A journey through the Italianprog scene

From this last page here are some impressions:

Limite Acque Sicure ... very nice, and smooth, and the transitions make sense in a synphonic way, which is something that "progressive music" disdains, in favor of rock/chord transitions. Well done and very enjoyable and does not quite follow the "standard" show off bits and pieces in this one piece of music shown here.

Antiche Pescherie nel Borgo ... nice, but not outstanding. One thing is clear here, is that the material they are playing is well rehearsed and played, and the singer does not seem to have any issues with the material at all. Although it might be thought as something with too many lyrics, the emotional style of singing it is nice, though it does not reach the higher levels of acting in front of the microphone that you might want to see. But it is effective, and nice to see, and it comes off as a sort of poetry with music. And it is not done with youngsters, and shows a level of musicianship that is worthy of the "progressive" tree talent, in that it does not fall back on the basic riffs that seem to be found in so much material these days ... the lyrics seem to drive what the music is going to be, even if the singer is not as strong as we might like, but he is effective, and obviously knows what he is doing.

Inverna ... of this last batch, the most "conventional" of all these bands listed. Riff driven, and too much sounding like everyone else in my book. This has nice moments, but it is not I enjoy the most in new music.

Massimo Pieretti ... a really pretty piece, very poetic, in its style. Perhaps this bit is too short to give us a better idea about this artist, but this piece is very interesting. In checking a few pieces in the bandcamp website, these pieces are all really well done and soft, and well designed to ensure that the lyrics stand up and out. 

The Old Castle ... Very nice, although I'm not sure this would be considered "progressive" as it is more classical than otherwise, but it listens really well, and if I have a thought or two of something like GRYPHON it is that my ear is twisted, but this is rather nice, and different, and not having to deal with lyrics, makes the trip a lot more enjoyable. Some folks might think that the keyboard is very much inspired by Keith Emerson and his style, although I think that would be to stretch it too far to a point that is not needed. It is a wonderful piece of music that also features piano and organ ... as well as other instruments and does not come off as "pretentious" ... as in here, look, I am good! It just plays well.