DIMENSIONS AND TRUTH

 

Mysteria Noctis came to life in Como in 2011 on the initiative of Alessio Negretti, Alberto Negretti and Giacomo Piccinini, inspired by bands such as Opeth, Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater. After a long time spent in the rehearsal room and a good live activity on the local scene, in 2015 they self-produced and released a debut full length album entitled Higher Dimensions with a line up featuring Alberto Negretti (vocals), Alessio Negretti (guitars), Matteo Menafro (keyboards), Pietro Francoli (bass) and Giacomo Piccinini (drums).

 

It’s a still immature work where death and black metal sounds prevail although the band try to blend them with many other different influences, from jazz to prog. Wild, raw sections characterized by growl and screamed voices alternate with calmer acoustic passages and symphonic digressions throughout the five long tracks of the album. “Decadence”, “Cry Of The Ocean”, “Iter Mentis In Deum”, “Logos” and “Of Flames And Eternity” give life to a kind of suite full of interesting ideas, although not always musically coherent. Nonetheless, for the band this was just the starting point...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

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The follow up of Mysteria Noctis’ debut album is Quid est veritas?, an EP that was released in 2017. It represents a step forward and an important change of direction in the style of the band when compared with the previous work from 2015. It was released on the independent Areasonica Records label with a confirmed line up featuring Alberto Negretti (vocals), Alessio Negretti (guitars), Matteo Menafro (keyboards), Pietro Francoli (bass) and Giacomo Piccinini (drums). Here the musicians leave back most of their death and black metal influences in the search for a more personal style. According to the band, this work is focused on the search for Truth, in the deepest and most absolute sense of the term. It’s the human journey towards the light that drives away the unknown, a path that tries to get closer to knowledge but is strewn with obstacles and rarely reaches a definitive conclusion in the span of a single lifetime.

 

The title track is a long suite sung in Italian (despite the title being in Latin) for which the band also shot a video directed by Simone Sacchi. It depicts the regrets that emerge from foggy memories and from the ashes of an arrogant ego obsessed with knowledge and blinded by greed. But the truth is that a man will never understand the nature of what lies behind the veil of the senses...

 

The second and last track, the lively “Swinging Mind”, is shorter and is sung in English. In the own words of the band, two progressive rock songs with two different perspectives, different styles that manage to complete a story by making the most of the combination of the tension and restlessness that form the background to the first song and the pinch of madness and instability that unfold during the second...

You can listen to complete the EP HERE

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/MysteriaNoctis/

A MATTER OF CHOICE

Libero arbitrio is the first solo album by Amos Ghirardelli, a keyboard player and composer from Sassuolo, now based in the province of Venice, with years of experience behind him. It was released in 2024 on the independent Velut Luna label and recorded with the contribute of a group of talented musicians who help highlight the compositional value of the pieces, mostly inspired by the symphonic progressive rock of the seventies. In fact, the line-up includes Amos Ghiradelli himself (keyboards), Andrea Valfrè (keyboards), Filippo Ghirardelli (piano), Andrea Ghion (bass - from Egonon and Aldo Tagliapietra Band), Roberto Parolin (drums - from Egonon), Matteo Ballarin (guitar - from The Former Life and Aldo Tagliapietra Band) and Massimo Bellio (vocals). The recording sessions took place at Magister Recording Area, in Preganziol, Treviso on August and September 2024 and I’m sure that the final result will please many prog fans...

The title track, “Libero arbitrio” (Free will), is a sort of declaration of intent that opens the album. It’s a long suite that starts by rarefied and dreamy atmospheres. The rhythm is slow but gradually grows while the melodic lines evoke strange trajectories in space and time. Then a short funky section followed by a marching beat introduces the sung part. The title refers to the capacity to choose between different possible courses of action, an ability that is connected to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, advice, persuasion, deliberation and prohibition. But do not worry, this is not a boring philosophical treatise. The music and lyrics are meant to give a stern warning: it is better to take the time to listen and carefully consider the advice of interested benefactors who could do you a lot of harm. They are like beasts that hunt you, black crows that do not help you, they are like a pack of wicked children who do not know the limit of fear and who seek you... You’ve better get rid of those people! Think twice and make your own choices...

