CONTRASTING FEELINGS

 Odi et amo, the third album by the Sfaratthons, was self-released in 2023 with a consolidated line up featuring Luca Di Nunzio (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), Cecilio Luciano (drums), Mario Di Nunzio (bass), Giovanni Casciato (guitars) and Giovanni Di Nunzio (guitar, vocals) plus the guests Geoff Warren (flute), Sabatino Matteucci (sax) and Alessandra Iandimarino (vocals). The music is, as in their previous albums, an excellent mix of vintage influences, modern sounds and bright new ideas in the best tradition of Italian prog. This time for the lyrics they were helped by Donato Di Luca and (in only one track) Pietro Lugli while the colourful art cover was painted by their friend and former bandmate Luca Luciano...

 

The beautiful instrumental opener, “Odi et amo”, begins with a dreamlike atmosphere but the delicate piano pattern and soaring flute notes are like the calm before the storm and the music goes on through many changes in mood and rhythm. The title is in Latin and refers to the incipit of a poem by the poet Catullus, Carme LXXXV. According to the liner notes, the music tries to evoke a mix of contrasting feelings and emotions such as hate and love or joy and pain drawing inspiration from the immortal poetry of Catullus...

“La donna amata” (The beloved woman) is another wonderful piece where dynamic progressive rock parts alternate with baroque passages leading through dreamy atmospheres and darker moments. The lyrics celebrate the love of a woman capable of shaking and giving strength to her man like a summer storm where the rain pouring down on the thirsty land can heal the wounds in the arid soil. The beloved woman shines like a fresh crescent moon in the sunset and after the storm is like an omen of adventure and a fulfilment of love...

The melancholic, mystic “Maddalena” is sung in Abruzzese dialect and tells in music and words of the feelings of a woman that tries to rediscover in the church near her home where she goes to pray what an evil man has stolen from her: faith and love. Many times she thought about taking her own life jumping off the cliff under the church with her eyes closed because her life sometimes seems worse than hell, bitter and dark like ash. But hope never dies and keeps her alive. The narrative vocals (in Italian) of the guest Alessandra Iandimarino close the piece playing the role of the protagonist...

 

“Saffo” is dedicated to a woman best known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music, Sappho, an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Most of Sappho's poetry is now lost and little is known of her life but her myth is still a source of inspiration for many hearts. Here she looks at you enraptured and feels like a goddess, one after the other she drinks the words of love coming from your smile and directed to her eyes, the eyes of woman eternally in love...

The long, complex “Zarina” (Tsarina) is dedicated to Maria Alexandrovna, born Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880), Empress of Russia as the first wife of Emperor Alexander II. She married when she was still a teenager and her marriage was unhappy. She suffered from tuberculosis from 1863 onwards and spent long periods of time in southern Europe, in particular in the Italian town of Sanremo, to avoid the harsh Russian winters. The music and lyrics evoke the feelings of a fisherman watching the unfortunate tsarina walking on the sand of Sanremo beach. To his eyes she looks coming out from one of his dreams. He can’t get closer to her because she’s surrounded by the people of her circle and he’s too unworthy for them. But he can see the sadness in her eyes and perceive her uncertain breathing. Soon she will be gone and what will be left of her presence is just an army of palms. In fact, grateful for the hospitality of the place, the empress donated the first palm trees to the Municipality of Sanremo which still today adorn the Passeggiata Imperatrice (Promenade of the Empress), on the Sanremo seafront...

“Ti dono una canzone” (I give you a song) was written and recorded in remote mode during the Covid 19 pandemic and is dedicated to all the healthcare personnel and to those who took care of the sick in that dramatic period, those who really gave their best to overcome the crisis caused by the spread of the virus. It’s a song to listen to at night, made of tears and wind, weaved in style with a few notes for those who made of their job an act of love...

The instrumental “Odi et amo - Closing Session” is a short experimental track that closes the album with a disquieting atmosphere and a soft flute melody that seems almost to escape and take off from strange background noises, hidden chats and thoughts...

On the whole, an excellent work that deserves a place in every Italianprog collection!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
https://www.sfaratthons.it/
https://www.facebook.com/sfaratthons/

A WONDERFUL JOURNEY

 Appunti di viaggio is the second album by the Sfaratthons, a band from Abruzzo whose roots date back to the seventies. It was recorded by a consolidated line up featuring Cecilio Luciano (drums), Giovanni Di Nunzio (lead vocals, guitar), Luca Di Nunzio (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Giovanni Casciato (electric guitar) and Mario Di Nunzio (bass) with the contribute of some guest musicians such as Geoff Warren (flute), Alessandro Saponaro (guitar), Giovanni Ferrari (sax) and the choir Chorale Trebula from Quadri, a little town in the province of Chieti. It was self-released in 2019 with a wonderful packaging in form of book, enriched by some paintings, extended liner notes and a short story by their friend and former bandmate Luca Luciano. It confirms all the good qualities of their 2016 debut work La bestia umana and goes even further, showcasing great song-writing skills and an improved sound quality... 

 

The wonderful opener “Appunti di viaggio” (Travel notes) is a long, complex instrumental piece that invites the listener to follow the band all along their musical journey around the world. It starts softly by the sound of the sea waves and goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere accompanying you through dreamy marine landscapes under the moonlight. It leads to the following “Vela” (Sail) with its marching beat and epic keyboards passage incipit where soaring flute arabesques conjure up the image of a surreal sail flying over the sea in a deep sky evoking bitter and sweet feelings. There’s joy, delirium and pain in the blowing wind that draws you away at dawn along with that sail...

The excellent “Cielo nero” (Black sky) describes in music and words the feelings of a timeless lover on the day before the meeting with his beloved woman. On a black night dotted with just a few stars he longs for his young bride and can’t sleep until the morning comes. It’s a restless wait full of dreams, expectations and hope...

