HEAVEN AND HELL

La Maschera di Cera are an Italian prog band based in Genoa that came to life in 2001 on the initiative of bassist and multi instrumentalist Fabio Zuffanti. The line-up on “LuxAde”, their third album, also features Agostino Macor (keyboards), Alessandro Corvaglia (vocals, acoustic guitar), Andrea Monetti (flute, sax) and Maurizio Di Tollo (drums). The album was released in 2006 for the independent label Immaginifica and was produced by PFM drummer Franz Di Cioccio. Well, all La Maschera di Cera’s albums are absolutely worth listening to and “LuxAde”, a conceptual work based on the contrast between light and dark as metaphors of good (Lux) and evil (Ade), is my favourite one so far. The sound of the band is deeply rooted in the seventies and the influences of bands as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso or Le Orme are clear, nonetheless they do not lack originality managing to add a personal and up to date touch to vintage sounds with excellent results.

The opener “Porta del cielo” (Heaven’s door) is just a short delicate instrumental introduction for piano solo that leads to “Doppia immagine” (Double image), a complex track describing the urge to leave a dark reality of mirrors and false images and to look for the light and a better way of life. The music features swirling flutes and a jazzy sax solo and there are many changes in rhythm and mood that seem to underline how winding and difficult a spiritual path towards enlightenment might be. “I’m looking for the dawn inside my heart / I’m walking on a rope... I’m still living among the mirages of my dreams / I don’t want to keep on walking on the same steps / I’m wasting every moment of my life...”.

“Un senso all’impossibile” (A sense to the impossible) is a long, complex track in two parts. The first part, “Teatro di follia” (Theatre of madness), begins softly and features acoustic guitar and delicate flute lines. An introspective quest for light and truth could make you lose touch with reality and drive you insane. Blinded by the light and by your desire to fly away like Icarus you risk falling... “When the wind blows further to the North / Towards white and pale auroras / This earth will slowly melt into a mirage, like Atlantis... The horizon broke the border of my world / Closed and still / In a trip, theatre of madness / I was giving a sense to the impossible...”. Pounding bass lines coming out from the fading sound of the blowing wind introduces the second part of the track, “Il ricordo” (The Remembrance), then soaring swirling flute notes come in and the rhythm takes off. Here the music might recall BMS, featuring wild keyboard waves and passionate vocals. Holy passions and vain dreams of glory drive your flight to nowhere and once you have realized that, a feeling of rage rises, then rage gives way to an infinite tiredness... “I run after planets and faint versions of God / But now, all that I was running after is vanishing in the wind / And my soul is tired to start again from zero / To breathe again / To burn again / To fly again...”.

“Orpheus” is a track full of energy featuring a particular dark, bitter-sweet mood. When you lose contact with reality you also risk losing the people you love. Losing love can lead to losing hope... “I look at your face and I can’t find it anymore / I can’t hear your voice / I feel the abyss that is here and I want to take you with me...”. The title was inspired by a character of ancient Greek mythology. You can imagine travelling down to the underworld to take back what you have lost, as Orpheus did to save his dead lover Eurydice, but you know that it would be useless... “I’m not dreaming anymore / I chose to go far beyond / Thousands of errors with me... I’m not looking for the truth anymore / If you are sinking with me...”.

“Nuova luce” (New light) is a complex track in four parts, “Passato” (Past), “Sogno” (Dream), “Presente” (Present) and “Realtà” (Reality). The music features sudden changes in mood and some interesting classical hints. Once you have found a new light you could realize that, all in all, it’s not better than the one you left... “Over there, lost forever / Melted into the dark / This consumed new light will vanish / Other colours / Different reality...”. The end of this track reminds me of Lucio Battisti and evokes some other “thoughts and words”...

Next comes the wonderful suite in nine parts “Enciclica 1168”, the “plat de résistance” of this work. It tells the story, set in the Middle Ages, of a monk obsessed by his faith in God. The first part “Scena I: Preludio (gennaio 17)” describes an abbey and the troubled monk. The abbey is surrounded by a village whose inhabitants don’t care for the “holy hand of God” and live in sin, getting drunk and creating barriers between what belongs to earth and the holy thoughts due to God. In the following scenes the music and words describe the monk killing a blasphemous man, pushed by the vision of a cross of light. Once the crime has been discovered the inhabitants of the village try to track the monk down but he transforms himself into a gigantic wasp with angel wings to exterminate the sinful people wiping them out from the earth... “A blade of light / Was all they needed / To melt the wax of its flight...”. The perfect interaction between all the members of the band help create a Gothic atmosphere where the evil side of religious power is depicted as in a psychedelic dream. 

