EGOBAND

For the second Egoband effort the leading duo of Alessandro Accordino and Alfonso Capasso recruited guitarist Simone Coloretti and drummer Andrea Brogi in the place of Massimo Fava and Fabio Cioni respectively.In the meantime the band had signed a new contract with Mellow Records and the recordings of ''Fingerprint'' took place just 20 km far from their hometown, at MIDI Studios in Pisa, between April and May of 1993.

While the band showed no signs of changing any direction, musically speaking, there was a bit of downfall in the inspiration level.The compositions remain well-crafted, well-executed and balanced between mellow and richer parts, always maintaining this evident MARILLION vibe and delivering flashy keyboard parts, guitar solos and strong lyrical explosions with Accordino still sounding a lot like FISH.Even the atmosphere remains a bit dark and haunting, following MARILLION and ASGARD's traces.However this time the tracks are not particularly memorable.The constant presence of vocal parts, the mainly downtempo tracks and the lack of some true inspiration are propably the reasons for this fact.And while in ''Trip in the Light of the World'' some great moments would help the listener overcome the strong MARILLION influence, this time the sound is close to a mediocre copy than to a band just using MARILLION's sound to guide their music.These guys though never forgot to be great performers and some moments in the album are still interesting, offered by the ability of Egoband to create some good atmospheric passages.

Not the best Egoband release by any means.Safe, secure and unsurprising MARILLION-esque Neo Prog, having a tendency to create something great but never reaching it, headed almost exclusively to dedicated followers of the style and to the few out there not bothered by listening to mediocre copy-bands...2.5 stars.

n his second album "Fingerprint", the Italian band EGOBAND seems to have assumed me the commitment of leaving still more cleary the influences of MARILLION, here I don't have anything to complain, therefore as I already left clear in several other reviews, I don't have any restriction as to bands that are inspired in other.more famous. However, starting from this point it is necessary that a lot of inspiration is had for not sounding only as a clone. There they begin the "sins" of this disk, because he lacks a personal touch of the band, leaving the sensation in the audience that already heard something quite similar or practically equal. Besides, the disk possesses few brilliant moments, be vocal or instrumentals , what differentiates this disk to the the previous work Trip In The Light Of The World." One of these few moments really good they are in the track 5 "Dinosaur." Due to this my rate is only 2 stars.

Is very difficult to talk about EGOBAND without comparing with MARILLION. Actually to the first track of the disk he didn't remind me a lot the band mentioned above, in fact, he reminded me plenty some passages of the band THE ENID, for his more symphonic approach. But starting from the second track in before was clear to strong influence of MARILLION. Until this point, I don't make any objection , because I don't have none prejudice with bands that try to base his work based on a single influence. The one that didn't please me is the form used by the band to "chain " the several passages that form the same music (all with a duration average above the 7 min.), so to speak, they don't get to form a relationship that does amongst themselves with that the melody flows naturally and they seem divisions actually with almost any relationship amongst themselves, the one that does seem that there are two different music, where actually just one exists! In that way in spite of the disk to be filled of great and beautiful vocal and instrumental passages, he is not easy of being assimilated by the listener, what most of the time is gotten by bands that present a much more complex sound, however they make this connection among the most different musical passages with mastery!!! My rate is 3 stars, more for the good isolated ideas, that for the group of the work in itself.

I'm surprised, given the 1991 release date of "Trip in the Light of the World", and its solid neo meets bluesy rock style, that this album and group are not generally credited with spurring on the 1990s Italian prog revival. I suspect it could be because there isn't a lot about their debut that suggests the band's ethnic origins. Nonetheless, EGOBAND has forged their own style amid the influences, and, while the result falls short of excellent, it's not for lack of spirit or effort.

The thick synthesizers and bouncy rhythms and the vocals are certainly reminiscent of Gabriel and early Collins-era GENESIS, and I hear plenty of FISH-isms as well. The lyrics and concept are suitably murky which work to the overall benefit of the package. Here and there are odes to organ dominated R&B of the 1960s and 1970s, which can sometimes be irritatingly out of place, but at the same time they do project the band's unwillingness to accept the mere "neo prog" label.