“Notte” (Night) depicts a dark night in a big city where every shadow seems threatening and scary. Fear rules on the streets, on every step you take you can perceive the danger, every sound tears your heart apart, there is no room for peace and rest. Under the lamplights homeless, hungry people are walking in search for justice but they’re losing their faith while waiting for a new dawn and a better day...

 

The melancholic “Your War, Our War” starts by a sound of shots in the background and a voice taken from a radio broadcast speaking in French and commenting a picture with the image a dead little child on a beach. It’s the image of Aylan Kurdi... Then the rhythm rises while English vocals evoke an eternal emergency and a land ravaged by a war that nobody wants to see. There’s a sense of impending disaster and dark, grim omens for a hopeless future...

“Ne journe, n’anne” (A day, a year) is sung in Abruzzese dialect and deals with the relativity of time and space. The piece starts with a carefree flute pattern and a soft pace, then the music and words conjure up a dreamy atmosphere and a carousel of stars and moon while the choir might recall a kind of Christmas carol. Day after day time seems to stand still when you are surrounded by love and beauty, a year has passed by and you have the impression it lasted a single day...

“With All The Strength Of My Voice” opens with threatening keyboards waves and Latin rhythms. The music and the English lyrics depict the image of weapons and guns in a country filled by hatred where people desperately try to run away searching for a way out. Then there’s the ceasefire and peace comes back, the war is over and a new beginning is possible... The final part features voices in the background speaking in Spanish and a bold marching beat. According to liner notes, this piece was inspired by the peace agreement reached in Colombia between president Juan Manuel Santos and the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group involved in the long Colombian conflict started in 1964. On 23 June 2016 the accord was signed in Havana, Cuba...

“Vaije” (I keep on going) is another piece sung in Abruzzese dialect that describes in music and words the stubborn obstinacy of a man who never stops in his search for love and continues to travel around the world in the hope of filling the void in his heart. In his storming heart there’s rain and snow but he keeps on going following the route of the sun...

The lively “Trust” deals with environmental issues and ends the album with a message of hope. The pace is fast and the rhythm every now and again could recall The Pogues. The music and lyrics try to urge everyone to fix the damages that man behaviours have inflicted to our planet. There’s still time to save the Earth, but we’ve better hurry up...

On the whole, an excellent work and a really a must have for Italianprog collectors!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
https://www.sfaratthons.it/

https://www.facebook.com/sfaratthons/ 

THE HUMAN CONDITION

Distillerie di Malto took shape in 1988 in Ortona, in the province of Chieti. After a long period spent playing covers, composing and honing their skills, in 2001 the band finally managed to self-release an interesting debut album entitled Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi (The handbook of the little speeches) with a line up featuring Fabrizio Pellicciaro (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, recorder), Fabiano Cudazzo (keyboards), Marco Angelone (electric and nylon-string guitar), Maurizio Di Tollo (drums, percussion, vocals) and Salvatore Marchesano (bass) plus the guest Luca Latini (flute). It’s a labour of love, largely influenced by seventies sounds but not without a touch of originality. The art cover, that in some way tries to depict the musical content, reproduces a famous tableau by René Magritte, La condition humaine, 1933, one of the painter’s earliest treatments of the theme of window painting and of painting within a painting...

The opener “Allegro con brio” starts with a dramatic crescendo that leads to a more dynamic part and ends with a short vocal part sung in English that conjures up the image of a young woman sitting on the legs of a stranger, still waiting to find the right man... Then comes the long, complex “Phoebus” that every now and again could recall Genesis and Gentle Giant. It’s sung in English and tells in music and words the dark story of a dwarf that kills for vengeance and runs away but, in my opinion, this track is heavily penalised by vocals that here are not completely up to the task...

The dreamy atmospheres of the instrumental “Melodia di fine autunno” (Melody of late autumn) lead to the reflective “Aria e vento” (Air and wind), an intricate piece that, as you can guess from the subtitle, is about the doubts you can experience when confronted with the disclosure of your own anxieties. Confess or not confess you sins? Can you trust other people and open your heart feeling a sense of freedom or is it better keeping your secrets well locked up in a tower without windows nor walls? Sometimes it’s a hard choice and maybe you’d better take it easy and follow your fate... This time the vocals are in Italian and succeed in delivering a strong emotional impact.

 

The last track, “5/5/1555”, is a suite that recalls Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and is divided into three parts. It stages an imaginary dialogue, set on May 5, 1955, between the duke of Parma and his son about the combined marriage with the daughter of the king of France. The young man is in love with another girl, but the father tries to push him to take a decision with his brain and not with his heart. The first part is subtitled “Mattina” (Morning) and here we can listen to the duke telling his son to bury his bravery and to keep quiet his pride. The son is bewildered, confused, he can’t think... The second part is subtitled “Pomeriggio” (Afternoon) and is completely instrumental, it’s up to the your imagination figuring out the troubles of the young man who has to choose between love and power... The third part is subtitled “Sera” (Evening) and it’s where the son makes up his mind: although he cries for a while, his love slowly fades away in the name of the reason of the state...

On the whole, a good album that deserves a try!

