FEARS

Probably Clepsydra´s most ambitious and varied work to date. Very nice neo prog rock with strong symphonic overtones. There are the obvious Fish-era Marillion and Pendragon influences, but they have a sound of their own. As usual the guitar lines are wonderfully emotional and very melodic: they really found a worthy substitute to the original axe player Lele Hioffman in the form of Marco Cerulli (who also plays sax on one track!). Philip Hubert keyboards work is more proeminent here and his interplay with Cerulli is one of the highlights of Fears. But if the band has a true voice is that of the charismatic vocalist Aluisio Maggini, who has a very unique voice and a dramatic delivery. He really makes all the difference.

While Fears is quite varied, I always find it hard to point the better tracks, for this CD, like anything Clepsydra has released, is to be heard as a whole. I never skip one track when I hear their albums and this is not an exception. It is no coincidence they have such good name in the prog circle, since the band never released one bad or even mediocre record: they are all very well done. Production here is better than the earlier effords which is quite good for their sophisticated, elegant sound.

Although I still think that Alone is Clepsydra´s best, this one is not far behind. And my rating cannot be any less than four stars, for it is an excellent addition to any prog music collection.