CINQUE

Deus ex Machina, after four albums, had finally generated enough buzz to get picked up by Cuneiform Records who would distribute their work worldwide. Their fifth album, aptly titled Cinque, was clearly going to be the group's most important release to date. Fortunately, the album was and continues to be a success. They increased their fanbase and received a bunch of positive reviews. It's clear why. The six members of Deus ex Machina are all fantastic, quirky musicians who play hard without giving the listener the feeling that they are showing off (for some reason, prog fans these days have a problem with self-indulgence). Their compositions are complex (although not as much as they were on the preceding album), though, and it definitely takes a few listens to get a good grasp of everything. Also, and this is my only complaint about this album/band, there are no strong melodies anywhere. Vocalist Alberto Piras has a five-octave vocal range, but it seems that he hasn't figured out how to use all of it to great effect. The vocal lines are able to show off his range without the feeling that they're only written to show them off, but they don't have any effect whatsoever. The listener will easily make a connection between Piras and Area vocalist Demitrio Stratos, but while Stratos' vocal lines were either bold and insane or straight-up melodic (both used to great effect), Piras tries to blend both and the result is rather difficult both to enjoy and to remember. Fans of the avant-garde will have little trouble accepting or even enjoying these vocals, and they are more than likely who Piras is catering to anyway.

For me, the band is actually most stunning in the acoustic format. The songs "Olim Sol Rogavit Terram I" and "Luce" involve a lot of intricately woven acoustic guitars & violin and they are the most passionate pieces on the disc. However, the rockin' jam toward the end of "Uomo Del Futuro Passato" is also really strong in this regard. Consequently, these songs are the highlights for me.

Adventurous, challenge-oriented music fans will get a kick out of this disc. Jazz-Fusion fans will at the very least dig the instrumental passages. Everyone else may have a more difficult time with it, but I would recommend sampling at least the three aforementioned tracks.