More info:

https://www.distilleriedimalto.it/ 

https://www.facebook.com/Distillerie-di-Malto-944212708933196/ 

 

THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS

 Choruscant began life in Chieti in 2015 when three former members of Severed Garden, Joele Turchi (vocals, rhythm guitar), Giorgio Manca (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Ivan Di Sipio (keyboards, backing vocals), after the split up decided to go on and put together a new project teaming up with Davide Di Camillo (bass) and Leo Cornacchia (drums), inspired by prog bands such as Genesis, Jethro Tull, Dream Theater or Haken but also by artists such as Ennio Morricone or George Gershwin just to name a few. After a long, painstaking work, in 2020 they self-released an interesting debut album entitled A Christmas Carol, conceived as a tribute to the immortal Charles Dickens’ novella of the same name, a work that they still find valid today for its description of the complexity of the human soul and for its articulated social criticism. The band's sound emerges as a tasteful mixture of vintage prog, prog metal, folk rock and classical music while the lyrics and vocals try to respect as much as possible Charles Dickens’ work picking up some crucial passages of the novella and interpreting them in a theatrical way. Some guest musicians contribute to enrich the sound with excellent results and the final product is really worth listening to...

The instrumental opener “Victorian London And The White Snow” sets the atmosphere and takes you back in time, on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley... Then “To Begin With” introduces the first stave of the novella, “Marley's Ghost” with its incipit, “Marley was dead: to begin with...  Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail...”. The following “Scrooge” introduces the protagonist of the story and tells of the meeting with his nephew Fred and of his refusal to celebrate Christmas with his family. Then Scrooge turns away two men who seek a donation from him to provide food and heating for the poor and only regretfully allows his exploited clerk Bob Cratchit Christmas Day off with pay... Next comes “Marley (Seven Years Later)” that tells of the visit of Marley's ghost, condemned to wonder on Earth bearing heavy chains and money boxes because of his life of greed and selfishness. Marley’s ghost announces that three spirits are going to haunt Scrooge. As for the music, all these tracks are linked together and form a long suite with some passages clearly in debt with Gentle Giant although with a harder approach...

Next comes the long, complex “The Ghost Of Christmas Past” where we can appreciate the talent of the guest vocalist Sara Antonelli. This piece takes us to the second stave of the novella, “The First of the Three Spirits”, where the Ghost of Christmas Past dressed in a shiny white tunic visits Scrooge. The ghost clasps Scrooge gently by the arm and tells him to rise and to come along for a walk, then conjures up scenes from Scrooge’s boyhood and reveals other important episodes of his past, like a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, the birth of his nephew Fred or the end of his relationship with his girlfriend Belle. The aim of the ghost is to warn him about the consequences of his selfish way of life, Scrooge is very upset for this strange trip in the maze of his heart and quickly falls asleep... The music is excellent and here every now and again could recall Genesis and Marillion.

“The Ghost Of Christmas Present”, introduces the third stave of the novella, “The Second of the Three Spirits”, with the meeting between the Ghost of Christmas Present and Scrooge. Scrooge touches the robe of the ghost and they suddenly plunge into a busy market with people buying the makings of Christmas dinner... The following “The Torch” describes the city streets on Christmas morning, where the people make a rough, but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music, and the ghost’s torch: a very uncommon kind of torch that can do magic and restore good humour... Then “Cratchit’s Dwelling” depicts Bob Cratchit's family feast and his ill son Tiny Tim. Next comes the folksy “A Christmas Eve” that describes the journey through the celebrations of Christmas in various places and the visit to Fred's Christmas party while “Ignorance And Want” depicts two starved, dangerous children of Man, a boy called Ignorance and a girl called Want. “Midnight” is just a short passage that marks the ghost sudden disappearance and links the third stave with the fourth, “The Last of the Spirits”.

The hard electric guitar riffs of the dark “The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come” introduce the third spirit, the one Scrooge fears more than any spectre he has seen so far. The phantom slowly, gravely approaches... In the following “The Death Of An Old Man” the ghost shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future revealing the funeral disliked man... Then, in “An Uncertain Future” Scrooge asks to see tenderness connected with death and the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the death of Tiny Tim. The ghost then allows Scrooge to see a neglected grave, with a tombstone bearing his name. Upset, Scrooge pledges to change his way of life. “The End Of It” closes the album with a burst of positive energy and a lively marching beat... Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a different man and from that moment on he treats everyone with kindness, generosity and compassion, embodying the spirit of Christmas...

On the whole, a very good work!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/ChoruscantBand

A LOST GARDEN

 Severed Garden were a band from Chieti, Abruzzo, formed in 2009 by Joele Turchi (vocals, rhythm guitar), Giorgio Manca (lead guitar, backing vocals), Ivan Di Sipio (keyboards, backing vocals), Danilo D’Onofrio (bass) and Manuel Cernero (drums). In 2011 they self-released a promising debut album entitled Perspectives featuring five original pieces in neo-prog style and a Genesis cover. Unfortunately, the band didn’t last long after this first effort and gave up in 2015 but their music remains and in my opinion is still worth listening to... 

The nightmarish opener “The Last Cold Winter” deals with the difficult relationship between humankind and nature and features apocalyptic, hermetic lyrics where some Aztec gods like Tlaloc (god of the rain, of earthly fertility and of water) and Ehecatl (deity associated with the wind) personify the natural forces in a silent dream where blood is merged with  tears in a burning, dying land...

The nervous “The Invisible Box” tells about bad trips and strange, claustrophobic visions sucking out strength and freedom. The invisible box represents a prison with no doors nor way out, a pathetic exercise of senseless, unconscious masochism on a desperate psychedelic land... A good metaphor to describe the dangers of drug addiction!

The reflective, melancholic “Close Distance” deals the deep sense of loss for a missing person whose smile will remains forever in the memory of the protagonist while the following “Years Of Rain” is more aggressive. It’s a kind of invective against war, greediness and all sort of human madness that starts by the voice of Martin Luther King... "We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers…". 