The long instrumental “Oltre la nebbia” (Beyond the fog) begins by a slow keyboard intro that paints in black the musical canvas. Then dark organ sounds set a mystical atmosphere and a sense of bewilderment and restlessness. The central section with a delicate piano theme could make one think of a boat searching for its way through the fog, illuminated by soft night lights, among the narrow canals of Venice, while the final part, more decisive and jazzy, seems to suggest the exit from the strange lagoon web made of fog, doubts and nostalgia and the beginning of a new journey towards the unknown...

“Frammento di me” (Fragment of me) is an introspective and melodic song that speaks of the awareness of one's choices with hermetic verses and fragmentary images. Without scruples the protagonist rearranges and finds new words that he then interprets. Shivers of fantasy flow and the colours of May offer us images and destinations without tomorrow where you can get lost. Try to surrender to dreams while the mind leads you to secret places where you can find new songs. Don't let yourself get down, choose and what you have chosen will become possible and will make you see the deception of your freedom...

Then comes another long instrumental piece, “Dreaming Sanremo”. The organ introduction evokes an almost liturgical atmosphere, then the rhythm increases and the music takes you on unexpected paths, where relaxed and nocturnal moments alternate with sunny and majestic passages. The sky is a wonder and flowers are everywhere. Maybe it’s not for nothing that Sanremo, the city of the title, is also known as the city of flowers. By the way, Sanremo is also famous for the Italian song festival, an event that fortunately has very little to do with this track...

The short instrumental “Malinconia” (Melancholy) closes the album with a soft and relaxed atmosphere. Here you can find a hint of nostalgia and a touch of regret while the notes are used as pastel colours to paint an expressionist picture...

On the whole, a very interesting album that is worth listening to.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://www.referencemusicstore.it 

ANOTHER TRIP

 Now The Time Has Come is the second album by The Trip’s new course started in 2015 on the initiative of original drummer Pino Sinnone who took over the name and brand (initially as The New Trip) to keep alive the old repertoire of the band. While the previous work from 2021, Caronte 50 Years Later, was mainly focused on the re-interpretation of tracks from the early years of the band, this new album is based only on original pieces and fresh ideas. The consolidated line up features Pino Sinnone (drums), Andrea “Ranfa” Ranfagni (lead and backing vocals), Carmine Capasso (guitars, sitar, theremin, percussion, drums), Tony Alemanno (bass) and Andrea “Dave” D’Avino (Hammond, piano) plus the guests Nico Di Palo (vocals), Max Botto (Hammond, Moog, Mellotron, piano) and Giuseppe Sarno (Hammond). This work is not a concept album but in some way follows the atmospheres of The Trip’s second album from 1971, Caronte. The beautiful art cover by Lidia Grillo tries to give an idea of the musical content...

 

 

The album opens with the excellent instrumental “Joe’s Spirit”, composed by Max Botto and dedicated, as you can guess from the title, to The Trip’s original keyboardist and founder member Joe Vescovi. It’s a brilliant piece with many classical quotes and changes of rhythm. The atmosphere is dark, the organ is in the forefront backed by the rhythm section and everything works to help you cross the Styx on Charon’s boat...

 

 “Fragile Mimì” is sung in Italian and is dedicated to the memory of late Italian pop singer Mia Martini, an old friend of the band who had a love affair with Joe Vescovi in the seventies. It’s a delicate, intense ballad who evoke the sublime melodies that the singer was able to create with her voice. Described as sad and fragile, Mia is now just another star in the sky, a light in the darkness who has chosen to hide to find shelter from the judgements of malevolent people... 

 

 “Enigma” is another beautiful instrumental piece. It begins by threatening bass lines and dark organ sounds, then the drums and fiery electric guitar riffs break in contributing to build up an atmosphere of mystery and distress, perfectly suited to evoke a strange walk in the underworld where you can meet the souls of the dead...

 

 

 “Il mio capitano” (My captain) is dedicated to the memory of Pino Sinnone’s older brother, Rino. It’s another touching ballad interpreted by the particular voice of the special guest Nico Di Palo, historic member of New Trolls. The music and lyrics evoke an indelible memory emerging from the past and depict the image of two little children in the cold, lost in the snow. One of them shows his courage helping and comforting his younger brother...

 

 Unfortunately, in the following ballad “Two Friends” the vocals turn to English. The music and the hermetic lyrics tell of a surreal friendship where music is the real protagonist... Then comes the intense “Four Lives”, a piece dedicated to the late members of the band, Joe Vescovi, Wegg Andersen and Billy Gray. Pino Sinnone is the only surviving member of the original line-up but he feels that his former bandmates are still with him while he plays to keep their memory alive...

