ASSURDO

Those Italians. What a diverse progressive movement they have had all of these years. And this "Assurdo" by Garden Wall release is a further example of the continued "new progressive" slant on the music scene. I would like to thank Claudio from NICHELODEON for honoring me with a review copy of this CD. It's great to see "kindred spirits" assisting each other in this day of tough economy and no way to really promote these progressive projects.

So, the music. Where do I start? Well, since others have given wonderful reviews, song-by-song, I believe that I will speak only of the overall musical adventure. And what an adventure it is. The style is dark, aggressive, but unlike others that have compared it to "metal," I hear the heavier side as modern edgy prog rock. The vocals are just that - "vocals" - not really singing in the traditional manner. I usually don't like this approach, but here it works absolutely perfectly. There is an array of percussive and melodic instruments used to compliment the very tight, inventive rhythm section. Although not much soloing within the hour or so of music, what is there is impressive and appropriate for the surrounding texture and rhythm. There is even a slight bit (very small) of traditional jazz thrown in quite artistically.

As maybe others have stated, there are ten songs listed, but the songs are sewn together to present an aural statement of dynamic - dramatic music. And even though there is a lot of drama in the sense of powerful sections, there is real art and beauty weaved within the mix to give you a sense of relief, hinting at more, almost violent sections just around the corner.

As I conclude this review, I must say that at first I felt that this was all "too much" - but as we've learned through the many years; that if the story is truly progressive and worth hearing, there are many things to learn and appreciate with every listen. As I enjoyed the second, third and many subsequent spins of the CD, I grew familiar with the music and fell in love with the dramatic reading of well played, professionally produced modern progressive rock.

Even though I will always love the giants of the past with their iconic classic foundation of inventive progressive rock, these Italian musicians are laying a new path of modern construction. While growing and continuing with the progressive music movement, they also honor the beginning of its creation with their slight musical references to the past gods. Bravo to these fine adventurers.