ABISSI INFINITI

The Italian band ABISSI INFINITI and his only release "Tunel" don't seems to me a classic RPI act.Nothing to compare, with bands like BMS , PFM or Le Orme... In fact the sound from these guys is morre close to pop rock music.However, as soon the music starts in track 1 "Come Bambini Di Sera" the more incautious listener could make this mistake, due to the overture of music. another good moment as in the track 3 "Spirale" a type of hard prog which ends in a mellow ballad. In short , only about 10 min in a 34:23 of duration for whole album. For this reason I can't give more than 2 stars !!!

A young group from Vicenza, basically found in a basement of a local house in an evening of 1975, where the future members had been gathered.The documents and texts reveal the fact that the band was playing in an amateur level with local gigs and occasional jam gatherings, but in 1981 they decided to record and release an independent LP.The musician were Alberto Cazzola on keyboards, Paolo Fin on drums, Claudio Liotto on piano/vocals, Lucio Negretto on bass and Andrea Zanatta on guitar, adding Enrico Kotterl on Solina strings for the upcoming sessions.The album was titled ''Tunnel''.

The front cover might confuse a buyer for ''Tunnel'' being closer to a Hard Rock or Heavy Metal album, but the album was actually a refined Symphonic Rock with lots of Pop elements and a typical 80's production, where the synthesizer and piano have replaced the analog keyboards, while the symphonic arrangements of the period bands have become very polished and even radio-friendly.So the point was to produce some decent and memorable music and Abissi Infiniti were quite good on it, they appear to be influenced by PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI and BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO, as their compositions contained lots of keyboards and piano interludes next to the elaborate guitar parts.Of course this is 1981 and the tracks contain also hints of Italian Soft Rock and Pop, but even so every piece has at least one interesting moment, either it's a beautiful, GENESIS-spiced guitar solo or some well-crafted keyboard themes with symphonic overtones.The music is at a good level with some acoustic breaks among the electric pieces, on the other hand some weak synth moves and the ultra-sweet vocals are not among the album's highlights plus some of the pieces sound not properly developed.But the unique Italian atmosphere is always there and the tracks contain plenty of beautiful melodies.

So, this band was just made for fun and only Enrico Kotterl was involved in another Italian Prog album with songwriting credits, Gli Apostholi's ''Un'isola senza sole''.No question, he wrote all the lyrics for Abissi Infiniti's sole output and continued to work as a graphic designer.

Reissue out on Mellow Records and file next to GUERCIA and ATON'S.Melodic, semi-symphonic Italian Prog with a balanced atmosphere, romantic climates and decent arrangements, far from personal or outstanding.Recommended.

I wouldn't say that I was thrilled while I listened to this album.

It offers some good chunk of fine ISP, but not too many to tell the truth. Some nice symphonic moments are experienced ("Come Bambini di Sera " and the fine instrumental "Spirale"). Emotion is on the rendezvous; which is the least that I expect from the genre.

Vocals are globally OK but no more. Thanks to a very sweet mood, some pleasant early "Genesis" feel are displayed during "Il Segreto". Some jazzy atmosphere is not unpleasant while one is listening to "Nebbia Incantata".

It offers some variety in this work, which is rather pleasant so far even if there are hardly great songs: just decent music to my ears ("Fessure Di Luna"). The music played by the band is not more on par after that. While you listen to "Merlino", you just ask yourself: what happened here???

The emotional closing number, thanks to some passionate vocals "La Grotta Di Cristallo" is a very good song as the superb ISP genre has offered to us (and you might know that I am quite an "aficionado" of the style).

This album is not a great one, but it holds some good chunks of the great Italian prog genre I have praised so much: three stars sounds legitimate for this album.

This album might have you wondering if you're actually listening to Il Volo in disguise as Abissi Infiniti share that band's propensity for lush and melodic light progressive music, albeit with even more of a pop sensibility. 'Nebbia Incantada' (Enchanted Fog) is probably the best example with its lyrical vocals, spiky guitar and electric piano. This song is also one of the more progressive on the album, the other notable one being 'Come Bambini di Sera' (Like Children in the Evening). If not exactly complex, these two songs at least have some semblance of multi-part structures to add interest.

The album's sole instrumental 'Spirale' (Spiral) sounds like a funky version of Yes while the remainder of the songs are pretty but nondescript ballads, mostly dominated by piano and Solina string-ensemble. Having said that if you look below the surface there is certainly a bit of depth, especially in the lyrics. For example the title-track is concerned with the pain and despair of social isolation. Although the protagonist is described as important and has the world in his hands he has no one to talk to, his friends are absent and he has no one waiting at home: 'you want to run away... you want to escape from your destiny, you see a tunnel.'