The last track, the colourful instrumental “Schema (v.s.d.)” is a perfect conclusion for an amazing album. Dark and light have many nuances and I’m sure you’ll discover a new one every time you listen to this brilliant work... 

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

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

More info: 
http://mascheradicera.wordpress.com/ 
http://www.myspace.com/mascheradicera 
https://www.facebook.com/mascheradicera 

A DREAM AT SEA

La Maschera di Cera's sophomore album, “Il grande labirinto” (The great labyrinth), was released in 2003 on the independent label Mellow Records with the same line up of the previous one featuring Fabio Zuffanti (bass, acoustic guitar), Agostino Macor (piano, organ, mellotron, moog, harpsichord, synthesizer, guitar), Marco Cavani (drums, percussion), Alessandro Corvaglia (vocals) and Andrea Monetti (flute, recorder). During the recording sessions they were helped by some guests musicians as Antonella Trovato (oboe, arrangements) and Nick Le Rose (electric guitar) who added more musical colours to the overall sound and the result is excellent. Although the music draws abundantly on the Italian prog legacy of the early seventies it would be unfair define this album as merely derivative or nostalgic since the sounds here are mixed with poetry and new ideas to conjure up evocative, timeless images and stir emotions and feelings.

La Maschera di Cera 2003

In the booklet you can find a quote taken from a poem by Russian Romantic poet Fyodor Tyutchev, “A Dream At Sea”, that in some way explains the conceptual thread of the album... “Our boat was being tossed by the storm and the sea. Sleepy, I was abandoned to the full caprice of the waves. Deep within me two immensities met and willfully they played with me... I flew deafened in a chaos of sounds but above the chaos of sounds my dream was borne... Through the rays of my fever it unfolded its world: the earth shone green, the ether grew bright. There were labyrinth-gardens, pillars and halls. And myriads of silent crowds seethed...”. The art cover provides another clue to find out more about the subject matter of this album. It's taken from a tableaux by the Dutch-Indonesian painter Jan Toorop, O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory, which portrays a dying man half-hidden behind two young women who are trying to free him from life, while the figures on the right represent his earthly resentment, envy, jealousy, hate, love and conflict. Well, that said, the transcendental journey described in this work can begin. Are you ready?

Jan Toorop, O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory (1892)

The opener “Il viaggio nell'oceano capovolto parte 1” (The journey through the upside-down ocean part 1) is a long suite divided into four sections. The first part, “La fine del viaggio” (The end of the journey), has a slow pace and marks the end of your life as you know it and the beginning of a new experience. As you become unconscious you get lost in the sound of the ocean and you can hear a sad song soaring in the winter of your eyes... “Just another moment would have been enough / To hang on life / The effort to resist is finished... I feel so miserable as I face these last minutes of existence / I hide myself and I run away from reality... Alone among the mirrors of the ocean... Beyond any glimmer of the world...”. You've just set off on an apparently one-way journey towards the unknown leaving behind you a harbour of malady and now a sweet, violent sleep shakes your soul. A short, dark instrumental section follows, “Il vortice” (The vortex). The third section, “La consunzione” (Consumption), brings back melody and new energies. You can't escape from the vortex of unreality that draws you away, there's no horizon, no moon above you, you're scared, you're just a silent prisoner of your delirium and now you look at a seagull which dives in the ocean... “I look at the sky from two dimensions / I would get lost, I would get worn / I would follow the dream / After having revolved in the dark, in the truth...”. But the bitter truth is that death can't set you free yet. Your world is crumbling and you fall down, baffled by the waves. Darkness and gloom are all around you but a dim, ageless light still shows you the way. The last section, “Il cristallo” (The crystal), is a nice jazzy instrumental part that seems to forecast new, complicated developments. 

