IN LIMINE

One year ago , i would have given much more but after numerous listenings , this lacks direction in the music although there are lots of beautiful moments and some unusual sounds in the first third of the album. There are however some weird moments especially when you can hear the sound of the clapet falling back down on their seat during the sax solo. I don;t know if this was done on purpose (I refuse to believe that they did not hear this in the mixing stages of the album) , but it is for sure annoying once you get beyond the surprise and enjoyment of that particularity.

FINISTERRE are leading the way for the 90?s prog band in Italy and deserve a lot more appreciation than they have received! FINISTERRE blend the sophistication of the best prog acts with the temperament of the old prog classic bands. "In Limine" explores areas of prog that their other recordings have not and in many ways is completely refreshing and different from other releases.

In Limine is FINISTERRE's undoubtedly most matured and intricate work and combines multiple music genres as classical, jazz, folk, modern electronics and rock. Overall it's a very beautiful and elaborate album involving many different instruments, although it might take a few listens to get into the extensively used sudden shifts between quite different music styles. I was listening to ISILDURS BANE's The Voyage not long time before this one and since that one is the closest comparison that come to my mind, my first impression after a few listens was that here the combination of all this styles does not sound that homogenously as on their album. This one here is a bit more incoherent and the styles are employed more in parallel to each other rather than really merged. The integration of the classical instruments into the rock environment is not quite as perfectly done as it was on The Voyage. But that's in fact the only minor flaw I can quote about this album and nevertheless it's IMO one of the best albums done in the 90's and very close to a masterpiece. And although the music is much in the spirit of the great 70's masters like P.F.M., BANCO and LE ORME, FINISTERRE managed to find their own style and this piece of work does not sound derivative at all. I'll try to go a bit detailed through the individual tracks:

IN LIMINE

After a very short prog-ish intro the title track starts with a kind of mix between folk and Crimson-esq music with two different alternating melodies, after about three minutes there is a second part with keyboard followed by some sax and piano and on top of that there are as well some electronic effects included. The track finishes with a section in a more symphonic rock vein. Already quite a lot of different styles during these seven minutes. Really breathtaking!

XXV

Next one is a very nice acoustic and mellow one with flute, acoustic guitar and vocals in english sounding quite soft, beautiful and almost free of accent. In between there are some sections with piano or Mellotron. A very beautiful song!

PRELUDIO

This is a very atmosheric track in a slightly dark mood with ethereal synths, whispered vocals, some sax and piano playing as well some electric guitar later on. A rather unique and unusual but nevertheless very nice one!

IDEENKLEID LEIBNITZ FREI

Very strange title and indeed the strangest one but as well one of the highlights. It's a quite weird jumping between free-jazz sections with very expressive sax playing, acoustic classical ones with flute, piano and more laid-back bar jazz with keys, drum & bass. The track ends with a quite sudden free-jazzy chaotic finish. A really impressing song and not easy to digest!

HISPANICA

This one is offering some recreation from the exhausting previous one starting with soft cello and violin, followed by some keyboards and soprano sax and developing into a folk-ish, quite typical 70's Italian Prog song involving flute and Spanish acoustic guitar. The final section is changing into a slower tempo and adding some piano playing. A not very intricate, but very nice song!

INTERLUDIO

In this interlude a quite simple melody is been played in repetition and multiple voices using flute, acoustic guitar and something like a bassoon (probably keys) are layered on top of it.

ALGOS

That's another highlight of the album and to enjoy it fully, one should like both classical and jazz music (Well I do!). The introduction is pure classical slow piano playing, then there is a more jazzy keyboard section, followed by a rather folk-ish one. Thereafter a quite extreme shift in style happens towards more modern electronic music with sounds like bubbling and whistling followed by a final part again in a more classical vein with violin and soprano sax. Wow, all this in only 13 minutes, again something really not very easy to take but in some way fantastic!

ORRIZONTE DEGLI EVENTI

This one could be described as a folk influenced Progrock song involving piano, electric guitar and as well some electronic sounds. For sure the one with the highest rate of rock elements. Again an excellent track!

