AFFRESCHI E MEDITAZIONE

Italian band RUNAWAY TOTEM was formed back in 1988, and has a dozen albums to their name as of 2015. They are generally considered to be amongst the relatively few bands exploring a brand of progressive rock known as Zeuhl, with a trilogy of albums released in the '90s generally considered to represent the band at their very best, and are otherwise known for having a fairly constantly revolving line-up. "Affreschi e Meditazione" is their 11th full-length production, and is also their most recent studio album, released by Lizard Records in 2012.

"Affreschi e Meditazione" comes across as a fairly innovative production. This is an album that combines elements from cosmic, psychedelic, ethnic and ambient music into a grand totality that is more challenging than what you'd expect from such a brew. Mainly by combining ambient and intense details, but also by using sounds and tones that are either challenging or unusual or both. An intriguing production on many levels, and one to inspect if ethnic-tinged, cosmic music created in a challenging manner sounds like something you might enjoy, especially if you also have a taste for jazz rock.