ALTROVE

'Vernice' with a proven RPI attack, Phrygian vocal, violin and oriental-Irish melody; the meticulous synth, the bouzouki, the clapping hands, Andalusia, the progressive variation which gives pride of place to Emanuela; a whiff of Caravaggio for the dark chords. 'Altrove parte I' acoustic arpeggio by Simone and deliquescent piano; the electric bass by Alessandro à la Serra, cottony just like the melancholic or romantic vocal convolutions, it's up to you to choose; neo-classical piano intermezzo leading to 'Altrove parte II' and its Hackettian guitar; the sound rises calmly on a progressive drift with vocalises, image of the sea in the distance, wavelets; The guitar solo then the dark fina which could have been much longer. 'll Mondo al suo Risveglio' siren first to reinforce the dreamlike ambient vocal, the one that makes the hairs of the prog stand on end. The heavy break makes the ears prick up, Emanuela adds another layer; the siren as on 'Silent Hill' indicates the prog passage with the latent pure RPI blood variation. Colorful organ then the guitar and the riff recalling the metallic origins of certain musicians, the enjoyable moment with the ethereal vocal.

'Città spenta' we adjust the instruments; dark text on the pandemic, death, vocal taking on Meccano or Renaissance. The voice becomes aggressive for a while before returning to a jazzy side with the cascading piano; the romantic ballad which insists on the vocal with the Floydian finale, a real musical waltz in 6/8 too predictable. 'Tramonti di Cenere' arrives with the riff that wakes up, excellent for trying to stigmatize the impotence of politicians to fight against our dying earth. The most accomplished piece of music due to the energy finally deployed with the boiling keyboard; the variation flows naturally between a moment of piano fullness and hard flights boosting advantageously. We find ourselves headbanging on this modern prog as I dream with its torrid keyboard, its captivating crescendo. 'Endurance' ends the album, the story of the explorer Shackleton hence the blizzard and the footsteps on the snow; a case of whisky was found in the boat but I digress, captivated by Emanuela. Ambient piano part followed by the folk part, neo-classical with syncopated jumps, in a tavern telling the story. The symphonic break, oozing tension to follow the evolution of the explorers, the ultimate moment of fusion, the air swelling suddenly with Sandro singing; last warning shot with this heavy solo more than Gilmourian of Simone, giving regrets in view of the intensity and the emotion released.

Melting Clock finally releases its 2nd opus, Emanuela working her voice like an instrument and making forget the typicality of the language, beautiful but targeted in a musical straitjacket. Originelley on progcensor(3.5).

If Melting Clock's 2019 debut DESTINAZIONI involved recording sessions lasting almost a year, the universal high acclaim was proof that the band's penchant for aiming for perfection was fully rewarded. It took five years before the release of follow-up album ALTROVE but every minute spent on writing, arranging and recording was well-invested.

Opening track VERNICE (PAINT) provides a satisfying sonic link to the first album. Conjuring images of Genoa's frequently politically graffiti-marked caruggi and an oblique reference to the sea, the song carries the Eastern flavour present in VETRO from DESTINAZIONI. It also incorporates Stefano Amadei's bouzouki and makes use of the Phrygian mode which lends it an oppressive air, appropriate for the narrow alleys and sometimes hateful messages but also somewhere hidden gems can be found. It's immediately apparent that considerable care has been taken with the orchestration of the piece because, unlike its predecessor, there are no guest musicians helping out but I still had to check the liner notes to find who was playing violin only to be told that the authentic string sounds were reproduced using Audio Modeling virtual instruments. Title track ALTROVE (ELSEWHERE) was one of the album's early compositions and is set out in two parts, the former with a classical guitar introduction from Simone Caff' and a short expressive piano intermezzo leading into the instrumental second part. The sea motif is revisited in the wistful lyrics superbly delivered by Emanuela Vedana, a metaphor for longing for somewhere distant the protagonist feels would be better than their current situation. Alessandro Bosca comes to the fore on part 1 which features his flanged upright electric bass playing. Part 2 is suffused with Melting Clock DNA, an intelligent, balanced instrumental ensemble workout with a brief Caff' solo on electric guitar. IL MONDO AL SUO RISVEGLIO (THE WORLD AS HE WAKES UP) is a Bosca composition and though intensely personal, having been written about his son's first year and the affect of this young life on the entire family, it fits neatly within the over-arching feel of the album. The lyrics are abstract and poetic and Vedana has to employ her full vocal range to deliver them. I was told that it was the hardest vocal part they'd written which required a number of takes in the studio but I think the result demonstrates just how good a singer she is. The instrumental mid-part has a well-planned arrangement with clever variation from heavy- to clean guitar over subdued organ chords and then dirty, crunching guitar and the piece ends with a section in 13/8 time, revealing another hugely important but modest part of the Melting Clock jigsaw, drummer Francesco Fiorito. The choice of instrumental voices and the jazz phrasing give CITT' SPENTA (BLACKED-OUT CITY) a Parisienne feel but it seems to follow on seamlessly from IL MONDO. Bosco's abstract lyrics are based two topics, the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of a close family member but it's the arrangement which holds everything together, the essential layers underneath Vedana's vocal melody. This is where comparisons between Vedana and Annie Haslam seem particularly relevant, despite the group denying they've heard much Renaissance material! The final part of the track is referred to as 'the waltz' even though it's actually in 6/8 time and provides another example of Sandro Amadei's excellent orchestration. TRAMONTI DI CENERE (ASHEN SUNSETS) is my favourite track. It concerns the indifference with which people in positions of power treat the climate crisis and was the last song written for the album. It was intended as something at variance with the other tracks using different sounds such as a bright electric piano, heavier parts and more sedate passages and it resulted in an absolutely stunning modern prog composition with a structure closest to that of DESTINAZIONI's title track. Sandro Amadei's backing vocals and call and response vocals were a key feature of DESTINAZIONI but while they are much less prevalent on ALTROVE, they are used to great effect on TRAMONTI. Coming close behind TRAMONTI in the competition for best track is ENDURANCE, the longest piece on the album in the form of a prog multi-part classic based on the factual story of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose ship was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in 2022. The Endurance was crushed by sea-ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to make an astonishing escape on foot and in small boats. The song has epic development, beginning with a clever ambient introduction of wind effect and the sound of footsteps compacting the snow underfoot, joined by atmospheric piano. TRAMONTI's development involved shifts back and forth between moods while ENDURANCE has a more traditional narrative-style development. Parts I and II NAUFRAGIO NEL GHIACCIO (SHIPWRECK ON THE ICE) and PERCORSI SUL PACK (TRAILS ON THE PACK) strongly remind me of another Black Widow affiliated band, Il Tempio delle Clessidre. The music reflects the tension in the story and Sandro Amadei is presented with his first lead vocal. Part V LA GEORGIA DEL SUD (SOUTH GEORGIA) provides a short calm interlude before the climactic denouement where Caff' unleashes an excellent David Gilmour-inspired solo.