The introspective “Hide” could recall Marillion and deals with the contrast between dreams and reality... The last track is a cover of Genesis’ “Firth Of Fifth”, a kind of “bonus track” and a tribute to one of Severed Garden’s main sources of inspiration.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

AN EVIL BEAST

Borrello is a beautiful small town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region, near the border with the province of Isernia in Molise. Nearby you can visit a natural park with the highest waterfalls in the Apennines, le Cascate del Verde. Here, in the middle of these magnificent panoramas, in the late seventies, five young friends in love with progressive rock music formed a band called the Sfaratthons, a word derived from the local dialect that can be loosely translated as "the idlers". The first line up of the band featured Cecilio Luciano (drums, vocals), Giovanni Di Nunzio (guitar, sax, vocals), Mario Rosato (keyboards), Bruno Di Nunzio (bass) and Luca Luciano (vocals, guitar). With the help of another friend, lyricist Argentino D'Auro, they started to work on a rock opera dealing with environmental issues entitled La bestia umana. Unfortunately, the band never managed to release an album during their early days and eventually split up in the eighties.

In 2011 some of the old members reunited with the idea of making an old dream come true. With a renewed line up featuring Cecilio Luciano (drums), Giovanni Di Nunzio (lead vocals, guitar, sax), Luca Di Nunzio (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Giovanni Casciato (bass, guitar) and Mario Di Nunzio (bass), the Sfaratthons started to work again on their old compositions. Another original member, Luca Luciano (Facebook), is now an appreciated painter and took charge of the art work while lyricist Argentino D'Auro wrote a book about the concept of the album and the history of the band... During the recording sessions the band was helped by some guest musicians such as Geoff Warren (flute), Berardo Adenolfi (guitar) and Giovanni Ferrari (sax) that contributed to enrich the sound. The album was finally completed and self-released in 2016 and I think it's really worth listening to. The music and lyrics are able to convey emotions and there's a vintage atmosphere that could recall some Italian album from the seventies...

The instrumental opener "Overture" is like a kind of time machine that takes you back in time. Imagine to dive in a sea of green grass in a foggy September morning... There are evocative vintage sounds and quiet pastoral atmospheres that could recall bands such as PFM or Blocco Mentale. Now you are surrounded by a still uncontaminated nature...

"La bestia umana" (The human beast) begins by what seems like a child's lament, a disquieting guitar arpeggio and swirling flute notes, then a marching beat and the voice of Giovanni Di Nunzio introduce a strange kind of evil animal, Mankind! Indeed, here the music and lyrics depict the human madness and its consequences: self-conceit, ruthlessness, disrespect and a fatal overestimation of the power of science lead to a natural disaster... The calm middle section conjure up the gloomy atmosphere of the day after while the drum beat of the final section come as a kind of funeral march.

The heartfelt, committed "Civiltà perduta" (Lost civilization) is a bitter complaint against human greediness and vanity. Men run after dreams of power and deceiving spectres that made them blind and unscrupulous, hate and terror become their myths, remnants of a civilization that celebrated its deadly rites to the gods of pride and stupidity. The bright sun of progress led men on a dangerous path and condemned them to doom, arid deserts now cover the land that once was green and blooming...

The delicate, dreamy "La dolce illusione" (The sweet illusion) is a sad, tormented reflection about a generation who lost every hope and now lives in the sweet illusion of a better future. It leads to the following "Smog" a frenzied track that describes in music and words the threatening shadow of a black, venomous cloud. You can feel here fear, anxiety and a sense of helplessness in front of another impending tragedy.

"Il verde" (Green) begins by hard electric guitar riffs and an almost martial pace. Then, melancholic vocals describe the systematic destruction of the forests, allowed by indifference and by political inertia. Men keep on committing the same errors condemning themselves to death... A bitter-sweet requiem to Mother Nature!

Next comes "Life In A Prison" a track that, despite the English title, is sung in Italian. It tells about the hypocrisy of artificial paradises built on sufferance and exploitation, chains and violence. You have to look for a way out... The music and lyrics of the dramatic "Epilogo" (Epilogue) seem to invoke the help of an extraterrestrial race, more evolute and wiser than humankind, just before the fatal return to naught.

Too late! "Dopo" (After) is a melancholic piano ballad that depicts a gloomy landscape made of lunar deserts... What have we done? The marching beat and a celestial choir evoke a sad farewell to humankind. The short closer "Uomo" (Man) features narrative vocals and poetical lyrics. It's just a final warning about an impending danger that maybe we are not able to see...

All in all, this is very interesting work, a labour of love that deserves a try!

You can listen to the complete album on deezer or spotify.

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/sfaratthons/ 

https://www.sfaratthons.it/

EGO TRICKS

Nuova Divisione began life in 2009 in Avezzano, a town in the province of L'Aquila, in an area called Marsica. After a still immature work self-released in 2012, Once Upon a Time, in 2014 they self-released an ambitious and more refined sophomore album titled The Last Man In Europe, with a line up featuring Daniele Mari (drums, percussion), Alessandro Rivolta (bass, synthesizers, piano, vocals), Simone Salucci (piano, organ, synthesizers, Mellotron, vocals) and Francesco Mezzoprete (guitars). Despite the Italian name, the main influences of the band come from across the Channel and range from The Beatles to Pink Floyd and Genesis. The result is an interesting mix of psychedelia and progressive rock with a vast array of vintage sounds and a strong leaning to melody. The Last Man In Europe's music and lyrics (in English) tell of a man overwhelmed by his ego while the artwork and a surreal short story (in Italian) that you can find in the booklet try to help you to understand better the subject matter: in fact, here images and words are like the layers of a bad dream, just hanging memories that you can hardly define in the morning...

art cover

The opener "Here's The Light" starts softly with a spacey, mysterious atmosphere, then the rhythm rises and the story begins, the story of a man who dared to challenge gods, fate and fears. There's a beggar at your door and he looks like you... The following "Have You Ever Wondered Why?" recalls Genesis and raises some questions that could lead to an existential crisis, but beware! The road is dangerous and you could run like hell into a wall just waiting for the final cut... "Mind Your Steps" is a short instrumental track that could recall EL&P with a pinch of Jethro Tull, the tension is high but after a while the rhythm calms down...