SUMMARY:

In Limine is a fantastic album involving multiple styles and instruments and with some more homogenity and coherence it would be a masterpiece. But without any doubts it's a great piece of work, a big effort of the band and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone liking good music no matter which genre and to any open-minded prog fan. For sure it should not be ignored as an essential album in Prog. 4 ½ stars would be a proper rating in fact!

I've said it before, Finisterre is the best Italian symphonic band around, or at least formed in the past decade or so. And I believe this album is their best studio work. The album starts out with awesome flute work and Hackett style guitar and is just a wonderful piece of instrumental music. There's alot of different styles of prog on this disc: the pastoral "XXV" with hushed singing in English done very well. "Preludio" with tender whispers just under some beautiful guitar weeping. "Ideenkleid Leibnitz Frei" with frantic horn/flute work over some frantic, sometimes metallic drumming, very Canterbury/After Crying sounding. "Hispania" sounding pastoral ala PFM/After Crying, just plain beautiful. "Interludio" has acoustic guitar playing a pretty rift just under some repeated flute work, very post-rockish. "Algos" is straight out weird, kind of a Canterbury freak out that meanders a bit ending up sounding space rockish towards the end, long, disjointed but challenging. The album ends with what I believe is one of if not the best Italian symphonic songs of the 90's, "Orizzonte Degli Eventi", without giving it away, just imagine if PFM/Banco formed in the 90's and this was their first work. It's 16 minutes of absolute glory! It's worth buying just for this track alone, believe me. It's got to be heard if you're a fan of Italian symphonic prog. Masterful!! This is a must have album for fans of the genre and would have been a five star disc if it wasn't for the meandering of "Algos", otherwise it's 4.5 stars for sure.

This album from "Finisterre" is obviously not very much cherished on PA. Four reviews with comment is a bit of a shame. I guess that the same disease takes place with Italian prog than with other genres. There will be hundreds of review for the PFM's, Banco's etc. (well, I am a bit exaggarating) while the rest of the style is almost ignored.

And it is the case with this "Finisterre" album as well, it is a pity because it is a good album. Of course (and I have mentioned this a few times already), I like very much Fabio's projects. When I listen to a song like "In Limine", I just fell apart. Such a beauty, such a great melody is almost not tolerable. A wonderful song that would convert any proghead into an Italian symphonic addict. One of the best one of this album IMO.

A brilliant sax will bring another dimension to "XXV". If the melody of "Firth" (of Fifth) is one of your favourite instants in prog music, I can only recommend you to listen to this wonderful song. Another highlight of this album. The spacey instrumental "Preludio" is just a transition track. For better things to come ? These won't be "Ideenkleid", the weakest song of the album. Only noise mixed with some jazz theme. Which is a bit weird for this band. Melody and beauty is their TM and this "track" is just leading nowhere.

"Hispanica" will lead us again into the symphonic sounds. Nice flute (which has not been too invadous unfortunately). The short "Interludio" reminds me the last section of the great "La Mascherra" song : "Il Viaggio nell' Oceano Capovolto".

To be honest, the last few numbers of this album are not really great. Half of the hopes are now on the epic : "Algos". It takes an awful lot of time to start (five minutes or so). Classic piano for a lenghty and flavourless opening, a wild passage to kick off would you think (after five minutes...). Unfortunately, what's next is not great at all : some electronic music without any spirit nor soul. No structure, no feeling, no harmony. Some nice wind instrument passages but too scarce to make this song interesting.

Fortunately, the closing and epic number brings some brilliance to this release. Great flute, beautiful harmonies; nice cellos. It was about time ! This is another jewel of a song. Bizarre, complex. It features Genesis oriented keyboards, more guitar work than usual (at last). Great rhythm as well. It is the best song of this album. Great opening and closing numbers. Twenty three minutes of beautiful music.

This album is too uneven to my ears. A good piece of music, but I had hoped for better things. There are some brilliant songs on this album, but not that many to make it a great album. Just a good one. Three stars.