Only a few tracks stand out, although none are bad by any means. The opener is an instrumental in which the keyboards have that sci-fi theme quality as well as sounding airily like wind instruments. The development and buildup are well executed. "Man, the rain, the door" is possibly the mellowest piece thanks to sensitive electric piano and acoustic guitar, but raunchy lead guitar and vocals also enter without changing the pace. "Nowdays and Fatality" starts with ambient keys and a short tentative vocal before expressive lead guitars herald the start of the song proper around the 90 second mark. From here it's a ponderous organ and solemn vocal fest. Comparisons to "Men of Lake" cannot be avoided as a result of both the vocal and instrumental choices and styles. The excellent drumming of Fabio Cioni is worth singling out as well.

While EGOBAND's debut is not a classic of neo or RPI, is confident without being self focused, and it may well light up your evening if not your world.

After a few spins of this album I got the idea of checking out of the band description here on PA and expected a comparison (at least) if not a clone mention to Marillion. But guess what ? There wasn't ! Surprise because many neo bands are compared/referred to Marillion and sometimes not even justified but this band is as neo as it gets and has clear resamblance to the leaders of the subgenre and yet ... no mention. Never mind, Egoband is not a cheap clone by any means, let me be clear about this. But some reference, I really think so.

Anyway, if it's like Marillion, it's certainly not worse, in my opinion it's even much better though not with every song. When I had my first five listening efforts I was a bit confused: was this album absolutely magnificent or just good ? I couldn't make up my mind because I was tossed about between these two possibilities after each listening. But now I have found out why this happened. The fairly simple answer is that there are two mindblowing tracks on this album (Tree of Life and especially the title track) and the rest is hardly more than good/very good.

Or in other words: the two stand out tracks are close to 5 star efforts, simple as that and are both better than the best songs Marillion ever produced. Huge instrumental contributions and stunning build up of the compositions. In both cases it mainly shows in the second half of the song. I think these two are contenders for my top 100 songs ever ! But the other 5 (8th track is just a short reprise) are like I said good/very good meaning somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Especially second song In the Air is very Marillion resembling. Listen to the rhythm of this song, it's very Script. Even the guitar sounds like Rothary. Very good track, this one as well coming close to 4 stars. The opener scores 3,5 *. Third and fourth track also have Marillion resemblance and things are also caused by the vocals I suddenly realize. Both tracks are worth 3,75-4 stars imo.

Sixth song Nowdays and Fatality is PA's stream track and can thus be checked out any time. I think it's not really the best and hardly representative for the album so don't let this one put you off. Still worth 3,75 stars to me.

Conclusion: a stunning and sensational debut this one by Egoband and as this is the first review I think this can be considered a hidden gem. One of those you always hope to find as a reward for your searching activities. Highly recommended for the real neo fans ! 4 stars easily (4,25).

Egoband is a classic lineup power prog from Pisa that had something going for it but petered out of sight rather quickly, perhaps unable to find its course as they skirt through neo, jazz-rock, hard-rock, space and groove without clearly deciding where to make a stand. Which is why this album in particular has received such hodge-podge reviews and frankly, it's a correct assessment. After a brief spacey intro, the title track is a bit hard to deal with, a rather pedestrian 6 1/2 minute heavy rock exercise with untimely drumming, an asinine sounding cowbell (?), lyrics poorly sung in accented English (ma perché ?) and the whole somewhat uneventful, even the moody mid-section does little to inspire any satisfaction. But the immediate follower, "What a Man Could Be" is superb space -groove prog with a hypnotic Hawkwind-like beat, an active reptilian bass and several sweeping then bubbling synth gushes, a brief narration in the center and a completely blissed-out squealing guitar rampage that deserves serious applause, a combination Holdsworth-Hillage but really closer to the fusion realm than meets the ear. Bassist Alfonso Capasso does his best Mike Howlett de Gong imitation while Alessandro Accordino coerces his organ (stop that innuendo) into the rippling Dave Stewart school of buzz-fuzz. This is a highly enjoyable ride. "Lost Friends" is metaphorical a piano/vocal duet that has a definite Gabriel feel, plushy and evocative ("as the fog clears away") but really just a brief and romantic interlude. The next 2 minute track blends mellotron and acoustic guitar (often a heavenly match) and the two certainly exude some celestial magic. The multi-hued suite "So Far Away" is a 10 minute Hammond-led prance into harder regions, riff-heavy with grueling guitar chops, sizzling fret leads, robust synths warbles, binary drum bashing that somehow disappoints and a driving bass rationale that keeps things aligned. The vocals are actually moderately decent here, as Accordino bellows with Black Sabbathian delight. Midway through, gentle piano twinkles mingle with harsh swaths of galloping sound, wah-wah infestations and hurling electronic slashes. The next piece and my favorite here, "Peace of Mind" gently caresses the soul, twirling bass ornamentations in the foreground, blowing gently over large swaths of sonic expanse, with massive doses of mellotron to encourage the depth and passion of the skilled arrangement. The upward crescendo-seeking synth foray is truly extraordinary, especially when the guitar parallels the theme sumptuously. This is another highpoint on the Egoband menu, an acutely impressive track. "Wrapped Up in Sweat" is back to the "raunch" dressing (yet no salad) with rabid playing on key and fret boards and a rather ordinary vocal too forced to be valuable , while the drums flail wildly and some Gentle Giant dissonance to confuse the issue. The sinister organ solo has a severely gruesome tone, the singing really sucks here something fierce and on the verge of annoying but the guitar solo has lots of subtle density to it, flush with blush feeling and charisma. "White Paper" is somehow out of place , veering into bizarre sonic territories , where dissonance meets urgent electronica , overwrought vocal hysterics and a certain lack of melody except for the majestic background orchestrations and the obvious synth slash a la Lucky Man that gores it. As usual, our "fettucini" finnforest was dead on in reviewing this partially successful ISP recording and I can only concur with his rating. A definite mixed bag. 3 personality strips

