ASYLUM

Despite being a fairly new band the Italian neo-prog band ART still remains extremely obscure with very little info regarding its history and plans for the future. This Bologna based band debuted in 2016 with "Planet Zero," a tale in musical form that narrated a blind alien using advanced technology to monitor the lifeforms and inhabitants of a faraway world called "Planet Zero." The band suffered the loss of two band members after the release of album #1 but regrouped and forged ahead. By 2019 the band that featured Denis Borgatti (vocals and piano), Enrico Lorenzini (keyboards), Roberto Minozzi (guitar) welcomed new members Diego Quarantotto (bass) and Ivano Zanotti (drums) as well as two world-famous guests, Stef Burns (Alice Cooper, Huey Lewis and the News, Vasco Rossi, etc) and Vince Pàstano (Vasco Rossi, Luca Carboni etc.).

This new lineup released the band's sophomore album ASYLUM in 2019 which continued the concept and theme of the blind alien story. Like the debut, ASYLUM features nine tracks but play a tad longer at nearly 50 minutes. Once again the band employs the basic genre format of neo-prog with melodic hooks that include the expected synth-layered atmospheres, passionately delivered vocals and Steve Hackett inspired guitar sweeps. While the debut employed moments of heavy prog and progressive metal, a trait that modern neo-prog has adopted in the 21st century, those moments were rather unpredictable and only occurred on a few tracks with the majority of the album floating on a dreamy space rock mode with a few tracks verging on AOR radio friendly hits. Likewise ART also added moments of new wave which to my ears sounded most similar to 80s albums from New Order but none of that is to be found on ASYLUM.

In fact ASYLUM is a much stronger and more consistent album in every way showcasing ART's maturing as a band having found the right chemistry with the new members. This is a much heavier album than the previous one and starts out right out of the gate with choppy heavy guitar staccato stomps that alternate with keyboard runs. This album employs a much more frequent use of dynamics that range from dreamy and pacifying to the more ambitious and energetic however add to that the melodies and the songwriting are both much improved with more memorable hooks and guitar solos that fit more snuggly in the context of the musical flow. On the debut there was a sense of awkwardness in how certain moments progressed but on ASYLUM the band had come of age and crafted a very professional sounding album. Even Denis Borgatti's vocal style seems to fit in better this time around although it doesn't sound like his octave range has expanded in the least.

"No Way Out" bursts onto the scene and delivers a nice rotisserie effect of instrumental interplay with varying motifs that usher in the main storyline which finds the alien succeeding in his adventures. Unlike the debut that had many sleeper moments, ASYLUM doesn't let up and when it does delve into the mellower aspects of neo-prog it doesn't drop the ball on interesting percussive beats or intricately designed synthesizer effects. Borgatti also found ways to add nuanced inflections to his singing style which makes up for his lack of range. In a way the instrumentation picks up the slack. The album is very well produced and features a rather Porcupine Tree type of mixing job. Some of the electronic effects used as supplementation are also rather brilliantly woven into the mix. While guitarist Roberto Minozzi sticks to heavy riffing mostly on the album, at moments he does let loose and delivers a ripping guitar solo. "The Doctor" features the most dynamic solo on the album.

A step up in pretty much every way, ASYLUM delivers not only an improved interplay between the musicians at hand but finds each part delivering a much improved quality of playing as well. Add to that the compositions flow together perfectly this time around and are of a higher caliber. The guitar riffs are more inventive as are the keyboard parts. The creative difference between the first album and this one are reflected in the debut's amateurish cover art while this one actually looks more like a melodic prog album cover. I'm not sure what happened to this band as they seemed to have disappeared after the release of ASYLUM which is too bad because they were just hitting their stride here. Of course several years between albums in nothing unusual these days so it's quite possible a third installment is underway.