In case anyone was wondering about the connection between the generally soft dreamy music and the rather warlike artwork, a little explanation might be in order. Throughout the album the Italian lyrics refer to wizards, swords and bewitched lakes, and the lovely picture of 5th century Romano-British figures on the cover reinforces the conceptual feel. The album closes with a brace of tracks that are based on Arthurian legend, the first of which, 'Merlino' (Merlin), is inspired by the supposedly devil-begotten magician. 'La Grotta di Cristallo' (The Crystal Cave) then tells how Uther Pendragon conquered Tintagel Castle from Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. And with the help of Merlin, Pendragon tricks Lady Igraine into sleeping with him and she conceives Arthur: 'Now alone in the cave you try the magical arts in the fire, that with mean deceit gave to King Pendragon, merry knight, a bride, Igraine, and caused the death of the traitor duke.'

'Tunnel' is an obscurity that will probably be of interest only to serious RPI collectors, and even then it might be quite far down the pecking order. However the vinyl copy is something of a rarity and Mellow Records are sold out of the CD, so it might be prudent to buy this one when you see it.

I am not sure what the connection between the excellent artwork and the music is. It fooled me into buying this album. That's for sure.

The music is pretty stagnant, mellow symphonic prog pop. The thirty-five minutes is drenched in keyboards and the tempo is mellow throughout. To make this work, the main ingredients need to be good songs. This album has none. A couple of pretty decent songs and that's all. The musicians seems OK. There are some good pieces here now and then. But the album is rooted in the 1980s and has not survived the test of time. Unfortunate; not everything from this Italian scene is pure gold.

2.5 stars

Abissi Infiniti is a forgotten symphonic prog band from Italy from early '80's. That is no wonder because in those times almost no body was intrested in this kind of music, of course there was exceptions. They release a single album in 1981 and is a dreamy symphonic prog with nice keye passages not far from Genesis, PFM, Scaramouche or even in places Grobschnitt, combined aswell with that special pop ingredients of italian school. The resoult is Tunnel an album not very much of an intrest but not bad either, is almost typical for that period and for some reviewers and listners is a totaly unintristing symphonic prog. I find it enjoyble, ok, not very strong , but ok to be listened from time to time. I will give 2.5 rounded up to 3 because in my ears are not bad moments only some unintristing chops here and there. Still plesent all the way. If you look to the cover art you have the feeling you listen to some hard rock heavy metal band from that period, contrary to the mellow and dreamy music inside. The album was re released on CD in 1994 at Mellow records.

A different album from a common band. Half of the tracks are prog or at least prog-related, the other half is pop, pop, pop. anyway, considering the release date one will not find any smell of some obnoxious moods of late 70s or early 80s, except some incipient new wave tunes. ABISSI INFINIT's "Tunnel" is simply a set of neat and agreeable songs, nothing exceptional but able to amuse the hearer - if one is not searching for intriguing emotions and surprising happenings.

Influences from many other bands are noticeable and sometimes we may solve the puzzle by checking all references thrown here and there. 'Come bambini di sera', the opening track, seems a rag sheet made from pieces borrowed from several other older Italian bands. 'Il segreto' could have been recorded by New Trolls and only a few people might ever perceive. 'Spirale' is a clear paean to Yes, very catchy. 'Tunnel' and 'Abissi infiniti' complete the prog part of the album, being the second a reminder of Novalis. The other songs are perhaps good to dance or to sing along if one knows the lyrics.

Vocals are fair, instrumentation too, cover art is impressive. All in all, a plain album considering the prog half and a poor one if looking only the pop half (from a progressive point of view). In the average, a 2-star album and so if you are not a fan or a collector, I recommend looking for another album and leave to purchase this one in a third or fourth batch of choices.

A symphonic album from 1981? I'm sure critics hanged them...and gave them all the "lost in space in time" attributes..even in it's prime, this was an obsolete record.

Thanks to the era of CD reissues, this one is slightly less obscure but however, it won't became a significant milestone of progressive rock. Because it's mediocre. It's average. It's a template. It's pleasant, that's right, but it's pleasant because I like symphonic rock and its characteristics.

How does this album actually sound like?

The sound is fine. Healthy bass, drums, guitars, sometimes soloing in thirds. Weird Italian vocal, like someone aged 12 forcing to sound mature. String synths all over the place (the most pleasant thing on this album). Synth. Lovely piano. That's it.

The songs are mostly mellow balads, sometimes approaching multi-part construction without very "epic" feel. There are some interplays here and there, but there's nothing too spectacular. Lovely melodies here and there but...they're so PREDICTABLE! That's the main problem of this album, it's predictable. Within the prog rock template. Now piano part, now the drums will kick in, now the chorus...it's all lovely (or at least decent), but there's not a single second when you will say "Wow!"

There's nothing wrong with this album. It just belongs to the genre that contains thousands of more intriguing, enjoyable and simply better music.