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

OF CARTOONS AND OTHER STORIES

Tangle took form in 2019 in Bergamo with the aim of experimenting with new sounds drawing inspiration from jazz rock, fusion, prog rock and artists such as Porcupine Tree, Plini or The Aristocrats. The name of the band refers to their compositional style in which they blend many genres to play a music that, in their own words, is rich in variations, dynamic excursions and tempo changes. After a good live activity on the local scene, in 2023 they self-released an interesting debut album, entitled Entangled, with a line up featuring Fulvio Marcarini (guitar), Manuele Mariani (bass), Francesco Locatelli (keyboards, synthesizers) and Matteo Locati (drums). It’s a completely instrumental work that tries to evoke images, suggestions or stories in the listener and the art cover gives an idea of the musical content...

 

The beautiful opener “Splash” begins with a slow pace and a dark, threatening atmosphere that might recall Goblin’s Profondo Rosso but after a couple of minutes the deep red colour turns into pink giving room to a section that reminds me of panther walking out from a cartoon on the notes of famous theme by Henry Mancini. Then it’s the turn of a rock part with the electric guitar in the forefront before pulsing bass lines and powerful organ waves take the lead for a vibrant finale...

The frenzied “Chronicles Of A Chicken Thief” is a short piece that might recall bands such as Calibro 35 or La Batteria and the soundtracks of poliziotteschi films, a subgenre of crime and action films that was very popular in Italy in the seventies, full of scenes of car chases and bloody shootings...

The mysterious “Arrakis” features Eastern influences and is named after a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. The music seems to invite you on a journey across exotic landscapes to experience a dangerous cosmic adventure...

The dreamy “Restless” starts with a nervous drum pattern, then goes through many changes in rhythm and mood with classical inspired piano arpeggios and Latin guitar solos à la Santana, calm passages and a final surge of dark energy...

“Kizaru” is a colourful piece with strong funky influences. The title refers to a character from the manga and anime One Piece, a Navy admiral who appears as a careless, absent and forgetful man, usually speaks in a very calm and composed manner and never gets upset, even when faced with problematic situations, in which he often feigns fear or amazement in a sarcastic way...

“Hoketi Poketi” begins with funky bass lines in the forefront that conjure up the funny magic of a 1963 animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney, The Sword In The Stone, and that seems to depict a very strange way of packing your bags for a fantastic trip to unknown realms...

“Red Sky” begins with a dreamy piano pattern soon submerged by a threatening rhythm and dark atmospheres. When the storm calms down an almost romantic section follows, classically inspired, that leads to a new dawn full of hope and good intentions...

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

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/tanglemusic/

FLYING ACROSS A DARK VOID

Daedalus is the seventh studio album by Daal and was released in 2022 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash Records label. The line up features, along with founder members Alfio Costa (Mellotron, Moog, piano, organ, synthesizers) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion), also Ettore Salati (guitars) and Bobo Aiolfi (bass) here promoted to effective members while they were credited just as guests on the 2018 album Decalogue Of Darkness. The art work by Davide Guidoni in some way reflects the musical content with its dark, oneiric figures loosely inspired by ancient Greek mythology...

 

The long opener “Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part I” begins with a slow pace. The cinematic intro conjures up a creepy atmosphere and might recall Goblin, then hypnotic notes take you across mysterious places where the world under your feet suddenly seems no more real than the world of a dream, apt to dissolve without warning and send you tumbling into a great, dark void... (the short quote is from Lightning, a novel by Dean Koontz).

“Icarus Dreams” begins by a surge of energy. As the rhythm rises you can set off on an interstellar journey on the wings of fantasy. In the open space, as the dizziness of the departure dissolves, darkness becomes an excellent screen on which the mind can play out its architectural whims. For this track the band provided a video to give you an idea of what the music is about...

 

“Painting Wings” starts softly, the atmosphere is relaxed and dreamy but after three minutes the music takes a different direction and dreams seem almost turning into nightmares as the rhythm becomes more obsessive and threatening. When the calm comes back you could feel scared by your own lethal visions...

Then it’s the turn of the long, complex “Labyrinth 66 Part I & II”. Here the music depicts a sinister place, where some evil and malignant force lurks behind sombre corners, a kind of dark presence coming in steady, inexorable waves. You’re prisoner of your dreams and waking up will be hard...

 

The ethereal “In My Time Of Shadow” starts by the sound of the wind and a delicate piano pattern. It’s a calm piece with beautiful melodic lines and a nocturnal mood. For this track the band shot an interesting video where two statues come to life in a deserted atelier. They’re like sleepwalkers dancing to a surreal choreography, assailed by their own inner demons... Eventually they turn to stone again, after all, a moving statue becomes grotesque, it only has majesty in immobility... (quote from Le Roi Squelette by Serge Brussolo).

“Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part II” ends the album and closes the circle by taking back the atmosphere and the melodies of the opener. The dream reaches its climax in a crescendo of tension and desire, then slowly fades away...

On the whole, a magnificent album that, in my opinion, might be a perfect score for an adventure in the crazy, ancient world of Brussolo’s characters Shagan and Junia...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Daal: Daedalus (2022). Other opinions:

Nick Hudson: All labyrinths have an inherent duality, embodying simultaneously great artistry, design, and order; and confusion, chaos and dissonance. Daal’s music has also always had the same duality, being both beauty and beast chasing itself through complex patterns that beguile and bewilder in equal measure. Without ever really sounding like either, there is surely a good deal of influence from Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and for added colour, perhaps a little Tangerine Dream. I could probably draw a list of A to Z of artists I’m reminded of – or, at least Art Zoyd to Zappa. But Daal really do sound like no other band, and for that I’m glad as I doubt I’d keep coming back to them otherwise... (read the complete review HERE)

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC 

DARK ORIGAMIS

After a long period of silent work, in 2018 Daal expressed their creativity by releasing contemporaneously on Agla Records two excellent albums: Decalogue Of Darkness and Navels Falling Into A Living Origami. The first one features dark atmospheres and vintage sounds that could recall some seventies soundtracks of horror films. Here the line up features along with Alfio Costa (Mellotron, Moog, piano, synthesizers) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion) the guests Ettore Salati (guitars) and Bobo Aiolfi (bass). According to the liner notes, this work is dedicated to the memory of some dear persons that the musicians lost and miss but who are still present in their hearts. The art cover, taken from a 1508 woodcut portraying the devil taking the soul of a dying man, and the pictures in the booklet try to describe the musical content, conceived as an inner mirror reflecting the dark side of a man with his nightmares and fears…

Despite the gloomy subject matter and the Gothic art cover, the music has nothing to do with depressing black metal or dissonant passages evoking infernal sceneries. On the contrary, all along the untitled ten chapters in which is divided this long album, the music is always characterised by a sumptuous, symphonic beauty... Delicate, dreamy passages evolve into nervous parts with the rhythm section giving a strong sense of tension while light, soaring melodies alternate with sudden surges of dark, mysterious energy. At times bands such as Goblin or L’Albero del Veleno might come to mind, but this work has it’s own originality and deserves a very attentive listening from the very first notes to the last...

By chance, recently, while re-listening to this album I was reading a novel by Gaston Leroux and I stumbled in a passage that in my opinion seems to capture its spirit: “He called out, with all the strength of the sorrow that filled his breast... He called in the way in which you call not upon a living, but upon a dear dead woman, in the hope that she may appear to you. For there are moments when human sorrow does not dread ghosts and when it conjures up shades to press them to its heart, without trembling on the threshold of the great mystery; moments when love would have the dead come forth from the dark and when it is astonished - so loud has been its call - that the spirits do not come and kiss its lips!” (quote from Balaoo, by Gaston Leroux). Well, I think that this music is a kind of powerful call to the ghosts, a lay requiem mass able to stir emotions and even to express a sense of positivity by exorcising the evil spirits of melancholy and sadness. One of my favourite 2018 albums!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Navels Falling Into A Living Origami if compared to the symphonic sounds of its 2018 “different twin” is more experimental and dissonant. Here the line up features along with Alfio Costa (keyboards, piano, Mellotron) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion, loops, soundscapes) the guests Simone Montrucchio (bass), Lorenzo Fasanelli (guitars), Salvatore Lazzara (oud, guitars), Marcella Arganese (guitars), Guglielmo Mariotti (vocals) and Mir Khista (violin). The album features just one long track, a disquieting suite that blends different influences such as psychedelic folk and electronic music with ethereal, eerie atmospheres and cosmic couriers. 

The albums begins by the sound of the wind blowing through the trees in what seems to be a forest, then an acoustic guitar arpeggio and a soaring melody conjure up a mystical atmosphere before a change of direction and a plunge into mystery. Every now and again you can hear Pink Floyd echoes or passages evoking exotic, nocturnal landscapes and incense smells. It’s like the soundtrack of a film where you have to add you own images...

The plot of this imaginary film is revealed in the short lyrics at the end of the suite. It tells about an introspective journey back in time and of the meeting with a very strange little creature. You’re walking in a forest coloured in autumnal, purple colours when you hear a strange noise. There’s little, furry creature sitting on a trunk. You pick it up and try to shave off its greasy hair and then you look at it, at its frightened expression... Then you see it implode and feel that something is atrophying your soul!

