HEARTQUAKE

Another entry by an 80's Italian band,but this time with a very British sound.LEVIATHAN were formed in mid-80's in Rome by singer Alex Brunori, keyboardisy Franco Pezzella and drummer Andrea Moneta and the same year they even recorded a demo entitled ''7% solution'',distributed in a few copies, enough for the band to gain some wide recognizion.In 1987 with the arrival of Wldrek Sandro on bass and Giorgio Carana on guitars LEVIATHAN enter the studio to record their debut ''Heartquake'',released the next year and re-issued on CD by Musea Records five years later.

It is rather a surprise that the band's sound has nothing to do with any group related to the Italian prog movement of the 70's.Obviously influenced by the new prog movement of UK, LEVIATHAN produced some exciting melodic prog.All tracks are sung by Brunori in English:an emotional,clear and non-accented voice,who supports the band's style very well.The album is filled with the nice playing of Carana,who's distorted guitars are all over the place,delivering sensitive solos, great breaks and catchy grooves.The synth work of Pezzella ranges from colorful supporting roles to grandiose,almost symphonic passages and resembles more than anyone to IQ's Martin Orford.However I find their sound to be a hybrid between ''The wake''-era IQ and early PALLAS in the most bombastic and intense tracks,yet each one is played with great lust and inspiration.

Neo prog followers will love this album,the rest of the progheads will have some pleasant time spent,I think, if listening to ''Heartquake''.Warmly recommended.

An unusual entry in the Italian 80s prog scene, the Rome based LEVIATHAN didn't look back to its homeland's 70s wealth of symphonic prog for inspiration but rather looked to the burgeoning neo-prog scene in the UK for its primary plan of attack. This band was formed all the way back in 1985 by Alex Brunon (vocals), Franco Pezzella (keyboards) and Andrea Monetta (drums) and released its first demo "7% Solution" which came out the same year. Suffering the fate of most underground bands the demo received little attention.

After a couple years of crafting a sound that was based on Genesis, Marillion and Pendragon, LEVIATHAN recruited Sabdro Widerk (bass) and Giorgio Carana (guitar) in 1987 and released its debut album HEARTQUAKE in 1988 which was considered to be the very first Italian neo-prog album. The band immediately embarked upon a long lasting tour that found quite a bit of interest and even extended beyond Italy's borders. Initially only released on the DMN label, the album found its first CD release in 1994 on the Musea label. It has currently found a complete re-recording in 2024 with several new band members under the title "Heartquake / Redux."

HEARTQUAKE sounds very much like many of the 80s neo-prog bands before the style really got slick in the 1990s. While the style is primarily associated with British bands such as Marillion, Pendragon, IQ and back in the 80s Twelfth Night and Pallas, neo-prog actually attracted interest in many nations from the very beginning however bands such as the Dutch Arkus, the German bands Paradox, Zarathustra and Antares, the Swiss Flame Dream and the French band Step Ahead, who all released albums in 1982 or prior have been largely forgotten. LEVIATHAN was a bit more fortunate to have waited until the end of the 80s after bands like Marilliion had popularized the "comeback prog" scene and benefited from excellent musicians and a praise from both fans and the critics.

The original HEARTQUAKE featured only six tracks and clocked in at about 40 minutes and pretty much eschewed any connection to the Italian scene whatsoever thus sounding completely British in its musical approach and lyrical delivery. Singer Alex Brunori somehow convincingly delivered an accent-free lyrical performance with well developed English lyrics that don't feel stilted in the least. The sounds like typical 80s neo-prog with the usual symphonic approach based on catchy pop melodies, Genesis inspired keyboard work and a rather easy listening approach that focuses on lyrics over prog technical workouts. I can't help shaking though that Brunori's vocals remind me of 80s pop star George Michael at times!

Probably not an album i would've checked out if not for the fact the band released a re-recorded version in 2024 and i figured if i was going to review that album then i should have some context in how it compares to the original recording. The output of 80s neo-prog bands can sound pretty cheesy as the style hadn't quite gelled into the cohesiveness that Marillion would launch with its successful Fish-era run and in many ways HEARTQUAKE sounds like some of the earliest albums of neo-prog before the Marillion ear despite it emerging after. Overall it's not a bad set of songs that deliver a staunch British feel in the heart of Italy but would hardly qualify as one of the best albums the era had to deliver. Competent and totally listenable, HEARTQUAKE was a rather average album to have come from the first wave of the nascent world of neo-prog.