PASSIO SECUNDUM MATTHEUM

Latte e Miele's debut, Passio Secundum Mattheum, is a dramatic, somewhat ostentatious, religiously-themed concept album. The music is stylistically diverse, with strong influences from many fronts, including classical, opera, hard (and harder) rock, jazz, and symphonic rock. Unfortunately, this diversity works to the album's disadvantage by planting too many seeds in too small a pot. Quite a few styles are presented in short bursts, but none are given the opportunity to develop (except in the singular case of the arguably uninspired "Testimoni"). At just beyond 34 minutes, with its sudden stops and frequent changes, Passio Secundum Mattheum is a disjointed crowd of potential ideas.

More to my personal tastes, though, I do enjoy the symphonic Getzemani, despite a desire to hear it continue beyond its abrupt ending. And I find the surprisingly jarring and thrashy Giuda to be the perfect counterpoint to what I despise most about this album, the operatic and choral singing. Granted, I am not a fan of either vocal style, nor is the religious theme up (or anywhere near) my alley.

Passio Secundum Mattheum is a very ambitious album, of that there is no question. The performances are, for the most part, powerful and passionate, and while there are some great (albeit brief) moments of brilliance, I just cannot get past the operatic stabs and underdevelopment of too many ideas. A curious but not terribly cohesive work; a recommended listen for the progressive Italian enthusiast but hardly essential.