All in all, this is an intriguing, complex album that needs many spins and the right mood to be fully appreciated for all its inspiring, melancholic beauty.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC

RED AND YELLOW

Giallo! - One Suite For The Murderer is a compilation of pieces inspired by Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), a seminal thriller directed in 1975 by Dario Argento featuring a famous soundtrack by Goblin. It was released in 2008 on the independent French label Musea Records in collaboration with the Finnish Colossus. Some talented Italian artists were recruited to interpret with their own music and lyrics the scenes and the characters of the film, creating something new while paying in the same time a due tribute to Dario Argento's work, one of the best known Italian Gialli. In fact, "giallo" is an Italian word that means "yellow" but that also defines a genre of literature and film named after the colour of the cover background of a series of cheap paperback mystery novels... All the artists involved in this project showed a great respect for the film that inspired it and for its mood. Anyway, if you are not familiar with it, do not worry: the rich booklet with its nice artwork and the extended liner notes will make you understand what the music is about.

The opener is a short instrumental track, "Frammento Rosso / Intro", that sets the atmosphere. Composer and keyboardist Alfio Costa (from Prowlers, Tilion, Daal) here plays Grand piano and Minimoog with great effectiveness conveying a strong sense of mystery and tension...

Then comes the first suite, "Visions of Helga" by Dark Session. Dark Session is mainly the brainchild of composer and multi-instrumentalist Flavio Costa (from Tilion) who, with the help of his brother Alfio (keyboards) and Hamadi Trabelsi (vocals), here paints in black feelings and notes trying to explore what's behind the mind of the murderer. This piece describes the part of the film where a famous psychic, Helga Ulmann, perceives the evil presence of a serial killer during a public meeting... Through his eyes and his hands she looses her soul and her life! It's a prevalently instrumental track that, in my opinion, perfectly fits the subject matter mirroring in some way the images of the film with sounds and words.

The second suite, "Vecchi giochi" (Old Games), was provided by Leviathan, a Roman band whose roots date back to 1985. Here the line up features Fabio Amici (keyboards, Hammond), Fabio Donna (bass), Andrea Moneta (drums, electric guitar) plus the guests vocalists Pierfrancesco Drago (from Revelation and Arcadelt) and Rossella Salvucci. This piece is divided into four parts and it was inspired by the private investigations of the main character of the film, Marcus Daly. The music and the intriguing lyrics by Beatrice Pietrangeli describe this particular hunting game from the point of view of the lurking murderer rather than that of the improvised detective. So, Marcus Daly here becomes the pray. The first part, "L'avvertimento" (The warning) begins softly with organ and piano in the forefront and theatrical male vocals... The killer's house is like a piano where he composes his troubled existence, every fear is like a black and white sequence, a music from the heart that is driving him insane, he's ready to strike and he's biding his time in the dark... Thin deadly melodies soar on the second part, "L'indagine" (The investigation), delivered by the wonderful voice of Rossella Salvucci. The third part, "L'assassinio" (The murder) features a long instrumental section and the rhythm rises... Run away if you can, but beware! The killer knows where and when he can get you... The final part, "La villa" (The manor), is disquieting and darker than ever, there are some narrative vocals and a church-like choir in the background, then the music and lyrics lead you to the closed gates of mysterious, abandoned villa... A great track!

Floating State

The third suite, "Suite dall'inconscio dell'assassino" (Suite from the subconscious of the murderer), is the contribute by Floating State, an experienced band from Bari featuring Marco Esposito (vocals, classical guitar, flute), Grazia Stella (sax), Mimmo Ferri (Theremin, electric piano, organ, synthesizers), Gigi Ferri (electric guitars), Francesco Antonino (electric bass) and Beatrice Birardi (drums, percussion, vibraphone). This piece is divided into ten sections and begins where the previous track left you: in front of the gate of the mysterious manor. You can hear the gate creaking on its hinges, then the music and lyrics take you in and welcome you to a nightmare where the insane instincts of the murderer, his feelings and sensations unfurl as if they were on trial in a hazy court of justice, accused by his subconscious. There's delirium and madness, evil and mercy in this outstanding track that features also some short excerpts from "School at Night (Lullaby)", from the original soundtrack of the film.

A short, evocative instrumental track by Alfio Costa, "Mirrors / Outro", ends this excellent album where the music flows away in perfect coherence without weak moments.