 

The Trip, 2023

 

 The autobiographical “Momento Prog”, despite the Italian title, is sung in English and sums up the spirit of this work. It’s a piece that starts by telling about the birth of a child's passion for rock music and drums, then recalls with puns based on the titles of the songs from the early years the experience and passion of playing together in a band like The Trip and ends by telling about the joy of picking up the drumsticks again and starting to play again after a long period of musical inactivity... 

 

 The album closes with an alternative version of “Il mio capitano”, sung this time by Andrea Ranfagni and considered a “bonus track”.

 

 On the whole, a very good work.

 

 You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/thetripbandofficial 

 

A FURIOUS TRIP

The first reunion of The Trip ended in 2014 after keyboardist and original member Joe Vescovi passed away. Drummer Furio Chirico gave up and from 2015 on the name and brand of the band has been in the loving hands of Pino Sinnone, drummer on the first two albums of the seventies. Nonetheless, in 2019 Furio Chirico decided to come back to the old repertory of the band with a new line up and with the main idea of continuing to open new paths through research and experimentation, without any nostalgic approach but staying true to the most genuine “progressive rock” texture. In 2022 the new course took form under the name Furio Chirico’s The Trip (to avoid confusion with the other current incarnation of the band) and released an interesting album entitled Equinox with a line up featuring, along with Furio Chirico (drums), also Paolo Silvestri (Hammond, synthesizers, vocals), Giuseppe Lanari (lead vocals, bass) and Marco Rostagno (guitars, vocals).

 

The opening track, “I’m Fury”, was composed by keyboardist Paolo Silvestri who dedicated it to his new band leader. Furio Chirico is here free to express his explosive, virtuosic and brilliant drumming, interacting with the organ and the other instruments in an exemplary way. The rhythm is fast, the atmosphere is full of emotion, the new trip begins...

 

The following “Mother Earth” deals with environmental issues and global warming. The music and lyrics depict a gloomy, arid landscape were you breath sand and ashes. Water is rare and precious, it looks like a Holy Grail. The countdown has begun, time is running out, Mother Earth is dying while we waste our energies in pointless discussions instead of trying to save her...

 

The beautiful “A Suite For Everyone” is a long, complex piece that blends baroque influences and psychedelic visions. It starts softly, the atmosphere is dreamy and relaxed. Then the rhythm takes off and the music goes through many changes. It’s time for memories and reflections about the time spent running after freedom, music, friendship, love and dreams. To be honest, the music is excellent but the vocal parts are not always up to the task and I think it’s a pity that the band did not choose to sing in their mother language. After all, Arvid “Wegg” Andersen was English but the new singer is not...

 

“Catch The Dreamin’” is a good track where the music and lyrics revolve around the concept of carpe diem, the necessity to seize the day and try to make your dreams come true when you have the chance because life is short and nothing can last forever...

 

“Downward Onward” tells of a personal crises. Boredom, drug addiction and bad habits could push you to lock your dreams and even your whole life in a closet, so you fall down. But sometimes joyful memories can do the trick and reverse the course of a life fathomed to doom. The image of your mother appears. She’s here to support and comfort you with her adorable tenderness telling you that you can go on and make it...

 

The acronym of “The Reason Inside Playing” is T.R.I.P. It’s a piece dedicated to the late bassist, vocalist and founder member Arvid “Wegg” Andersen and to the early days of the band. According to an interview, the lyrics of this piece were conceived as a kind of wordplay and the man in black they mention is, of course, Ritchie Blackmore who was part, for a short period, of the very first nucleus of The Trip...

 

The instrumental “Summer Solstice” was composed by guitarist Marco Rostagno and, according to the artist, it’s conceived as a story told by the voice of the lead guitar, imagining the sun that, in its maximum splendour, defeats the darkness, generating a true rebirth. The fiery electric guitar sound is in the forefront and the interaction with the other instruments is pretty good...

 

“Remember Joe” is dedicated to the late The Trip’s keyboardist and founder member Joe Vescovi. It begins by a church like organ section, a kind of requiem that might recall Bach, then the vocals evoke images from Atlantis and a call for a Time Of Change, beautiful sounds from the past that last in the memory of the music lovers. The final organ pattern fades in the last track, the short, dreamy instrumental “Story Of A Friend”...

