FIABA

While many Italian prog bands from the 70s came and went leaving a single album behind as evidence that they even existed, the Torino based PROCESSION got a second chance after a turbulent lineup change that left only lead vocalist Gianfranco Gaza and guitarist Roby Munciguerra remaining from the band's 1972 debut "Frontiera." The band pretty much undertook a complete makeover on its second release FIABA leaving behind the blistering hard rock / proto-metal twin guitar bombast of the debut and transmogrified itself into a more conventional romantic symphonic folky prog band in the vein of a more symphonic version of Le Orme with scattered other influences creeping in.

With only one guitarist PROCESSION was joined by saxophone and flute player Maurizio Gianotti, new bassist Paolo D'Angelo and drummer Francesco "Froggio" Francica who had played with Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno. This sophomore effort also featured a few guest appearances from keyboardist Franco Fernandez, Ettore Vigo of Delirium and a vocal appearance from Circus 2000 singer Silvana Aliotta. Basically this was a a different band and only PROCESSION in name only as it even swapped out for the Fonit label. The sounds of FIABA are on the mellower side of things in stark contrast to the raucous uproar of the debut. This album is permeated by dreamy atmospheres, romantic vocal performances and lots of woodwinds and sax. Bass, guitar and drums become more sparse after the opening track.

FIABA features six tracks that add up to 34 1/2 minutes of playing time and shows how a band is trying to reinvent itself without latching onto any certain stylistic approach but rather seems to be looking elsewhere for inspiration. While the debut "Frontiera" exuded a confidence and effortless execution, on FIABA, the new PROCESSION seems unsure of itself and ends up playing it safe for the album's run. The album begins decently with "Uomini Di Vento" which starts things off on an upbeat mode with heavy percussion and a funky guitar and bass groove with feisty guitar performances. This is as energetic as the album gets and nothing in comparison to the unhinged heavy metal performances on the debut. From here on the album tapers off and drifts through a series of symphonic prog performances as well as more folk oriented tracks culminating in the super mellow folk number "Il Volo Della Paura."

While the album ends well with the more upbeat title track which offers some excellent flute performances, in the end the album feels like a a grab bag of ideas that never come to fruition in any particular way. Despite that the tracks are all very nicely performed and the compositions are intricately designed and worthy of exploration for hardcore Italian prog fans who can't get enough of the folkier side of 70s Italian prog. For my liking this second coming is very much a decline in the band's overall uniqueness and craftiness. It was a noble effort to reform, regroup and give it another shot just as the Italian prog craze was starting to cool off but didn't quite pay off. Ultimately this album went completely unnoticed and the band would call it quits soon after however Roby Munciguerra obviously felt the band had a little life left in it and reformed in the 21st century with a completely new lineup and released the 2007 album "Esplorare." This is a nice pleasant album no doubt but not one that gets my juices flowing.