Various Artists: Giallo! - One Suite For The Murderer (2008). Other opinions:

Olav Martin Bjørnsen: As with all releases in what is often referred to as The Colossus Projects, this one is also an outing that should appeal most to fans of ‘70's symphonic rock, in particular those who enjoy long and elaborate epic compositions... If you enjoy intense moods and atmospheres, and find dark emotions fascinating, this is a release that should have a good chance of providing many hours of joy... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

Alfio and Flavio Costa:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TILION/41111514951 

https://www.facebook.com/PROWLERSPROG 

Leviathan:

https://www.facebook.com/leviathanprog 

http://leviathanprog.altervista.org/ 

Floating State:

https://www.facebook.com/floatingstate 

THE CYBERNETIC WITCH

Dances Of The Drastic Navels is the fifth album by Daal, a project that began life in 2008 on the initiative of composer and keyboardist from Bergamo Alfio Costa and Roman drummer Davide Guidoni. It was released in 2014 on the independent label Agla Records and confirms all the good qualities of Daal's previous works. During the recording sessions Alfio Costa and Davide Guidoni were helped by some guest musicians such as Ettore Salati (guitars), Bobo Aiolfi (bass), Tirill Mohn (vocals), Letizia Riccardi (violin) and Guglielmo Mariotti (vocals) and the final result is an interesting, well balanced mix of vintage sounds and electronica, classical influences and an experimentalism that never falls in the trap of self-indulgence and never loses touch with melody and rhythm.

The dark opener "Malleus Maleficarum" is a long epic that could recall Goblin or Antonius Rex. The title refers to The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for “The Hammer of Witches”), one of the best known medieval treatises on witches whose main purpose was to challenge all arguments against the existence of witchcraft and to instruct magistrates on how to identify, interrogate and convict witches. Although officially banned by the Catholic Church, it soon became a kind of handbook for witch-hunters and Inquisitors throughout Late Medieval Europe. So you can imagine charms and spells, wicked monks and exorcisms conjured up by the music... This track is completely instrumental but for the murmured narrative vocals in Latin provided by Guglialmo Mariotti and it goes through many changes in rhythm and atmosphere. Anyway I can find in this piece also a pinch of light irony that every now and again makes me think of Good Omens, a funny novel written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times...

Next comes "Elektra (An Evening With...)", an eerie instrumental piece that, according to Alfio Costa, was inspired by the memory of a dear friend of the night who's not with us any longer. It features an exotic, disquieting atmosphere and alternates calm passages to sudden surges of electric rage. The title and the music could recall Elektra, a 2005 Canadian-American superhero film directed by Rob Bowman... It leads to the following "Lilith", a short, delicate track filled with a nice sense of ethereal romanticism. According to Alfio Costa, it's an hypnotic lullaby that was inspired by the carving on a tree...

Davide Guidoni and Alfio Costa

"The Dance Of The Drastic Navels" is a long, complex suite that in some way summarizes, develops and concludes the story begun on Daal's debut album Disorganicorigami and its sequel on the following Destruktive Actions Affect Livings. It's the story of a man from the future bewitched by a strange, beautiful creature half-woman and half-robot. Eventually the unfortunate man becomes just a toy boy in the hands of the cybernetic witch but most of the narrative is up to your imagination that the music just tries to inspire and stir... On the conclusive track, "Inside You", Tirill Mohn's suggestive vocals in some way give shape to the witch, a dark angel in a dream that becomes nightmare, a magic dancer able to drive you insane and to damn your soul... "We'll never be the same / We'll never see this light / Your sun will fall in my dark sea / And my drastic navel will dance over your soul...".

Well, probably the beautiful art work by Davide Guidoni describes better than all my words the spirit of this excellent album. Anyway, have try and judge by yourselves: you can listen to the complete album HERE

Daal: Dances Of The Drastic Navels (2014). Other opinions:

Michael "Aussie-Byrd-Brother": With it's sinister and unsettling cover artwork to the Gothic inspired creeping suspense with the music itself, DAAL's fascination with real mood and black atmosphere ensures the album is their most cultivated and mature work so far. Those who find darker Italian prog artists, as well as the poetic sadness of bands like My Dying Bride will very much relate to this one, and even more adventurous metal and Gothic fans will find plenty to interest them here... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC 

DREAMS ON THE EDGE OF TIME

Timeline were formed in 2006 in the province of Bergamo on the initiative of Davide Tasca and Claudio Albergoni. The name of the band refers to a famous novel by Michael Crichton were the borders between past and present get blurred and their dream was to start a new creative experience composing original music influenced by progressive rock and metal. After a demo in 2009 and a good live activity on the local scene, in 2013 they self released an interesting début album titled New Dreams... New Hopes with a line up featuring Claudio Albergoni (guitar), Davide Tasca (bass), Daniele Cattaneo (keyboards), Stefano Bruzzi (drums) and Maurizio Jacopo Andriolo (vocals). The result of their efforts is a good mix of influences ranging from the classic masters of prog from the seventies to newer bands with a sharper edge.