The title track is another complex, crepuscular suite. Now you are like a ghost who can't live and can't die, you would like to live again with your truth but you can't remember what you have lost... “Today is another day that I will lose in the great labyrinth... I've lost everything, I can't come back / Look at me, listen to me / Time is running out... You can't see me / But I feel you in my reality / It's true, you know / You can save me...”. There are incredible forces and energies that can heal your soul and melt the ice of an eternal winter and you have to keep on searching for them. The rhythm rises, becomes frenzied while electric guitar riffs and powerful organ rides push you forward. Then the music calms down as you reflect and ask yourself how much strength will be necessary to come back to life.

Next comes “Il canto dell'inverno” (Winter song), a short, evocative track featuring piano and keyboards in the forefront and a disquieting mood. It leads to the cathartic “Ai confini del mondo” (To the limits of the world), another complex track where you become aware of your past and of your errors. Now you can remember your time and you realize that you have betrayed the reasons of your heart. If you could come back you wouldn't make the same errors, you wouldn't heed the wrong people and you would do anything you can to avoid the end of your world... “You see, I've learned to love / I've understood the things that destroy time / To the limits of the world...”.

“Il viaggio nell'oceano capovolto parte 2” (The journey through the upside-down ocean part 2) is divided into seven sections and is longest track on this work (more than twenty-two minutes). The music and lyrics conjure up visionary images trying to describe the indescribable, the thin path that crosses the abyss between life and death, between reality and unreality. The first section, “Le probabilità” (The probabilities), is ethereal and takes you up in the cosmos, among star clusters revolving around a perfect center, upside-down in the dark. There's no dimension, you can't see or even conceive the void, reality and dream are blurred now... “You will follow me / And you will perceive our origin / Your soul will raise covering the reality...”. The second section, “L'ossessione” (The obsession) begins with a burst of energy and tension rises. You can't find a way out, you are trapped in the icy distance that separates the real world from your heart, you have to stop, you're exhausted but you feel that your pain will pass, you feel that you're slowly waking up as you walk calmly on the snow. The third section, “Il porto innevato” (The port under the snow) is melancholic and soft, filled with emotion. In the silence you can rediscover the traces of your past... “Look for them in the corners of oblivion / In the dust of your lost way / In the waves...”. The fourth section, “La ballata del vecchio marinaio, parte terza” (The rime of the ancient mariner, part three) recalls the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the surreal image of a ghost ship that takes you back to life. The beautiful instrumental section “L'ultimo giro” (The last spin) leads you to a new life that will appear as a waterfall, now you are waking up! The sixth section, “Il risveglio” (The awakening), celebrates the rebirth of your soul... “In your tearless eyes you show me the come-back... Among the infinite mirrors of the ocean / In the pearly substance of the horizon...”. Eventually, the last sumptuous, instrumental section, “L'oceano” (The ocean), leads to a happy end.

A short reprise of “La consunzione”, credited as a bonus track, concludes this challenging mix of music and poetry. On the whole, this is a very good album although not the best one from this very talented band.

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

La Maschera di Cera: Il grande labirinto (2003). Other opinions:

Vitaly Menshikov: The large number of fresh ideas on "Il Grande Labirinto" along with its clearly classic sound spells a major success for this album... Indeed, this masterpiece has everything necessary to quickly get a cult status and become a real classic for the future as well... (read the complete review HERE)
Conor Fynes: Although 'Il Grande Labirinto' does not quite reach the plateau of being one of my favourite RPI records ever, I would say that it's damned close, and may even become one of them, should it grow much more on me. La Maschera Di Cera are evidently an incredibly technically skilled act, but I was not expecting them to incorporate such a tasty dose of atmosphere into their music as they have done here. This is an album that becomes more enjoyable as the various ideas become more familiar to the listener... (read the complete review HERE).

More info: 
http://mascheradicera.wordpress.com/ 
http://www.myspace.com/mascheradicera 
https://www.facebook.com/mascheradicera 

MODERN ARCHAEOLOGY

La Maschera di Cera began life in Genoa in 2001 with a line up featuring Fabio Zuffanti (bass, acoustic guitar), Agostino Macor (piano, organ, mellotron, moog, harpsichord, synthesizer), Marco Cavani (drums, percussion), Alessandro Corvaglia (vocals) and Andrea Monetti (flute). Their aim was to re-discover the sounds and the dreamy atmospheres of the Italian progressive rock from the early seventies writing new original stuff with a vintage taste. In 2002 La Maschera di Cera released an eponymous debut album on the independent label Mellow Records with a beautiful art cover taken from a drawing by Jean Delville, a Belgian symbolist painter, writer and occultist. It's a concept album built upon a science-fiction plot: under the ruins of an ancient garden an archaeologist discovers a mysterious mask of wax dating back to 10.000 years B.C. Then, in a near catacomb he discovers a coat of armour...