"The Contract" is a nice, light track that recalls The Beatles and describes the deal with a mysterious character who can give you anything you want: all you have to do is signing the contract with a blood drop. Next comes "I Don't Care" that takes you to the land of consumerism and egoism. You can go everywhere, so why not having breakfast in America, for instance? No need of explanations, time is worthless, there's no need to care about other people, now your ego is the only religion... Then, on the melodic "If You Want it" you can hear here, there and everywhere the singing sirens of desire, the tempting sound of a pied piper and you let it be...

"A Creature Of Reality (a.k.a. The Egosystem)" begins by a marching beat and drum rolls. You're losing control, you get lost in a nightmare but there's no time for pain, the spirits all around you are cold and you can see a shiny glow... Then comes the psychedelic "Remember The Future" full of dark visions and obscure omens and the mellow, yellow "Stop Your Mind" where thoughts keep on swirling all around and your damned ego begins to play bad tricks tearing you down. On "Here's The Night" the mood is even darker while the nightmare gets worse and worse. You gaze regretfully at the bloody contract while the walls around you turn into mirrors reflecting your immeasurable ego...

The long, complex suite "The Last Man In Europe" concludes the album. It's divided into three parts (Abomination Of Desolation - It Was A Fake Moustache - A Storm In A Teacup) and depicts a surreal landscape. Your ego was so big that there was no room for anyone else, now you're alone! You're the only inhabitant of a brand new world, and you're feeling terribly sad and desperate... Is this really what you call life?

On the whole a good album, even if it doesn't shine for originality. All the members of the band are still young but they're all skilled musicians and I'm sure that they will do better in the future. Anyway, have a try and judge by yourselves...

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nuova-Divisione/110623055701481 

A FINE MUSICAL BREWERY

Le Distillerie di Malto come from Ortona, in the province of Chieti, and began life in the late eighties playing covers of prog rock bands such as Jethro Tull, Genesis or King Crimson. In 2001 they self released an interesting début album featuring original compositions, Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi. In 2014, after a long hiatus, le Distillerie di Malto came finally back with a brand new album released on the French label Musea Records and titled Suono! (Sound!). The current line up features Marco Angelone (guitar), Fabiano Cudazzo (keyboards), Alessio Palizzi (drums), Fabrizio Pellicciaro (vocals, guitar) and Giuliano Torelli (bass) but two former members, Maurizio Di Tollo (drums) and Luca Latini (flute) contributed to the recording sessions and are credited as special guests. The final result of their work is absolutely worth listening to and I'm sure that Italianprog lovers will appreciate it.

The opener “Prefazione” is just a short instrumental intro with a mystical atmosphere that leads to the following “Il guardiano” (The keeper), a beautiful track that deals with environmental issues. The music and lyrics depict men ravaging the banks of lakes and rivers while Mother Nature, as for magic, starts to cry. There are new dreams, new hands at work and new faces, then pains and tears as the seasons change and rage rises. The soul of the keeper of this injured Earth is in fire, the air is polluted, the trees are dying... There's nothing to do, men are prisoners of their greediness and they will never be free without any respect for their environment.

Album cover

The long, complex “Il suono seducente del sogno” (The seducing sound of dream) is an excellent track that deals, as you can guess, with music and dreams... “Every dream comes to life in a magic castle / When the day will come, go in and don't close the door / You will find spears and shields, cold blood and mercy, the boldness of the heroes and a soaring music...”. The magic castle of music and dreams is a nice metaphor for the need of a shelter from the daily grind, but beware! The charm of those magic sounds is dangerous and you could risk to become nothing but a slave of your dreams while reality looms outside.

Then comes “Nemesi” (Nemesis), a track full of dark energy that was inspired by Greek mythology. Nemesis was a goddess representing the idea of divine retribution and this track tries to capture in music and words the spirit of the righteous vengeance by depicting a loveless sense of justice without light inside, cold and cynical... “It is useless to anneal your strength / A body is nothing but a heap of snow / It melts in the first sunshine / To jump higher, to run faster / What does really matter is the soul...”.

“Rovescia l'immaginazione e scopri la realtà” (Reverse your imagination and discover the reality) is a beautiful instrumental where the members of the band can showcase all their musicianship and where frenzied passages alternates with calm, dreamy sections, heavy guitar riffs with surging organ rides. It leads to the second part of “Il suono seducente del sogno (parte II)” where the light, gauzy mist of a never ending dream lays on everything... “This music plays inside me / I will never run away from this dream...”.

“Lorca e Dalì” is a long, complex track inspired by poetry and painting. It features ethereal atmospheres and narrative vocals where words are just touches of colour on the evocative musical texture. Golden angels drink your soul while your eyes are burnt by dreams, you look for a meaning but you can't find a clue, you can't find the key to gates of dream and you get lost... The following “The Sun” is a short acoustic track sung in English that closes the album with a mystical mood and in some way takes you back to the starting point.

On the whole, a very good album. Welcome back Distillerie di Malto!