The nice opener “The Birth Of Man” is a long, complex suite divided into three parts. It's sung in English and the music and lyrics deal with environmental issues depicting in a visionary way the evolution of humankind. It begins with The Creation Of The Earth, an instrumental part featuring an excellent interaction between keyboards and guitars that leads to the middle section, Mother Gaia, where the Earth appears like a beautiful, colourful entity from space, queen of the world. On account of her boredom she gives birth to Man. The final part, The Human Singularity, tells about the evolution of humankind: from ape to man, from fire to writing... But things go wrong and men, blinded by greediness and power end up tearing apart their creator.

“La mia falsa guida” (My false guide) is a short track sung in Italian that describes a metaphoric journey through Hell. There are some references to Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy but there's no dark wood here and this Hell is real, it's just ordinary life on Earth. The protagonist gets lost and there's no Virgil to lead him along his journey to the centre of a hell that is wilder and deeper than you can imagine... “Where is my guide? She is invisible / The more I look for her the more I feel her glance distant from me...”.

“Wret2” is a dark instrumental full of energy that leads to the following “Searching The Precious Smile”, a track featuring sharp guitar riffs and metal influences. It describes in music and words a frenzied, nervous quest through the streets of a big city for the most precious treasure... a smile! Then comes the reflective “Moments Of Life”, a kind of short mini suite divided into five parts where the mind flies through forgotten memories and the past emerges from some old pictures.

The long, complex “Un gioco di fiducia” (A play of trust) is my favourite track on the album. It's a beautiful suite sung in Italian and divided into four parts that in some way tells about the thaumaturgic power of friendship and trust, a power that can save you from the threatening, raging seas of life that can submerge you and hurt you so bad to transform you in a solitary castaway. In my opinion it's a real pity that the band didn't exploit more their native language since the vocalist seems more at ease when singing in Italian and the poetical, evocative force of the lyrics here is stronger than ever.

Then comes the anti-militaristic “Wake up... New Black Dawn” that is divided into two parts. The first part is full of positive energy and describes a new day under the sky of freedom while the second part is darker and depicts a new, gloomy day where the masters of war rule and you're living a nightmare under a bloody sky of slavery and contempt. The conclusive track, “The Way Of Respect”, is in the same mood and tells in music and lyrics the feelings of a men who was injured during a bomb attack where a girl got killed.

On the whole, I think that this work is really worth listening to and that Timeline have a good potential. Anyway, you can legally download the album and the nice booklet from the official website: so, have a try and judge by yourselves!

Download link:

Pubblicazione di Timeline.

More info:
http://www.timelineprog.it/ 
https://www.facebook.com/Timelineprogressive 

LOVE AND MYTHS

“Neo”, the second studio album by La Torre dell’Alchimista, was released in 2007, six years after their beautiful debut eponymous work. The line-up is slightly changed and now it features Michele Mutti (keyboards), Michele Giardino (vocals), Davide Donadoni (bass) and Michelangelo Donadini (drums, percussion). During the recording sessions they were helped by some guest musicians that enriched the sound of the band providing guitars, sax, violin and flute and the result is really good. La Torre dell’Alchimista sound is definitely “keyboard driven” (Michele Mutti plays acoustic and electric piano, Hammond C3, Minimoog, organ, synth and Mellotron) and blends strong classical influences with prog-rock and Italian melody. Good also the art cover (painted by Michele Mutti) and the booklet containing some particular pictures and the lyrics. This work could recall bands as Le Orme, PFM and BMS but it’s not too derivative and it’s really worth listening to. “Neo” is conceived as a concept album describing the end of a love story in an original way, through a continuous parallelism between personal feelings and the images taken from ancient myths. The lyrics are not banal and it would be very unfair to define this work as just dealing with Greek mythology...

The opener “Dissimmetrie” (Asymmetry) condemns conformism and hypocrisy. Jumping keyboards and sax play joyfully around while the lyrics compare people who do not dare to fight for a change in their everyday life to the Golem, an artificial monster with the form of a man created from clay by magic charms or sacred words, an image taken from Jewish folklore. “You are like a shapeless drop of water / You are evanescent / Invisible fade-out / You don’t leave traces of yourself... You are just souls of clay / Who fly away without dignity / You are just souls of clay / Who live in hypocrisy... I look at you and I can see / The curtain of noise / That shelters you / From the external world / Sounds of plastic / Words and shouts...”. If you disregard the opinion of the hypocrites and their false smiles, you can dare and fall in love with a beautiful and dangerous woman... And find trouble!

