DECALOGUE OF DARKNESS

The Italian progressive scene is in excellent condition, 50 years after its first musical explorations! Daal is a duo, keyboardist Alfio Costa and percussionist Davide Guidoni and represents a singular face of Italian progressive music. A sort of synthesis between symphonic , dark, neo-romantic prog with hints of krautrock. Their new album came out in October 2018, is presented in a digipack accompanied by a booklet that offers dark photographs, in harmony with the music. "Decalogue of darkness" offers a less experimental music compared to previous albums, in balance between the symphonies Italian and Scandinavian. Ten pieces follow each other offering an atmosphere marked by the anxieties of time. Ettore Salati on guitars, and Bobo Aiolfi al Basso adapt perfectly to counterpoints, and to the dynamic and nervous rhythms of the album. The first two songs start slowly, then the music seems to take strength, accentuating the dynamic style of some productions of the '70s such as Bronze Ballet or B.M.S. The third song alternates sequences reminiscent of Anekdoten and very intimate passages, which leave the initiative on the piano. Same intention for chapter IV with the mellotron that seems to lengthen the space-time line with the past, Costa's compositions are rich and melodious, never banal and worthy heirs of the great school that was. The realization is perfectly mastered with a balanced sound production, in which every nuance is audible. Each of the ten chapters offers a special shade with refined stylistic forms. We are closer to a classic quartet than a rock band. And ten movements of a magnetic density, sometimes hypnotizing, as if the mellotron began to penetrate into our flesh to implant the other instruments played with subtlety and inventiveness. The progressive remains the great art since the 70s and owes its splendor even to groups like the Daal