Distillerie di Malto: Suono! (2014). Other opinions:
Raffella Benvenuto-Berry: Though Suono! (whose rather minimalist cover runs counter to the widespread trend for elaborate, often fantasy-tinged artwork) lays no claims to being a wildly innovative effort, the sheer quality of the musicianship and songwriting set it apart from other similar releases, and reveals the care and effort that the band have put into its production. The music's complexity is never overdone, and melody co-exists with intense, dramatic pssages, with a warm, natural flow that makes listening a pleasure. Needless to say, this is a must-listen for fans of classic Italian prog, and a rewarding proposition for everyone else... (Read the complete review HERE)
Michael "Aussie-Byrd-Brother": Not only does `Suono' offer incredibly strong song-writing and thrilling instrumental arrangements, there's a refreshing leave-it-alone quality to the production that retains many welcome rough edges. While it contains all the theatrical dra ma and swooning sophistication expected of Italian progressive releases, there are so many moments of dark impossible beauty, a creeping sense of unease lurking throughout the work, giving it some grit and edge. It just may be one of the best modern Italian released of the last few years... (read the complete review HERE) 

More info:
http://www.distilleriedimalto.it/ 

https://www.facebook.com/distillerie.malto 

THE GIANT OCTOPUS

After a live album in 2007 and some personnel changes, in 2010 Areknamés released “In Case Of Loss...”, their third studio album on Black Widow Records, with a line up featuring Michele Epifani (keyboards, vocals), Antonio Catalano (guitars), Simone Pacelli (bass) and Luca Falsetti (drums). During the recording sessions they were helped by some guest musicians as Carmine Ianieri (sax), Sara Gentile (cello), Pierluigi Mencattini (violin) and Cristiano Pomante (vibraphone) who provided more colours to the musical fabric. The result is excellent, the overall sound is richer and even more personal than in the past, less indebted to Van Der Graaf Generator and in some way jazzier.

The art work features two pictures shot on a beach near St. Agustine, Florida in 1896. They testify the finding of a mysterious whale carcass that was initially supposed to be a giant octopus and that was called the St. Augustine Monster. The opener “Beached” is linked to the art cover, pulsing bass lines and light keyboards waves set a surreal atmosphere. You feel like a giant octopus, a strange creature carried ashore by the tide, lost, dying. People are staring at you in awe on the beach, under a grey, wintry sky... “Why am I dreaming of you? / Scanning through my memories / I can't see anything but that blue vastness...”. The instrumental coda features a nice mix of jazz and psychedelia.

“Alone” features a nice middle section with a good interaction between sax and organ. It's a melancholic piece oscillating between joy and anguish like a “hanged man”. The music drives you to the edge of time and then let you fall down in the blackest sea. Then comes “Dateless Diary”, a calm, reflective track about the need to face reality since painful changes can have positive effects. “Don't Move” begins softly, the atmosphere is dark and dreamy, the music is characterized by some strings passages... If you're of getting lost, don't move!

“A New Song” is one of my favourite tracks on this album. It's about a difficult creative process. At the beginning you're almost lost, trapped by a lack of inspiration, you think that a new song deserves much more... “Energy, thoughts and dreams have to reach someone / Before they fade away amongst white dwarves, stellar remnants and black holes...”. Then tension and rhythm rise with a sudden burst of energy and some fiery organ whirls... “Yesterday I received a new song / Guess who the sender was... Look right here...”. The ethereal “Where” is about the sense of loss that you can experience when you can't find your own way. The truth lies in dark, tangled streets under the moonlight and a sort of grey veil covers your eyes... “I can't figure exactly where I am / If ahead or behind the beat of the Earth...”.



The long, complex suite “The Very Last Number” concludes the album. It describes a momentary escape from reality, a long inner journey through dreams and past memories. The lyrics invite to join the dream but beware!Maybe you could see more than you want to see while clinging ship bells evoke the past... “I was trapped in the ruins of my dreams... In the river of regrets the more you move the more you sink...”. The music features some very interesting passages with a jazz rock touch while in other moments you can perceive strong classical inspirations. Some parts remind me of Arti e Mestieri but it would be unfair compare this excellent track with anything else: all you have to do is close your eyes and listen to it!

Areknamés: In Case Of Loss... (2010). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: "In Case of Loss" is one of 2010's finest prog-rock albums and a must-have for those who love a dark/heavy sound that somehow sounds both modern and retro. It moves Areknames to a new level in my book as one of the bands I will be most excited to follow, to see what else they have in their bag of tricks. I do hope there is more! Bravo to the eight musicians who brought this work to life... (read the complete review HERE).

More info:

http://www.myspace.com/areknames

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Areknamés

IN A DARK ROOM

Areknamés is an interesting band from Pescara (Italy) that was born in 2001 from the ashes of other two bands, Lentofumo and L'arco del Pendolo. The name of the band comes from the title of a Franco Battiato’s song from the album “Pollution” but their main sources of inspiration are not only Italian. Areknamés' eponymous debut album was released in 2003 on the independent label Black Widow Records with a line up featuring multi instrumentalist and composer Michele Epifani (organ, piano, synth, mellotron, harpsichord, guitars, recorder, vocals), Piero Ranalli (bass) and Mino Vitelli (drums, percussion). On it you can perceive all their love for bands such as Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Black Widow, Atomic Rooster, Caravan, Balletto di Bronzo, Metamorfosi and many others. The overall sound of the band is compact and with a vintage feeling but, although Areknamés draw abundantly on Seventies classic prog-rock, their music is not completely derivative and you can find here some really good tracks featuring shifting tempos and quirky melodies.

The long opener “A Day Among Four Walls” describes a day that seems a nightmare... “I can't understand, why am I awake? I was on the sun flying with a unicorn... I was happy...”. A man who does not want to wake up, a junky scared by reality... Despair, emptiness, feelings riding on a storm, four walls that protect you from the real world but separate you from the sky. The vocal parts recall Peter Hammill while soaring from some fiery organ passages or hiding in whispers under delicate organ patterns. The following “Wasted Time” is another dark, melancholic track full of pessimism and sad reflections about time passing by. “Down” describes a surreal Sabbath, a meeting with a witch, a descent into an inner darkness... “This is the prayer that rips both my ears / While I'm feeling that soon Satan will be here / Ring the bells for his entrance / Happiness has no more meaning...”.