The dreamy outro of the first track leads to “Medusa”, a complex piece in four parts (Faith, Fugue, Chorale, Samba V) that was inspired by the mythical character of an unfortunate woman raped by Neptune in Athena’s temple. After the rape, Medusa’s long hair was turned into snakes by the goddess and she was given the power to turn anyone who dared to look directly at her into stone. According to the myth, the head of Medusa was cut off by Perseus who looked at her through a mirror-like shield. Once cut off, the head maintained its power and was at last placed at the centre of Athena’s Aegis as a symbol of her power. The music perfectly fits the lyrics with well balanced changes in moods and rhythms that blend prog rock, classical music and melodic vocals... “You, who confound my thoughts / On the shield of knowledge / Reflected image, You don’t scare me / You, who confound my thoughts / You turn into stone the stupidity / Of the people who stare at you / The men who lived with you are stones now / The heart that loved you beats no more... I won’t follow you, I’m free now...”. Well, a complex, dangerous and charming woman indeed! One who can drive you crazy dancing samba and who could be very difficult to forget...

“Idra” (Hydra) is a short instrumental interlude for piano solo that leads you to the first part of the long, complex “Risveglio, Procreazione e Dubbio” (Awakening, Procreation and Doubt) where, after an amazing instrumental prelude, nice melodic vocals come in to change atmosphere. The lyrics depict some experiments to overcome the split-up where you can find shadows and wasted days fading out until your arms will fall and wings will take their place to let you fly on the horizon just before falling back with your doubts... “So I feel like the father of an unknown son, scared by these signs / If the giant rides the dwarf / How can his arms carry that weight?... Idra, Cerbero and Medusa were born from waking-hours not from sleep / And they devour the remnants of my greatness... And suddenly, I lose myself...”.

“L'Amore Diverso” (The Different Love) is another short instrumental for piano solo that leads to “Cerbero” (Cerberus), an intricate track in three parts (Promenade, The Three Heads, The War Against Hydrogenous). The sound of a piano leads you softly to the gates of madness... Cerberus is the name of the three-headed monster hound guarding the entrance to the Greek Underworld. No-one can enter or leave without getting past him... “Six eyes, six shouts, you are everywhere I turn my eyes / Six times you promise, but seven times you disappoint / You are blood, you are tears but no sweat!...”. The music is haunting, swinging from frenzied keyboard rides to calm, romantic violin melodies... Well, the nightmares that rise when a love story comes to an end can really haunt you like omnipresent ghosts. Trying to fight them could bring dangerous side-effects and for your soul it could be destructive as an atomic war... “It’s my rage, it’s your craziness / To win, to lose, what’s really important? / A hot wind blows now / My breath is dying / My way to think about the future is dying...”.

La Torre dell'Alchimista live in Trieste 2008

The last track “Risveglio, Procreazione E Dubbio Pt. II” is another beautiful complex piece in three parts (Epilogue, Coda, Farewell) where you can find a nice flute passage and even some echoes coming from “the court of the Crimson King”. The lyrics deal with the awareness of past errors and the condemnation of arrogance, haughtiness and pride... “Time that has joined us is already splitting us / But how slowly moves the time of the split-up! / Like a leaf in the wind / You are going away from here / Leaving my body naked / The image of your diversity remains / You are like a wave, you slowly wear out / You used to confound my thoughts / Now you’re going away / Leaving a void and a closed speech...”. A beautiful farewell for an excellent album!

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock

La Torre dell’Alchimista: Neo (2007). Other opinions

Erik Neuteboom: La Torre Dell'Alchimista has made a lot of progress on their new album and especially the vintage keyboard aficionados will be delighted! (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.latorredellalchimista.it/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Torre-dellAlchimista/60480410855?sk=info

HUNTERS AND PREYS

Minstrel's debut album, “Faust”, in my opinion is a very interesting work but for the band it was very difficult to perform it on stage on account of the many characters and voices. So, after its release, the band started to work on a new opera but this time they decided to conceive it as a kind of monologue with the voice of the protagonist backed only by a choir. The new album, “Ahab”, was inspired by Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick and was released in 2009 with a line up featuring Mauro Ghilardini (lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards), Michele Savoldelli (electric and acoustic guitars), Gianpaolo Pasini (drums) and Alberto Bigoni (bass). The overall sound here is sharper than on the previous album but the final result perfectly fits the storyline and Mauro Ghilardini’s operatic vocals are magnificent.

The opener “Vendetta” (Revenge) is full of dark energy. You can imagine the protagonist, Captain Ahab, pursuing his white obsession crossing a ghastly sea. He looks for revenge, he wants to kill the white whale that injured and humiliated him. He can’t give up his crazy dream... “Oh, My God, you know”! / I feel in my limbs blood, sweat, and tears / They devour my bones bent by memories...”.