 

In addition to the CD, this work also includes a DVD with the recording of the live performance at the Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin on May 23, 2022 where the members of the band showcase all their potential on stage. The set list features three songs from the new album, a selection of tracks from the 1972 album Atlantide, and a piece from the second album from 1971, Caronte.

 

On the whole, a very good work.

 

You can listen to the complete album HERE

 

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/thetrip.official/ 

 

BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

 

Spectrvm come from Cantù, a town in the province of Como, and their roots date back to 1974 when they took form under the name of Stratus. The first incarnation of the band was active until 1982 but never had the chance to release an album. In 2020, after a long period of hibernation, they came back to life with a new name and a renewed line up featuring Frank Lazzari (vocals, organ, keyboards), Jordan Bozzolan (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Daniele Bozzolan (bass, piano, backing vocals) and Marco Brega (guitars, backing vocals) plus the guest Renato Olivo (vocals, guitar). After a meticulous work in the recording studio, in 2023 they finally released their debut album, entitled Teschio del mondo, on the Terzo Millennio Records label. It’s an interesting work with a strong emphasis on melody that sometimes could recall bands such as Latte e Miele, La Corte dei Miracoli or La Bottega dell’Arte...

 

The opener “Anima” (Soul), alternates frenetic sections and reflective passages with beautiful melodic lines and harmony vocals that could recall New Trolls or Pooh. According to the liner notes, it tells in music and words of an inner journey into the depth of human nature with its fragilities and fears. The lyrics evoke sounds of silence carried by the wind and the image of a man who takes his soul in his hands. It’s a silver soul, a globe of light. At the end a friendly hand appears that helps him overcome his personal crisis...

“Bestia” (Beast) starts by an evocative organ solo and alternates melodic vocals to more aggressive passages (the short instrumental middle section, in fact, could recall Deep Purple). The lyrics describe a strange dream in which an ominous beast weaves a net and waits at the end of the road for his prey. The beast is a metaphor that symbolizes problems like drug addiction, mental illness, a nervous breakdown or a sudden lack of money...

“Nessuno piange, nessuno canta” (No one cries, no one sings) is a long, complex piece that tells the story of a pet dog that during a windy night escapes from the garden of a sad house in the suburbs. But life in a big city is very hard. The puppy is lonely and scared as he wonders through spectral streets, drunk on sounds, whipped by threatening lights, spied on by hostile eyes. He keeps on running, hunted down by kicks and noises, he’s exhausted, but when his heart is about to break a door opens. The ending of the story is up to you...

 

The funny “Sogni di pietra” (Dreams of stone) is a nice piece that describes the dreams of a stone longing for a more interesting life. It’s a metaphorical way to depict the feelings of someone who can’t change the rhythm of his life and whose days are all the same, all life long. Same horizon, same sun and moon, same view, same routine. For eternity...

The title track, Teschio del mondo (Skull of the world) is a short, visionary song that evokes dark thoughts and new expectations. The title refers to the image of the moon reflecting light in a dark, cloudless sky. The night comes wearing its black cloak and the moon looks like a skull. It’s the time when the spiders feed on their preys and the protagonist look at the sky in a hallucinatory way. In the dark someone steals, some other kills, others cry for help. The sun will come like a burning blade to bring back warmth and hope...

“Crisalide” (Chrysalis) is an excellent piece that tells in music and words of a metamorphosis. The dream of a new day and of a body that is going to change, the chrysalis slowly turns into a colourful butterfly, ready to take off with into sky. The chrysalis is still dreaming of its new life, a rebirth and a leap into the unknown, full of dangers like cobwebs or man and his madness. A lightning bolt or a flame could burn the butterfly that now dives into eternity...

 

“Prigione” (Prison) is a piece that expresses amazement and bewilderment. According to the liner notes, it is a tribute to the Seventies and to the psychiatric reform wanted by Franco Basaglia. This piece tells about the exit of a mentally ill person from his room and the eve of his return to the real world after years of isolation. Words and music try to express the feelings of the protagonist...

The last piece, “Templum” (Temple) is sung in Latin and wants to convey an atmosphere of mystic mystery. In fact, the short lyrics are the motto of the Knights Templar, a French military order of the Catholic faith that was founded 1118 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da Gloriam can be translated as Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory...

On the whole, a very good work that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

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