THE HUMAN MACHINE

Little-known Neo Prog act from Milan, Italy, reputedly found in mid-80's by a core which included keyboardist Domenico Del Signore, drummer Joe Torelli, bassist/singer Mauro Caputi and guitarist Jimmy A.Apparently the line-up was expanded to five musicians, but not without losses, Caputi and Jimmy A. left and were replaced by Pino Federiconi (vocals), Milton Damia (guitars) and Marco Marcelli (bass).The band's only album ''The human machine'' was recorded and mixed at the Campolungo Studio in Viterbo from May to October 1990, featuring also Eva Pietroni on flute, Max Carlaccini on sax, Manuela Chiariello on female vocals and Vito Laruccia, who lent a hand as a sound engineer on Ezra Winston's ''Ancient afternoons'', and was released the same year on Musea.Another member of Ezra Winston, keyboardist Mauro Di Donato, helped the band on songwriting.

Does this sound though anynthing like EZRA WINSTON due to the presence of Di Donato?The answer is definitely yes, certain tracks contain this outlandish, symphonic atmosphere of the Italian legends, based on poetic male vocals, atmospheric keyboards and refined melodies, especially during the long, second track ''Spectral forms'', which features also some nice flute work.All vocals are in English and Domenico Del Signore even uses an organ during some lighter parts among his usual offerings on piano and keyboards.Had the band followed the same style throughout we would be talking about a great album, however some of the unique EZRA WINSTON moods are lost in the process for the favor of a more MARILLION-esque Neo Prog sound with crosses to compatriots GALLANT FARM, led by the more pronounced and edgy synthesizers and the melodic guitars, falling a bit short compared to the previous stylings.The material though is not bad at all, it is pretty decent actually with plenty of dramatic sections and ethereal passages, retaining part of the deep, symphonic echoes of ''Spectral forms''.The problem comes from the average production and the thin keyboards sound, which was a major issue for most of 90's Neo Prog bands.The 9-min. long ''Twentieth century: another cry'' features some more references to EZRA WINSTON's style with the contrast of orchestral breaks and angular guitars, mixed with some PENDRAGON vibes in the major keyboard department.

Yet another album of the 90's, struggling to locate itself between Neo Prog or retro Symphonic Rock.Good stuff overall with interesting compositions and structures, far from personal but at least well-played.Recommended.