The short instrumental “Presagio” (Omen) lead us to the departure of a wild, cursed hunt across the sea... On “Partenza” (Departure) we can hear the captain shouting his orders...  “Hey! Raise the anchor! / The wind will see us off! / Starbuck at the helm!/ Ishmael on the pontoon! You, on the lookout! And you, up there... And you, to the topmast! Go! Forward! Hey! Raise the anchor!”. Wind and sunlight now swell the sails and the land rapidly vanishes behind the ship while the call of the see resounds in the air. The adventure begins with a frenzied rhythm and a dark feeling...

 

 

 “Oceano” (Ocean) is a long, complex instrumental track that describes the ship sailing across the sea. It begins calmly and the mood is dreamy, then the dream turns into a nightmare and aggressive electric guitar riffs announce a storm and a troubled night.
 

“Alba” (Dawn) is dreamy and melodic. As dawn breaks and the light shines through the clouds the voice of Mauro Ghilardini delicately soars from a calm piano pattern drawing hopes and doubts. Memories flows inside the protagonist as a river that looks for the sun. Then he makes a vow... “I will sail forever pursuing this dream / As long as I have strength and breath / I won’t forget this promise / And I’ll win this wager / And I’ll seek the knowledge / Until I’ll understand the true meaning of life...”. 

 

On “Caccia” (Hunt) the rhythm rises again. It’s a piece full of energy that describes the ups and downs of an endless, cursed ride across the ocean looking for the white whale... “Go on, never stop! Go on and on, you’ll never lose your prey...Vile is the harpooner and vile is the captain if the blood of his prey doesn’t stain his hand!... My hand, you can’t fail / Take hold of the gleaming steel and strike... / Fury of the seas, listen to me / The time of revenge has come... Cruel fate, you turn us away from our course! But who seeks justice finds glory and renown...”.

“Rampone” (Harpoon) describes the inner conflict that is raging in the heart of the captain. The music is evocative and dark. Melodic passages alternates with fiery guitar riffs and “deep reed” colours. You can hear an infernal smith forging a magic, evil harpoon... “Forge the point in pagan blood / I want a harpoon in mortal temper / Baptismal blood, save the baleful iron that marks every inch of me...  Wind, renew my thoughts of violence! Rain, refresh my warrior instinct!... Following my mind, my fatal vow / I shall die, but I’ll be free...”.

“Tempesta” (Storm) is an evocative instrumental track featuring a sparkling electric guitar work that leads to “Delirio” (Madness), a monologue with narrative vocals and an orchestral background that describes the madness of the captain and the horror feelings he experiences when he looks at himself in a mirror. Eventually he comes back to consciousness for the tragic grand finale. 

The last track “Morte” (Death) is a long, complex epic. It begins with a heartfelt recitative part where the voice of Mauro Ghilardini is backed and counter-pointed by the powerful rhythm section. Wave after wave, memory after memory the captain realizes that his hunt for knowledge is useless and that the unknown is still an enigma for him, “a past overflowing with mystery that returns like a wave on the shores of the present, thence surrounded like valiant, naive men by the dark sky of hope that wraps bodies like a clean shroud...”. Ahab begins to feel guilty and his words sound like a lay prayer to Mother-Nature but it’s too late! 

Now the music describes the fighting between the men and the white monster... Then the struggle gives way to a calmer part and melodic, operatic vocals soar... This time there’s nothing more to say, there’s nothing but the sea, no harbour on the horizon, no time left to regret, no goal to reach... “It’s an everlasting trial... / An inner battle to discover / A doubt to abandon / A new faith to set off towards oceans of light / Immense but fragile expectations...”. The captain’s obsession leads him and his crew to perdition and death. When the sounds of the battle fade away we can hear a child playing and singing as a final message of hope. A dreamy, instrumental coda concludes this excellent work. On the whole a really good album featuring a beautiful packaging and a booklet full of drawing and images related to the plot. Do not miss it!

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Minstrel: Ahab (2009). Other opinions:

Thomas Szirmay: Minstrel waited for 10 years before releasing their sophomore follow-up to the fabulous "Faust", an absolute shiny icon in my prog collection. That can be a ridiculous interval but so many prog musicians have day jobs and family obligations that one can only patiently wait, even though I must admit I was fearful of another one-shot wonder. Their lusty combination of operatic vocals, driving rhythm section and scorching guitar is a formula to die for, and it is maintained on Ahab in spades (and clubs and diamonds and hearts!)... (read the complete review HERE)

Read the interview with the band at progarchives. Click HERE

More info:

http://www.minstrel.it/

http://www.myspace.com/mauroghilardini

http://www.myspace.com/michelesavoldelli

TWELVE SHORT STORIES

“Dodecahedron” is the fourth album by Daal and was released in 2012 on the independent label Agla Records. The project is always led by drummer David Guidoni and keyboardist Alfio Costa and this time the guest musicians who joined the party are Ettore Salati (guitars), Luca Scherani (bouzouki), Roberto “Bobo” Aiolfi (bass), Alessandro Papotto (sax, flute, clarinet), Vincenzo Zitello (Celtic harp, flute), Marcella Arganese (classical guitar), Chiara Alberti (cello) and Sylvia Trabucco (violin).