The crepuscular “Season Of Death” is in the same vein, dark like a black mass in the full moon. It begins softly but calm is only apparent, loneliness drives to madness and to a dangerous land of tears where the grass is cold and the autumn leaves fall on your mind. On the church like organ middle section threatening shadows begin to dance. “Boredom” is nervous, tense and features an exotic flavour with recorders, keyboards and the electric guitar of the guest Simone Colombi in the forefront. There's someone who's swimming ashore, there are some abandoned shoes on the beach and a strong feeling of uneasiness. The charming “Grain Of Sand Lost In The Sea” concludes the album. You can feel regret for betraying the world by ignoring the people who love you... “Now it's the time to look at yourself... Now it's the time to save yourself...”. Well, the mood is rather sad but, despite the particular subject matter of the lyrics, I think that this album deserves a try!

Areknamés: Areknamés (2003). Other opinions:

Vitaly Menshikov: Areknamés is a striking example of the band, which, while being influenced by VDGG, is able not to only to avoid any distinct derivatives, but also to develop the familiar style in a new and, often, very unexpected direction. The connoisseurs of profound Symphonic Progressive, not to mention the lovers of a classic VDGG, shouldn't disregard this release, to say the least... (read the complete review HERE).

 

 

The second album by Areknamés, “Love Hate Round Trip”, was released in 2006 with a renewed line up featuring Michele Epifani (organ, piano, synth, mellotron, vocals, recorder), Piero Ranalli (bass), Simone Colombi (guitars) and Simone Antonini (drums). Here the band go further exploring the possibilities of mixing vintage sounds with new ideas. Although you can find some echoes coming from the past, Areknamés are not just a clone of someone else playing by tore and trying to stir nostalgic feelings in their listeners, on the contrary, the song-writing of the leader Michele Epifani is excellent and on this album they seem to have found their own way.

Areknamés 2007

The opener “The Skeletal Landscape Of The World” is a complex, dark thread of images “painted” by the voice of Epifani that recalls Genesis and VDGG. It features aggressive guitar riffs in Black Sabbath style well intertwined with quieter piano and keyboards passages. The second track, “Deceit”, in my opinion is outstanding... “Come to me, I’m ready...”. In the beginning the vocals are enthralling and delicate, soaring upon an ethereal keyboards and acoustic guitar pattern, but all along the more than ten minutes length of this piece there’s room for many surprises and changes in the musical direction.

The music keeps on flowing without weak moments, actually all the tracks are very good, like the sinister and agoraphobic “Outcast”, “La Chambre” (inspired by a Balthus’ painting), “Snails” (a Gnidrolog’s cover), “Yet I Must Be Something”, “Ignis Fatuus”, “Stray Thoughts From A Crossroad”, "A Grotesque Gift", "Someone Lies Here". Actually, there’s no filler till the final “The Web Of Years”. All the compositions, although complex, are perfectly balanced showing great song-writing skills that combine dark symphonic prog with jazz, psychedelia and classical influences.

Probably Areknmées during the session of this album were dreaming to be in the Seventies, but without losing the awareness of the present. Their music is about dreams and nightmares, they’re like painters using notes instead of brushes to draw musical landscapes and images. At length they managed to escape from their “rusty cage of fears” and from the scepticism that surrounded their debut... “There's no more sign of something that makes dreams different from reality / It wasn't me that chose it...” (from “La Chambre”).

Areknamés: Love Hate Round Trip (2006). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: It is a beautiful and moody mélange of vintage keyboard sounds (organ, synth, grand piano, mellotron) stacked with angular guitar brushstrokes, and occasionally poetic lyrics. While not an easy piece of music to digest early on there are rewards here for those who give it some time. I am not with those who find "love hate" to be the best modern Italy has to offer but it is a fascinating album for fans of "night" prog and fans of VDGG style bands... (read the complete review HERE).

More info:

http://www.myspace.com/areknames

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Areknamés

TRANSPARENT FEELINGS

Maurizio “Mau” Di Tollo is an Italian artist who was born in Ortona, in Abruzzo, and now lives in Genoa. During his career he has been playing drums with bands such as Distillerie di Malto, La Maschera di Cera, Moongarden and Hostsonaten (just to name but a few!), but he's also an all-round musician and a sensitive composer. In 2012 he released on the independent label AMS/BTF his first solo album, “L'uomo trasparente” (The transparent man), that features the collaboration with poet and painter Ksenja Laginja who took charge of the art work and provided evocative recitative vocals reading some of her poems. On the album Maurizio Di Tollo sung and played drums, percussion, synthesizers, Hammond organ, Moog, Mellotron, Glockenspiel and piano. During the recording sessions he was helped by many friends such as Alessandro Corvaglia (vocals), Christian Marras (bass), Andrea Monetti (flute), Laura Marsano (guitars), Rossano Villa (piano), Fabio Zuffanti (vocals), Agostino Macor (Moog), Michele Savino (piano) and Matteo Casu (acustic guitar). The result is a refined album full of soft nuances where poetry has an important role and music peacefully flows away following an introspective path. In fact, you won't find here any hyper-technicality or astounding drum solos but a well balanced compositional style. The album is conceived as a long suite and there is no pause between the different tracks that describe in words and music the end of an important love story and the overcoming of the emotional trauma that follows.