It seems like FINISTERRE have gone from being a more seventies inspired Italian band, to a very modern one with their most current release "La Meccanica Naturale". The one before that was "In Ogni Luogo" which is modern yet uninspired in my opinion. "La Meccanica Naturale" is a must have in my opinion for very different reasons.

I find the uptempo flute in the title track very annoying but the calm sections in between are good. The pulsating keys are a highlight 3 minutes in. Some nice sax and piano melodies before 4 minutes. Later in the song after 5 1/2 minutes the flute become gentle just the way I like it. "XXV" is one of the best songs on here. It has some mellotron on it along with reserved vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, sax, piano and light drums. Great tune. "Preludio" is kind of cool the way you can hear voices whispering in the background as these beautiful sax and piano melodies gently play. Electric guitar takes over for the sax later on. "Ideenkleid Leibnite Frei" is a light uptempo track that doesn't do a lot for me until 2 minutes in when some dissonant sax with drums, piano and bass leads the way. A minute later we get a very jazzy section that lasts for 3 minutes and ends wildly.Haha.

"Hispanica" opens with some gentle, melancholic flute that gives way to a brighter, pleasnt melody. Sax comes in and then vocals. The flute is back 3 1/2 minutes in. "Interludio" opens with acoustic guitar that is joined by flute. I think the deep sounds that follow are from a bassoon? Anyway I really like the melody of this one. "Algos" opens with reserved piano melodies that go on for over 2 1/2 minutes. It then changes to a full sound that is rather jazzy. I like it ! It then really picks up the pace for a while. Interesting section 4 minutes in as more bassoon-like sounds arrive along with different sounds that come and go slowly like chamber music with no real melody. 5 minutes in we're in an uptempo drum led melody as choirs come in and out including some PINK FLOYD-like synths(Dark Side of the Moon). A change before 10 minutes as sax melodies arrive before the reserved piano from the intro ends the song.This is an cool ride folks. Very impressive song.

"Orizzonte Degli Eventi" concludes the album. These last 2 tracks consist of almost 30 minutes of music by themselves. As good and adventerous as the previous track was you have to hear this one ! This recalls the Italian greats. Simply beautiful.The gentle vocals, the flute and the acoustic guitar are magic.The tempo picks up 3 minutes in, and a minute later the song has become more aggressive. Mellotron waves after 6 minutes are a nice touch. Electric guitar follows. It calms back down with vocals, then violin comes in around 8 minutes. Before 10 minutes it becomes quite haunting with almost spoken words and lots of atmosphere.Then the fun part comes in before 11 minutes as an uptempo keyboard melody leads the way. Electric guitar joins in as drums become prominant. More mellotron as gentle vocals and a calmer passage arrives.The vocals start to become passionate. Nice. Mellotron, guitar and drums lead the way as vocals stop to end the song.

This one really grew on me. Even after 5 listens I wasn't too fond of it, but if you like variety and adventure, and you have some patience...then this might become one of your favourites. 3.5 stars.

One of Italy's finest recordings of the 90s

So, so good. When I complained a bit about the relative lack of surprises in Finisterre's most recent album "La Meccanica Naturale" I had yet to become fully acquainted with their second album "In Limine." So it's a bit ironic that they answered my main criticism almost to the letter and then went on to land a square knockout punch to my prog jaw. I am very comfortable calling "In Limine" one of the coolest progressive music albums of the 1990s. So many (though not all, of course) of the modern prog releases from the Neo and Symphonic genres leave me decidedly unimpressed with their shiny, visual arts firm designed packaging, their clichéd affirmational lyrics, their cheesy sing-song choruses and most disturbingly, their predictability. As I've mentioned before I can grab one of these supposed new masterpieces, listen to one song, and know exactly what the next 65 minutes have in store for me.ouch! This is not that experience. "In Limine" gives you quality modern prog with touches of folk, great beauty, and eclectic surprise. You will experience lush classical touches, dreamscapes, and jazzy teasings. You will hear great performances of organic and acoustic sounds that pay homage to the 1970s masters, but do not simply attempt to imitate. You will not know what the whole album holds in store after hearing the first track. You will not be able to sing along to everything, you might occasionally be turned off by seemingly abrupt changes of mood or style (and thank God for that.) You will remember what a great prog experience feels like and you'll ask why more bands can't make albums with this much personality and irreverence for musical vanity. Some complain the album lacks direction and while there is some truth to the charge, for me the music is so satisfying that it overcomes any sniff of having too many cooks in the musical kitchen.

