums) and Luca Sparagna (vocals). The years spent performing live and honing their skills have resulted in an excellent, mature work in the best tradition of Italian progressive rock...

The opener “Inutile” (Useless) every now and again might recall Le Orme. The music and lyrics paint the image of a man soaring above the city, observing people with an air of indifference while remaining invisible to others. He flies first high, then lower, almost to the level of the side-walk, filling his lungs with unhealthy air before rising again. After an instrumental interlude, the second part gives the protagonist advice. He must find someone who can take him out of time and explain the world to him; there's no point in trying alone. The protagonist can only find himself if he can see reality within the dark circle of the world, but first he must try to see his true self, otherwise it will all be for naught...

In “Il vaso di Pandora” (Pandora’s box) at times the music recalls King Crimson and Camel. It is a hermetic reflection on the passing of time. You can't steal time's innocent image, because its gaze is destined to change and transform you, depriving you of a freedom you'll soon find yourself desperately longing for...

Disequazione on stage, 2015

“E’ giorno ormai” (It’s day by now) is a brief reflection on alienation and disconnection from reality. It evokes the image of a man locked in his white room and his inner world. He's free of anxiety and expectations, forgotten by people, with his madness as his companion. For him time no longer has any value and he can no longer perceive the call of the day and of real life...

“Nel giardino del piccolo Gik” (In the little Gik’s garden) encompasses dreamlike atmospheres that at times become disturbing and dark. The hermetic lyrics evoke strange notes, rarefied by fantasy, and an uncertain race between madness and hope, mud and faith in progress. Little Gik's Garden is certainly a magnificent and imaginary place, but it strongly recalls the Garden of Eden and a forbidden fruit that has led man far away, despite himself and not for the better...

“Progressiva desolazione urbana” (Progressive urban desolation) is a long instrumental piece divided into three parts that closes the album. The title evokes the unnatural urban concentrations that accentuate the emptiness between people rather than foster socialisation and the liner notes include a quote from the poet Eugenio Montale, reminding us that living in concrete cages is a condemnation to loneliness. The music, however, is excellent, alternating nervous rhythmic passages and ghostly atmospheres with other more relaxed and dreamy moments. After all, sharing the experience of good music is a way to make the desolate urban landscape of a big city less oppressive...

On the whole, a work that definitely deserves a place in an Italian prog collection!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Disequazione: Progressiva desolazione urbana (2016). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: This album has a bit of a nostalgic vibe for me as it seems to capture the sound that made me fall for progressive rock in the first place so long ago. I like that the production is somewhat relaxed and warm compared to a lot of new releases that can be so loud and digitally cold. This album is much more "crackling fireplace at ski lodge" than "mega-crisp stadium show on flatscreen" if you catch my drift. The only possible complaint one could lodge here is that the songwriting doesn't attempt to break new ground, that it leans too much into the classic sound, too comfortable for the listener. I don't feel that way, but I wouldn't be surprised if some do. I would heartily suggest giving yourself permission to kick back and enjoy a sound that doesn't come along often anymore, a gift from Prog Nirvana to you... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063565959011

PURE GENESIS STYLE

Hailing from Milan, The Watch came to life in 2000 from the ashes of another band called The Night Watch. In fact, when the members of The Night Watch parted ways vocalist Simone Rossetti did not give up and gathered around him a brand new group of musicians to play Genesis covers and some original tracks in the same style. In 2001 the new band released an interesting debut album on the independent Lizard Records label with a line up featuring Simone Rossetti (vocals, flute, tambou), Simone Stucchi (programming), Roberto Leoni (drums, percussion), Gabriele Manzini (keyboards), Valerio Vado (electric and acoustic guitar) and Marco Schembri (bass, acoustic guitar) plus Sergio Taglioni (piano, organ, Moog, synthesizers) and Gino Menichini (additional keyboards). The music is in pure Genesis style, yet not without a personal touch. The artwork is taken from an old architecture printing, Prospettiva of Vignola, 1642...

The opener “DNAlien” is a piece about the risks of technology and the consequences that can befall humanity if people choose the most convenient, seemingly safe, path to fulfil their desires. The prevalence of aesthetics over the substance of things and feelings can lead to alienation, just as the prevalence of silence over words...

“The Ghost And The Teenager” is not a Gothic tale but a piece dealing with the unstoppable tendency of teenagers to get into trouble by following bad advice, such as drunk driving. In this case, the ghost is the bad advisor lurking in the depths of the mind of a teenager seeking reckless thrills, with all the dangers that come with them...

“Heroes” is the caustic portrait of a cynical, vain rock star who acts like an Olympian deity on stage, smiling at journalists and audiences, convinced he was chosen by God among all men to play his role... The next track, “Moving Red”, is a surreal description of a frenetic bus ride with a nightmarish atmosphere. Eventually the protagonist arrives in a town. Now he's under the spotlights to put on a show that captivates the audience. But if harmony and balance aren't strong enough the result could be a mess...

The short and melancholic “Riding The Elephant” contains a pinch of electronics and paints, albeit with somewhat hermetic tones, the figure of a young woman who manages to hide her wounds from the eyes of the people and to overcome a traumatic and difficult family situation by hiding her shyness with bold looks...

The final track, “...And The Winner Is...”, is a long piece in pastel shades where old, dusty, cobweb-filled canvases describe the passage of time and the complexity of human actions, which accumulate to form a surreal and enchanted landscape. The waves of time, with years and years of accumulated life and experiences, sculpt forms and feelings, years and years serving to shape the secret of human nature. The charm of a mysterious woman or that of a city derives from the intensity of overlapping and intersecting experiences. In the background, the city of Venice is dying, swallowed up by canals of wine and slowly succumbing to the unstoppable wear and tear of its houses built on poisonous pylons, following the rhythm of the tides...

On the whole, a perfect exercise of style that deserves its place in a prog collection.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.thewatchmusic.net/

https://www.facebook.com/thewatchprogband

THROUGH THE FIRE

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)