SEMPRE E OVUNQUE OLTRE IL SOGNO

Once again, Italy shows us their musical catalogue is wide and awesome, that is why I love their music. This time, the turn is for Pandora, a band that started back in 2005 with Claudio and Beppe Colombo, Corrado Grapeggia and Christian Dimasi. The music they play is a nice combination of 70s progressive rock with a fresh and new sound from the 00s. In 2011 they released their second studio album, entitled 'Sempre e ovunque oltre il sogno', which consists of eight compositions that make a total time of 57 minutes. Actually, the album could be divided in two halves, the first one composed by seven songs, while the second one finishes with a long epic.

It starts with 'Il re degli scemi', which is a wonderful instrumental introductory track that produces a symphonic sound inspired by classical music. The work of the keyboards here is excellent, creating different nuances and emotions. Here I imagine this music could be used as a film score, because I can see images while the seconds pass. Great first song! The following track is 'L'altare del sacrificio' which happens to be the shortest one of the album. Here drums appear with a solid and decisive sound, accompanying the cool keyboard passages and those nervous bass lines.

When we less expect it, we are already listening to 'L'incantesmo del druido' which has a nice piano sound that contrasts with the powerful drums. Here after a minute, vocals enter for the first time in the album, fortunately, with lyrics in Italian (I say fortunately because I love this language, and I always prefer the bands singing in their native languages). The voice is excellent, a perfect complement for the music, which has a nice mixture of some spacey effects, with heavy rock passages and the inherent symphonic touch. Before the third minute the music slows down and a soft spacey moment is offered; later it changes, the guitar produces a strong sound and the tune becomes a bit heavier. This is an excellent composition, one of the album's highlights!

'Discesa attraverso lo stige' starts with a water running sound, then it vanishes and acoustic guitar enter along with a mellotron as background. After a minute we can listen to some people's noises, creating a kind of desolated mood, which is contrasted with the acoustic guitar sound that puts a sense of hope.'Ade, sensazione di paura' starts with that delicate acoustic guitar, however here the nuances created mainly by keyboards are different- Here the track is purely instrumental and with a lot of textures and colors that let our imagination fly. I have once again the feeling that this track could be used for a movie soundtrack, there are moments that really work for it. In this track we can also appreciate the compositional skills of the band, because it is a complex song where we can listen to the heaviest sound of Pandora, and in other moments, to their softest.

'03.02.1974' has a more delicate sound that shows the beauty of their music. Here the vocals return and perfectly accompany the acoustic guitar. A minute later it begins to flow, progressing little by little until it reaches a climax. At half the song there is a significant change, the music slows down and keyboards, acoustic guitar and vocals return with their soft and mellow sound, but it only lasts for a moment, because later the intensity is increasing once again. This song is a rollercoaster of sounds and emotions.

And the album finishes with a 23-minute epic entitled 'Sempre e ovunque', a challenging composition that shows the pinnacle of Pandora. It starts with a instrumental symphonic- classical sound that once again, reminds of a movie. After a couple of minutes guitar enters along with a piano, creating a tense atmosphere that will become tenser when drums, bass and keyboards enter and implement a faster rhythm. After five minutes there is a new passage, first the music vanishes for some seconds and then a new structure begins, with nice keyboard melody and great guitars that make a heavy symphonic rock sound. What I love from Pandora is that capacity of making creating powerful moments and later transforms them into soft, mellow and delicate passages. In this long song we can appreciate that in several places. The voice is always great, emotional and transcendental for the music's success. This song has in fact different moments that may have their own sound, but that at the same time are necessary to complete the structure, I mean, these short passages are like jigsaws that together will complete the puzzle.

What a great album by Pandora, I quite like it and would like to recommend it to any progressive rock fans, mostly, to those like me love the Italian prog flavor.

Enjoy it!

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