"In Limine" begins with a brisk flute like dancing that trades with guitar, each part having a different drum part. Soon the keys begin to intrude but are quickly interrupted by the flute dance again. They return for some really cool stereo panning effects and nice melody. Then things change to jazzy piano and unsettling chaos of different instruments and it gets dark. Soon the flute leads us from the darkness with gorgeous melody which leads to a lovely Gilmour-ish sounding solo with organ behind, oh man this is nice. "XXV" starts with flute and acoustic going right into the first vocal, very laid back and pleasant. The music is a mix of keys, acoustic guitar and some woodwinds. Another lovely guitar solo with good bass and drumming behind it. Things gets blissfully like a dream or a drug trip on "Preludio" with its whispers, secrets and more whispers. You hear these clearly audible people speaking to each other but you can't quite make out what they're saying. In front of that you have droning bass and wave upon wave of electric guitar notes rolling over you, joined by saxophone too I believe. This is the kind of strange and mystifying track that we should expect more of from current artists. "Ideenkleid Leibnitz Frei" is a fairly avant piece for Finisterre, the first half being a rough and chaotic frenzy of sounds. The second half is a quiet space jazz with free bass and drums to strange synths sounds and guitar squirks. The ending brings another rather discordant mish-mash of sound imagery. "Hispanica" uses flute, sax, cello, and acoustic guitars to very pleasant effect leading to the first vocal verse, which features some very nice harmonies. It just refuses to be predictable taking little disjointed turns here and there, after a quirky bridge the song takes on a Spanish flavour with some folk-oriented acoustic guitar runs. After this section enters the piano playing a slow dreamy section with flute and acoustic followed by another vocal. There is an enormous variety just in this one track! "Interludio" is a short acoustic piece accented with flute, cello, and gorgeous recorder.a totally engrossing meditative mind break leading to the two last tracks which are also the longest at 13 minutes and 16 minutes respectively. "Algos" starts with unsettling piano that is beautifully played. After 2 ½ minutes the band breaks down the door and we have electric guitar dueling with the flute and keys, to a rather forceful beat. After another mellow section things go a bit insane and we soon find ourselves in an aural nightmare with strange vocals choirs and electronica, including the album's biggest mistake: someone getting carried away with the synth sounds from Dark Side of the Moon. It's cool for a minute but it goes on too long and just reminds you of Floyd, which is not a distraction I want while listening to this great album. Finally that section ceases and we find ourselves listening to strings and sax in a lovely classical section finished with piano. The album finishes like fine wine with the 7-part suite entitled "Orizzonte Degli Eventi." Flute and fantastic strummed acoustic guitar are joined by cello as the first verse begins. This section is characterized by repetitious, pretty melodic playing. The next part picks up the pace with more urgent vocals backed by mellotron and edgy electric rhythm guitar chugging along, some nice leads thrown in here and there. The track gets increasingly guitar heavy as it rolls forward with some excellent drum and keyboard performances. The ending is an exciting, emotional guitar solo over blue skies keyboards and thunderclouds drumming.

This album is recommended for fans of Italian music and highly recommended for anyone looking for beautiful yet slightly bizarre music. If you like more the more conventional, pop-prog releases that get so much attention in the marketplace, you might want to steer clear of this black sheep that can be so blissfully confounding. If you took a few shakes of Pierrot Lunaire and Orme, whisked that into some Gotic and added a modern edge to the production, you might have an idea what the In Limine cakes tastes like. It's a good cake. I will jab them a bit for the unfortunate album cover they chose. There are 3 or 4 other cool photos/drawings in the cd artwork that would have made a far better album cover than the silly image they chose. Nevertheless, "In Limine" is a wonderful album.