  

Maurizio Di Tollo

The short opener “L'uomo trasparente” sets the atmosphere... “Here I am, sitting on my years / Clinging to my memories / In this silent house / Naked and transparent...”. The suggestive voice of Ksenja Laginja conjures up poetical images and depicts the need to ride your time overcoming the foggy, limited horizon that you can see from your window... It leads to “Tannhauser”, a track about the need of dreams to live on, to overcome the daily grind and the lack of ideals of the people who surround you. A dream could mean a rebirth or a bitter pain, a light on the frontier or a mask of wax, a place where men can grow up free, an ideal place whee you can stand up and follow the beating of your heart... “Only dreaming can save me / Let my blood running on the streets of Tannhauser...”.

The melancholic “Pioggia sulla memoria” (Rain on the memory) draws memories washed away by the pouring rain. Lost chances, words carried away by the wind, a broken relationship... “It melts into the water, as tears in the river / Your absent-minded eyes are shut behind a shield...”. The dreamy, visionary “La curva dei pitosfori” (The bend of the pittosporums) evokes a sequence of images, a kind of film where fragments of life slide away in a dream of beauty... “There's nothing left but a frame without eternity / The smell of the pittosporums and your skin I miss so bad / And a finale fading out on an unknown life...”. “Io sono quel cespuglio” (I am that shrub) is another bittersweet, reflective track in the same vein... “I am that shrub / An undecipherable point in the distance / A neglected park / A thought without shape nor substance / Nonetheless I stand out firmly / I don't need you... You can ignore me but I'm here...”. It leads to “Casomai” (Just in case), a beautiful track featuring piano and vocals in the forefront... “I shout in the wind / I'll find again what I'm losing now, living on...”. Then comes “Pioggia ripresa” (Rain, reprise), a short instrumental reprise of the third track.

L'uomo trasparente: inner sleeve

“La poesia della carne” (The poetry of the flesh) features an oriental atmosphere full of sensuality where the voice of Ksnja Laginjia introduces a vibrant instrumental part... “Love the pure beauty of the heart / Love the poetry of the flesh...”. “Milioni di occhi al cielo” (Millions of eyes looking at the sky) describes the beginning of a new deal after a troubled split up. It begins softly with soaring vocals on a delicate piano pattern... “A tape that I re-winded / It's my identity... Millions of eyes looking at the sky / And a new fire that dissolves the ice... Soul in tears, have a rest now / I'm coming back home...”. Then the conclusive “I topi saranno i vincitori” (Mice will be the winners) celebrates the rebirth of a man who is able to forgive an soothe his rage.

Maurizio Di Tollo: L'uomo trasparente (2012). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: Like many Zuffanti projects or older stuff like Basso's debut, the songs are safe and pleasant, preferring beauty and majesty over wild and crazy, but in this case the material is anything but bland. They take beautiful melodies and adorn them with the usual Italian icing like piano, flute, and strings, but there is a somewhat unusual atmospheric element introduced as well. Spacey quiet moments, poetic spoken word narrations, intricate percussion, and sound effects all give the tracks a richer mouthfeel... (read the complete review HERE).

More info:

http://mauditollo.com/

http://www.facebook.com/MauriziodiTollo

ABRUZZO and MOLISE

And now we head east, where we visit the regions ABRUZZO and MOLISE. Passing through the devastated city of L’AQUILA, we can listen to the prog influenced singer-songwriter Cristian Di Prospero (MySpace) and to his notes inspired by 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. L'Aquila is also home to the hard psychedelic The Whirlings (Facebook) while the near town of Avezzano is home to a young band called Nuova Divisione (Reverbnation). Then we reach the Adriatic coast and the province of TERAMO, which is home to Picaroon’s Spark (MySpace), Peripatetica (MySpace) and Clepsydra (MySpace), the latter from Giulianova, a town on the coast north of Teramo. A small centre in the province of Teramo, Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia, in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park gave brith to a particular artist, the painter Tonino Leandro Mirandi, a great prog fan, whose work includes many paintings inspired by Le Orme’s music (by the way, the avatar I use on the forum of progarchives.com is one of them, entitled Ritorno al nulla: verso la fine).

Heading south along the coast we reach PESCARA, the birthplace of controversial poet and writer Gabriele d'Annunzio. This city gave us Diapason, Preghiera di Sasso and Akron, a band formed in the nineties that released some albums for Black Widow Records. Today the best known band from this city are Areknamés (MySpace), that gathered in 2001 around composer and keyboardist Michele Epifani. The name of the band comes from the title of a Franco Battiato song on the album “Pollution”, although their main sources of inspiration are not Italian. Their eponymous debut album was released in 2003. With a second excellent album the band went further exploring the possibilities of mixing vintage instruments sounds and love for Seventies prog masters such as Van Der Graaf Generator or Genesis with new ideas and in 2010 they released a new interesting work, In Case Of Loss. Although in their overall sound you can listen to some echoes from the past hanging in the air, Areknamés are not just a clone of someone else playing by rote and trying to stir nostalgic feelings in their listeners, on the contrary, the song-writing of the leader Michele Epifani is absolutely brilliant.

By the way, Michele Epifani started also a side project featuring a more experimental sound called Subtilior (Bandcamp). Other bands from Pescara are Xenitia (MySpace), Insider (MySpace), Flower Time (Facebook), Ascer (Reverbnation), AllCost (Facebook), The Gift (Facebook) and Unimother 27 (MySpace). Then, still heading south we go to CHIETI, where we can listen to a band called Nuda Veritas (MySpace) and to the emerging Severed Garden (Reverbnation). Next stop is the nearby town of Ortona, where we can listen to Distillerie di Malto (MySpace).

Then, in Isernia we can listen to Quasar H7 (Facebook). We conclude our visit to Abruzzo and Molise in the province of CAMPOBASSO, home to Ifsounds (Official Website), a band that began life in 1993 under the name of If. Their album Apeirophobia was released in 2010 on the independent American label Melodic Revolution Records and is their best so far.