La Maschera di Cera 2002

The opener, “La maschera di cera” (The wax mask) is a long suite divided into six sections. It begins softly, the atmosphere is dreamy and full of mystery... “Face of wax / I saw you in the wide garden / On the day of the beginning / I couldn't hear your voice / But there was something in you that was telling of a thousand hopes...”. The warm voice of Alessandro Corvaglia perfectly interprets the feelings of the protagonist at the astounding discovery of the ancient mask of wax and something magic happens... “Now I'm here / I'm walking on a tightrope suspended on the void / I can't go on...”. In the second part the rhythm rises, there's tension in the air. There's a kind of empathy between the archaeologist and the mask, he can learn from the mask something about his own life, he can see through it many things but he mistrusts these visions... “Your people wear strange masks / I look at them / I can hear them / I can feel them inside of me...”. The third part is more relaxed, in the dark silence of a catacomb the protagonist discovers a coat of tin armour. As if under a spell he can't wait, he has to step into his visions, in this new world... “I looked at my soul / I couldn't come back...”. The fourth part features an acoustic guitar arpeggio and a dreamy mood, the protagonist has made up his mind and at dusk an unknown peace permeates his heart... “I'm trying to learn / I'm trying to understand...”. Then the rhythm rises again, there are organ rides and fiery flute passages while the mysterious mask becomes the master of a new reality, a guide that the protagonist has to heed and trust to walk along the ways of this unreal dimension... “In your silence I chose something that does not exist / You will show me a new ego, a different world / But different from what?”. On the last part there's a reprise of the initial theme, the protagonist can't go on while burning dreams blend with reality... “I can clearly see your face / Now I know who are you / The future is in your hands...”.

“Del mio mondo che crolla” (Of my world that is crumbling) begins with a nervous, pulsing rhythm section and a swirling flute solo, then the synthesizers bring a sense of an uneasiness. The world of the protagonist is melting and what is left is nothing but the dark game of Death... “Everything has been written / Everything has been told / And I have lost your light...”. He's drawn in a fiery vortex of shadows and lights, he's in a nameless desert now, his heart becomes numb, he can hear the voice of the mask fading out, he does not recognize it any more, he feels like a nocturnal animal trapped in the house of the rising sun... “My wide wings have vanished / I want to see my fate...”.



Jean Delville: Parsifal, 1890 - charcoal drawing



“Del mio abisso e del vuoto" (Of my abyss and of void) is divided into three sections. It begins with bass and flute in the forefront, there's an electric calm all along and you can perceive an impending turn of events. The protagonist looks at the sundown, he can still feel the breath of the mask on him, he feels lost, tired, defeated. He has been looking for that lymph inside himself for years and now realizes that he has burnt his freedom in the wind, crying. On the second section the atmosphere becomes darker and you can imagine figures of bronze dancing in a game of shadows on a lost island while the protagonist falls down in the abyss. Here the female vocals provided by the guest Nadia Girardi add a touch of colour to some passages. Then the rhythm rises and brings back a bit of optimism. Suddenly the protagonist can see that the world is changing, the face of wax has melted and now it is shapeless, he can see a light in the dark, reflected in the eyes of some statues, something is shining down in a deep well and above him in the cosmos. Now he feels weightless and he's able to come back up from the abyss... “Maybe it's late / Maybe I've lost / Please, wait still for me / I can walk / I can see / I can fly...”.

The conclusive "Del mio volo" (Of my flight) begins with a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio and soaring flute notes... The atmosphere is dreamy and Alessandro Corvaglia's vocals seem to emerge from the early fogs of a September morning. The protagonist has wasted all of his words in pointless speeches, deceived by the flames of a false love but now he's ready for a new start... “A sudden light reveals the truth / I wake up as a little child / In a circle that will never be broken...”. Well, a magnificent album where the lyrics, art work and liner notes provide evocative imagery and the music flows away without weak moments compounding beautiful melodies and complex arrangements. Even if it's a throwback to early seventies Italian progressive rock I think that this work should be a must for every prog lover!

