UndiciGradi are a multi-faceted band. Right now, I could label them as Classic Rock Band with POP, AOR, Prog, songwriting, Prog metal influences, and so on… Still, in them I see a huge potential and, who knows why, a sincere but powerful attempt to retrieve the ‘70s (“Nella Tua Ombra” sounds a lot like Le Orme, though it’s very AOR and Rock and it has nothing to do with Le Orme!) I usually don’t see a Prog band (because that’s what they are, in the end) as fitting for Sanremo. But that’s the way it is. Strange… but true.

It’s not easy to read their music searching for a great assonance with great 70s Prog bands. So, after all, I hesitated in finding something really Prog in their two CDs. I had no reason to.

“Follia” (“Insanity”) is their first CD, recorded by Andrea Cogo (bass guitar), Matteo Rosante (vocals), Carlo Ramini (drums) and Lorenzo Rappo (guitar), at Lorenzo’s private recording studio in Este (Padova) (FTM Studio) in January 2008, and I have to say it’s very interesting. For one thing, the mixing is just great and professional, very different from what I’d expected, for sure. The mixing itself makes the songs so interesting.

I would start with “Nella tua ombra” (“In your shadow”), a top-class Rock song with great power, strangely adult already and ready to be a classic radio hit, with no pretences but with a great catch on the mind. The guitar parts are very good, as well as a few passages that seem to come from prog metal, although the solo is very pop. The lyrics are about a story ended because of the envy of many and of the pride of the two. I will say now that it’s the summary of my own experience: a creek splitting, a girl I did not realize how much she was “looking for me”. Just now I see that we both suffered. A real pity.

“Brividi” (“Thrills”) is certainly very POP and Rock, and sung with rage (Matteo’s vocal style is to blame) and has a very interesting solo. It should be noticed that this song would play great on radios and reminded me of the works in the first CD of the Trieste band “Notturna”. The lyrics are about the fact that you often lose yourself in memories, hoping that something in them will change your life. Hey, to be honest… it happens to me quite often!

“Otto Anni” (“Eight Years”) is about a story ending after 8 years. I was hit by it, even not knowing if it was a true one. The style is very interesting, as it reminds me of great Gianni D’Errico, Prog songwriter from the ‘70s, for its style and topic.

The demo Ep ends with “Follia”, composed in the summer of 2006 (it’s the band’s first song) for Matteo’s participation in St. Vincent Festival, and it’s another song with a social topic: it’s about drugs and a boy who tries to get rid of drug abuse but doesn’t succeed: he kills himself after leaving an explanation letter to a friend. This song has a very rough mixing that improves its power, it’s very useful, since the song is much better like this. It’s definitely the most Prog song of all, since it can be compared to melodic prog metal with AOR influences.

In the end, “Follia” is a good demo, certainly ready to launch UndiciGradi. Personally, I would not change the arrangements but I’d rather have a mixing that increases its power and underlines the most technical passages. Sure, the style brings you back to the ‘70s, filtered through the ‘90s and ‘00s. Here, one can be doubtful on the honesty of the proposal, saying the same old things (for example: here’s another band trying to imitate the Muse and the Radiohead!), which I haven’t thought of in this case. There’s still a long way to go: but the potential is already huge. Honestly, “Follia” deserves 8/10, because of how much adult it sounds.

UndiciGradi’s second work is live! Yea, that’s right, live! Recorded at the Fisher Pub in Este (home turf), you can already perceive the first changes, though very subtle and not always easy to grasp at the first listening.

While “Follia” (with an intro this time) is spoiled by too a “light” mix, which leaves me doubtful but which at the same time I like, “Brividi” looks like a live version of the studio one. To be honest, it is apparent that Matteo’s increased confidenc4e in the use of his voice makes the song very emotional and dramatic. A couple of months, and so much has changed…”Otto anni” has grown stranger, this version has a much more recited first part (unplugged) while it is much more rock in the second part (a very powerful “all”). “Rusa piano solo” is a short piece of strange music, played by Matteo (with guitar as well). Not a memorable song, a very simple memory, not entirely convincing, although I like it. Obviously, it would reach excellence if played by a classical player (by the way, they have one in line up right now and I read he’s a psychedelic keyboards player… I’ll listen to the album in progress now and I’ll check this out). “Nella tua ombra” is faster than the studio version (a trick already exploited by Le Orme back in the ‘70s), aimed at increasing power and bravura. It works perfectly here. “Lo farei lo farò” (“I would do it, I will do it”) has a strong song-writing taste, more than any other UndiciGradi song available. In the end it is a very powerful rock piece of music, really well structured and suffered. Here, too, I spot Prog songwriting and Le Orme, although I don’t really get where I got the Le Orme influences from… (is it because both bands are from Veneto.. or because.. who knows!) “Eleven to Infinity” is a simple prog metal à la Dream Theater introducing “Sangue del tuo sangue” (“Flesh of your flesh”), they’re a double track, that reminds me of Notturna’s second album. “Vision Divine” and “Labyrinth” come to my mind while listening to this song. In fact it is a great Power Prog Metal AOR, with very aggressive guitars, tons of Prog and aggressive vocals.

This second CD (live, let’s not forget it) shows an extremely fast growth of the band. It also proves that, with the right keyboards in (they have a stable player now, Oscar) we have a band which is good and ready for big things. Because there’s a lot of passion and dedication here. The mark for UndiciGradi live cannot be but a 8,5/10 (but I have to admit that “Sangue del tuo sangue” alone is worth the entire live album).

There’s still a long way to go, that’s a fact, and although they’re mature already, I’m waiting for the band with keyboards, because in all this I see a transformation of a rock band into a prog band. The proposal might not be terribly original, but it definitely is sincere and engaging. If this is the beginning, I really want to hear what comes next.

Guys, what more can I say…Keep on playing

 

"FOLLIA" (Ep)

 

"LIVE"

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