DÉ LÁ TEMPESTA ... L'OSCURO PIACERE

Consorzio Acqua Potabile could take a lesson from these guys. (In fact, you should read my review of Consorzio's album Il Bianco Regno di Dooah before continuing to read this.) In this regard, if we had half-star ratings, I would give these guys two-and-a-half stars (I gave Consorzio two). Because although Aufklarung also wears its influences (early Genesis, lots of Marillion, some ELP et al) on its sleeve, they, at least, succeed (though admittedly not always) in "channeling" those influences into something resembling originality. In addition, their somewhat "disjointed" instrumental sections have a much better "flow" from one to another, and there does seem to be a sense of direction here (though I'm not always sure what direction that is...) Also like Consorzio, the band suffers from the lack of a compelling lead vocal. Still, worth a listen and, if you really like this sort of thing (i.e., shamelessly influenced European prog), maybe worth keeping.