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

La Maschera di Cera: La Maschera di Cera (2002). Other opinions:

Conrad Leviston: The fact that La Maschera di Cera is a retro act that pays obvious homage to a number of classic Italian bands is going to make up a lot of people's mind about this album before they have heard a note. For me, however, it comes down to simple questions: are the references to other bands overdone? Is the quality of songwriting sufficient to support the concept? Fortunately for me, the answers come down as no and yes respectively. For all the allusions to other bands such as Il Balletto di Bronzo, the references tend to be about mood and instrumentation rather than yet another game of "Guess where we stole this riff from." The music also travels comfortably from the heavy, dense and atmospheric to the peaceful, melodic and uplifting... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.myspace.com/mascheradicera

https://www.facebook.com/mascheradicera

MOONLIGHT SHADOWS

L'Ombra della Sera (the name means “the evening shadow”) comes from Genoa and is a side project of three members of La Maschera di Cera: Fabio Zuffanti (bass), Agostino Macor (keyboards) and Maurizio Di Tollo (drums). Their aim is to recreate the atmospheres and the sounds of some Italian TV dramas from the early seventies but, in fact, the original themes taken from some old scores of that period are just a starting point since the band reinterpret them adding and developing new ideas, moulding and shaping something new with excellent results. In 2012 L'Ombra della Sera released an eponymous album on the independent label AMS/Btf featuring five covers rearranged and enhanced with the help of some guest musicians “undercover”, including the other members of La Maschera di Cera.

The opener “Gamma” was composed by Enrico Simonetti, father of Goblin's leader Claudio Simonetti, and comes from the soundtrack of a TV drama in four episodes of the same name directed by Salvatore Nocita in 1975. It's a sci-fi story set in Paris dealing with some crimes and a brain transplant. The band develop the initial theme with a dark, psychedelic taste and in my opinion the result is surprisingly good.

“La traccia verde” by Berto Pisano is taken from the soundtrack of a TV drama in three episodes of the same name directed by Silvio Maestranzi in 1975. It's a strange crime story mixed with science fiction where a case of murder is solved thanks to the signals emitted by some very particular witnesses, some plants present on the crime scene. It begins softly and the mood is dreamy.

“Ritratto di donna velata” by Riz Ortolani is taken from the soundtrack of a TV drama in five episodes directed by Flaminio Bollani in 1975. It's a mystery story, a noir set in Tuscany where on the opening theme appears the mysterious Etruscan statue called “L'ombra della sera” that gives the name to this project. The original theme here is rearranged with a funky groove pulsing under a veil of mystery. By the way, in the track list on the CD cover there's an inversion between track number three and track number four.

“Il segno del comando (Cento campane)” by Romeo Grano is taken from the soundtrack of a very successful TV drama in five episodes directed by Daniele D'Anza in 1971. It's an esoteric crime story set in Rome with an intriguing screenplay by the writer Giuseppe D'Agata. It features a vocal part that according to the liner notes is provided by Marco Tagliaferri but this is just a pseudonym. Marco Tagliaferri is one of the characters of the TV drama while this piece is sung by La Maschera di Cera's singer Alessandro Corvaglia. In the liner notes you will find also other characters from the TV dramas credited as musicians.

The last track “Ho incontrato un'ombra (A blue shadow)” by Berto Pisano is taken from the soundtrack of a TV drama in four episodes of the same name directed by Daniele D'Anza in 1974. It's a crime story intertwined with mystery and romance where an obscure past haunts the protagonists. The original theme is developed as if in a long jam session with elements of free jazz.

On the whole a very nice album that gives you the chance to plunge back in the past through images and sounds.

You can listen to the complete album in streaming HERE

L'Ombra della Sera: L'Ombra della Sera (2012). Other opinions:

Jim Russell: The five pieces which range in length from four minutes to an 18 minute monster combine that spooky horror movie retro vibe with the refined professionalism of these individuals. They took this project very seriously and the results are evident. Starting with the somewhat campy and spooky-fun soundtrack backbone, which creates a dramatic and very visual feel, they draw on classical, jazz, funk, and rock to arrive at a sophisticated final piece. The moods and pace vary, sometimes sequences are relaxing and melodic with the mellotron and period keys, other times they veer into VDGG styled semi-dissonance with wailing saxophones and tortured sound welling up louder and louder... (read the complete review HERE)

More info:

http://www.zuffantiprojects.com/ombradellasera/index.htm