LUXADE

Their first album made a splash when arriving on the scene as a new project from Finisterre's hyper-creative genius Fabio Zuffanti , unleashing a rather distinct , rarely attempted symphonic prog style featuring NO GUITARS (a la Greenslade) , just a short hard hitting arsenal of keyboards courtesy of new keyboard wunderkind Agostino Macor (Finisterre, Zaal, La Zona) , allied with a variety of various wind instruments played by Andrea Monetti. Unanimously received by the progworld, the follow up was neither better or worse , just a consolidation of a heavy symph style that garnered added justified praise. This third offering was expected to be more of the same with only the drummer replaced. Who would of expected a kick up a notch (as Emeril , the prog chef would state)? From the exotic packaging, the beautiful artwork and booklet, this looked good right before the start button was pushed. Led again by Fabio's devastatingly reptilian trebly bass and with Agostino zipping the synths, squeezing out thunder from the organ ( no innuendo, please), blazing the 'tron and caressing the piano , the compositions are better balanced and packing a more mature wallop than ever before. From the subtle "Doppia Imagine" loaded with haunting melody and great sax, to the majestic and memorable "Nuova Luce" and finally topping it off with a 25 minute encyclopedic prog symphony , aptly titled "Enciclica 1168", this is a serious excursion into the darker forms of Italian prog, where Alessandro Corviglia's passionate angst vocals (he is no Bernardo Lanzetti , thankfully) sit well with the overall hazy atmosphere. This is exhilarating symph prog that will leave even the most passive proghead drenched in sweat . Pretty prog this is not. More like vroom vroom Ducati prog . Finally, PFM vocalist and drummer extraordinaire repeats his production chores that began with Finisterre's latest "La Meccanica Naturale" with another breathtaking job. Like with all previous albums, a couple of auditions is just not enough to appreciate the quality here. Like all real good prog albums, this just gets better with each visit. I shudder to think how this can be bettered but you never know.... 4 waxed masks