Eclectic Italian neo-space-fusion?

This is the 3rd album by Italian rockers Egoband and it features English language vocals. The band is categorized as Neo-prog but like many bands it's not quite an easy categorization. This band rocks hard and there elements of jazz rock and perhaps even more of space rock.

"Energy Goes On" is a short introduction leading into the title track "We Are." The song begins with synths and pleasant vocals before our band kicks in 90 seconds later. This is a flat out hard rock song and pretty underwhelming. Things improve very much with the 10-plus minute "What a man could be." This is a long space rocker that isn't so far from recent Porcupine Tree material. Persistent heavy drums drive a tripped out guitar and synth swirl until the 3 minute mark when the drums fall away. Then we get some poetic vocals amidst a foggy setting reminiscent of Djam Karet's "Ascension." This will lead us into the lead guitar solo section that goes for several minutes of jamming. "Lost Friends" is a brooding and sad solo Peter Gabriel style piano ballad that I enjoyed very much. "Where have you been" is a short, lovely instrumental with acoustic guitar and mellotron. "So Far Away" is a 10 minute suite with scorching rock and heavy organ not far from Deep Purple territory. Really bombastic stuff throughout with everyone just jamming to their heart's content, this is my pick for best track. Next is another long track called "Peace of Mind" which shifts gears to peaceful mellotron and acoustic guitar with some nice bass touches. The track is slow and spacey but building along the way with nice keyboard touches until it finally breaks free into a stratospheric ending. "Wrapped up in Sweat" is another heavy eclectic rocker with some Gentle Giant sound to it. Some good keyboards and drumming here in the first half and wailing guitars in the second half. "White Paper" is last and is an odd choice for a closer. Very strange, almost experimental with edgy music and abrasive vocals.

This is a hit and miss album with some very good moments and I think the good outweighs the bad. If you like Djam Karet or PT I think you will find a fair portion of this album quite appealing though be prepared for some rough patches. 5/10

3.5 stars actually. Man, something must be done to improve this half-star sysytem ;-) ...

NEO-PROG? I don't think so!!! JAZZ-ROCK - YES!!! Good fusion release (musically close to Italian Prog-fellows from NODO GORDIANO, Crimso-influenced band, more crafty and interesting) which features 21-and-a-half-minute instrumental epic "The Barn" (shifting moods ,signatures and rhythms - the best track here), miniatures like "Old Souls" (1.05) and "Black Out" (0.15) and songs like "Windmill" (8.25),"Earthbound" (2.30). "Mold your Life" (5.30) and "Never Surrender" (6.50). Vocalist's voice and a manner of singing are a bit Fish-like, but that's not Neo-Prog...no way! Some good moments are scattered through the whole album (like 6th track, the only Neo-somehow-related here), but we have 3 stars mainly due to the opener.Recommended, but definetely non-essential.