Davide Guidoni and Alfio Costa

The album features twelve instrumental tracks that were built upon words and the sound is more compact, richer than in the past. The tracks have no title but every one is linked to a short story that you can read in the enclosed poster. In fact, this is a kind of conceptual work: Davide Guidoni and Alfio Costa wrote some short stories, then asked their fans to send them other short stories, chose the better ones and composed the music trying to capture the spirit of the words and their emotional content. In my opinion the result is surprisingly good, the musicians reached their goal and delivered twelve charming, evocative pieces drenched in emotion.
 

art cover

The opener was inspired by a disquieting story of madness and solitude, “Bianco” (White), by an unknown author. The interaction between the piano and the other instruments marks the contrast between an external, apparent calm and inner the feelings of inquietude and fear of the protagonist while threatening shadows are approaching... “My words have no voice any more, my soul has no light and my thoughts melt into the oblivion of this room with padded white walls...”. Next comes the track inspired by “Sclerotics Days”, by Davide Masciavé. Here malady is compared to an uninvited guest that haunts you, invisible and ever present. Sadness is all over the place, your enemy hides in the dark while your senses frequently confound night and day, dreams and nightmares. A sick, obscure moon lights your way...

The third track was inspired by “La suora nera” (The black nun) by Alfio Costa. The dreams of a little child turn into a nightmare and the Devil comes in disguised, hidden by religious symbols. There are autumnal colours and sinister shadows, a hard rock incipit, a classical inspired passage with piano and violin, another tense, dark section followed by a pastoral one, then the rhythm rises again with a Martial bolero pace. Well, a wonderful track full of nuances and surprises! The following track was inspired by “La bambola di lana” (The doll of wool) a sad, evocative story by another anonymous author where you can see the trauma of the loss of the parents through the innocent eyes of a little children. Here Death appears as a dreadful swarm of moths devastating the house.

The fifth track was inspired by “L'ultimo incontro” (The last randez-vous), a short story by Mauro Marino describing the agony of a man who is not ready to die, not yet! He asks for a last breath of life, a last ray of sun while sax notes soar like desperate prayers in the wind. The sixth track was inspired by “Dodecahedron”, a Gothic story by Davide Guidoni about a haunted country house. The music is excellent, it flows away like the soundtrack of a horror film and features a guitar solo that could recall David Gilmour.

The seventh track was inspired by “La Torre” (The tower) by Daniela Cologgi and features Celtic influences and an atmosphere full of mystery. It describes the tower of a medieval castle and the tragic flight of some women haunted by its ghosts. The following track was inspired by “Il bambino e il sogno” (The child and the dream) by Marco D'Andrea, a short story dealing with the fears and the dreams of a child. The music underlines the contrast between dark and light, dream and reality. The child opens the window, the dream is frightened by a scarecrow and melts at dawn...

The ninth track was inspired by “I Can Not Let Go...”, a story by Galina Azarenkova about the “thick but echoing emptiness” that the slow agony of a dying man provokes in his wife. The music begins with a sudden surge of rage, then many changes in mood and rhythm follow. Next comes the track inspired by “The Moon Is Pale Tonight” by Miroslav Gasko that depicts a wooden house on a hill where crazy musicians play, then poets who write their poems with their tears and a lonely child unable to live outside his dreams...

The eleventh track is taken from “I Left For Home” by Drew May that describes a cathartic listening experience. The mood is dreamy, almost hypnotic... After a hard day we meet a man on his way home, he looks forward to listen to his beloved music losing the concept of reality, at least for a short time... The last track was inspired by “Il padre che vedevo distante” (The father I used to feel far) by Daniele Cutali. A man sees in a dream his late father. Father and son never got along with each other but now the dead father comes just to say “Thank you” and appears to his son nearer than ever before. The music here features strong classical influences and a very suggestive mood.

After more than seventy minutes of music and emotions the album comes to an end. There are no weak moments nor fillers, everything works. Bravi!

Daal: Dodecahedron (2012). Other opinions:

Conor Fynes: The music is full of potential, but the album seems content to wander, and 'window shop' through a variety of sounds, without picking one and developing it long enough to create something truly magical... (read the complete review HERE).

More info:

http://www.daal.it/

http://www.myspace.com/daalband

http://www.reverbnation.com/daalband

http://www.facebook.com/DAALMUSIC