Second album by Zuffanti's first ever project just a couple of years after their fantastic debut.Compared to their debut,the line-up of the band finds Marcello Mazzoccki behind the drum kit in the place of Marco Cavani,while Francesca Biagini takes a promotion from the choirs section to the flutes,as Sergio Grazia left the crue.The new album was again published by the Italian grand label Mellow Records.

STYLE: A beautiful sum of the sounds coming from 70's Italy is what FINISTERRE have to offer,combining the romanticism with the darkness,the melody with the complexity,the atmosphere with the abstract.This is again a very deep and rich album in sounds with nice approach to Classical and Folk music.Sensitive electric guitars throughout, trully atmospheric sax parts,a good amount of delicate flutes,sensational vocals by Marelli and Zuffanti,elaborated keyboard parts and high-class arrangements.The album is quite melodic,but it contains also some really complicated parts with a jazzy flavor,fronted by a heavy rhythm section and crying sax passages.A few string sections make the music at times even closer to Classical.Notice that vocals are both in English and Italian.The album contains surprisingly a few ambient-like parts with an intense Gregorian atmosphere,which I consider pretty unique.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: As with the first album,the KING CRIMSON influence is more than obvious in the jazzier parts.The more melodic ones have straight references to old Italian Prog,especially PFM.If you are a fan of contemporary prog,then imagine a combination between ERIS PLUVIA/EZRA WINSTON with D.F.A./TRYO/BI KYO RYAN.

PLUS: I admit that combining Jazz- ,Folk- and Classical-influenced Rock music in the same album or even in the same song can be a trap for a band...but this is not the case here.This band is made of pure talent material with great approach to music.Both fantastic sax and flute parts.Folkier parts closer to Medieval music can travel you to another age.Guitars are one of the strongest parts of the album.Most melodic stuff is more than memorable.Jazzy stuff is also very strong with intense Crimson-esque atmospheres.Vocals are pretty cool as well.

MINUS: Not that original music or something I've never heard before,Italian bands already mentioned have chosen more or less the same path in the past.

WILL APPEAL TO: RPI fans should get this album at any cost.A step furhter,I recommend this album to anyone who wants to try something containing a wide spectrum of influences,which defined progressive music in the past and present.

CONCLUSION: The first album of FINISTERRE was really great.This one is a slight improvement over the debut with the band developing a more diverse sound in an excellent way.No more words,this album is stunning and deserves a rate close to a monumental masterpiece.4.5 stars,Fabio have yet to dissapoint me...

Finisterre's second album ''In Limine'' represents quite a departure from their first release. Whereas their debut was a broadly symphonic work, ''In Limine'' is a more eclectic collection of tracks that seem to go through the entire gamut of musical styles. A number of guest musicians appear adding winds and a string section to the band's already formidable armoury, although one area where this does share common ground with the first album is that vocals are once again few and far between.

Fast tracking to the end of the album we find its two big-hitters, which together define Finisterre's non-linear approach to their epic pieces. This is a whole new ball game mind you. The first of these two tracks, ''Algos'', begins with impressionistic piano before going off on a number of tangents that eventually lead to a repetitive electronics passage. This closely resembles Pink Floyd's ''On The Run'' as other reviewers have previously alluded to. It's a surprising twist but Finisterre's music is very much a contrast of disparate elements. They showed on their first album that they were masters of circumlocution but this album's ''Orrizionte Degli Eventi'' takes us to another level via its disorientating procession through numerous overlapping jazz, classical and rock sections.

The jazz/avant influences continue on the atmospheric ''Preludio'' and ''Ideenkleid Leibnitz Frei'', both of which feature saxophone to good effect. The former track also includes some typically fuzzed-out guitar and fans of King Crimson might well enjoy Stefano Marelli's electric guitar tone. Overall though, there's actually quite an acoustic feel to this album. Nylon guitar and flute are prominent on several tracks with ''Hispanica'' and ''Interludio'' in particular displaying a strong Mediterranean folk influence, the latter track even features panpipes.

The many-sided nature of ''In Limine'' possibly makes it a more interesting though less coherent album than its melodic predecessor, but what it lacks in coherence it more than makes up for in progressiveness.