Overall, the playing and compositions are more confident than on the first album. ALTROVE may have less diversity of style than the band's debut but it builds on the blocks laid down in 2019 to better define the Melting Clock sound, where each member makes a distinct difference. Twin guitars are an essential component, clean and distorted, and Stefano Amadei's bouzouki adds something exotic to the palette; the rhythm section clicks together perfectly where Fiorito plays interesting and difficult parts without any fuss; Vedana surely has the best voice in prog. In my opinion the greatest difference between the two albums is a shift from roughly equal input from Caff' and Sandro Amadei on DESTINAZIONI to a more keyboard-led ALTROVE, in part because of the unavailability of guest musicians which required written lines for flute, cello and violin to be played on keyboards. The instrumental layering has once again been expertly handled by producer Andrea Torretta.

Another easy 5 stars.

This review is an adaptation of my review on the ProgBlog site https://tinyurl.com/3jnc93kt

Les genois de MELTING CLOCK nous reviennent cinq ans après le super album "Destinazioni" qui avait fait l'objet d'une chronique sur profilprog.com, déjà sous ma modeste plume. Voici donc en cette fin d'été 2024 son successeur "Altrove" avec le même personnel, la fratrie AMADEI en tête de pont.

La plage inaugurale "Vernice" (9/10) est une déambulation dans les rues de GENES, particulièrement la vieille ville, un véritable labyrinthe, vu par des gens qui n'y résident pas donc avec un regard biaisé sur la réalité quotidienne, le tout remarquablement chanté par Emanuela VEDANA et propulsé par une six cordes enchanteresse et une paire rythmique bien en place et efficace.

"Altrove" (9/10) la pièce titre en deux parties s'avère ni plus ni moins comme une échappatoire au stress et aux soucis de la vie quotidienne, un refuge sur une ile lointaine sans contrainte de temps, les vacances perpétuelles (un petit côté Patrick MCGOOHAN, cinquante ans après) qui comme chacun sait ne dévoilera jamais son numéro un. Comme le suggère Sandro AMADEI, c'est l'horloge à remonter le temps vers l'enfance, l'innocence que tout le monde a connu à un moment ou un autre. "Il Mondo al suo Risveglio" (7/10) le titre qui me plait la moins sur l'album est une réflexion sur la perception de la réalité et la façon dont elle change en permanence à mesure que la conscience évolue (merci à Alessandro BOSCA le bassiste). C'est aussi le lien entre l'enfance, l'adolescence et l'âge adulte de tout un chacun ("plait le moins" ne veut aucunement dire qu'elle est mauvaise loin de là).

A contrario la plage suivante "Citta Spenta" (9/10) est l'une des plus passionnantes du disque, référence à la perte soudaine d'un proche, mêlant rêve et réalité, le premier surpassant la seconde en tous points et à tout instant.."Tramonti di Cenere" nous alerte si besoin est sur le changement climatique en cours sur notre chère planète, vaste chantier pour nos gouvernants (dont certains se fichent éperdument....), un mid tempo énergique, les cavalcades guitaristiques donnent le poids nécessaire à l'urgence de la situation comme le chant puissant d'Emanuela VEDANA (9/10).

La pièce conclusive "Endurance" (9/10) rend hommage à l'un des plus grands hommes du vingtième siècle, Sir Ernest SHACKLETON et son navire pris par les glaces sur la banquise en tentant d'atteindre le POLE SUD, avant de prendre le chemin du retour et d'arriver sains et saufs en GEORGIE DU SUD (on entend le souffle du vent et les pas des hommes dans la glace en introduction) comme EGDON HEATH et son "Killing Silence" en 1991 (pour ne pas nous rajeunir).Un titre musclé, avec là encore des six cordes qui pulsent fort et des vocaux au diapason, chant féminin et masculin ( Sandro AMADEI) pour la seule fois sur l'album mais remarquable dans son agencement et sa conception.

Très belle réussite que cet "Altrove" qui place derechef MELTING CLOCK après deux réalisations parmi les formations transalpines de pointe en matière de musique progressive.