All Prog From Italy Appreciation Thread

Report this review (#186940) | Posted Saturday

This is just one of the reasons i love Italian prog!

What makes the world or progressive rock better, is that despite some people say it has dead and some other purists only listen to their 70s favourite acts, it is still alive and with a lot of great bands to discover and listen. As some of you know i am a loyal follower of the Italian prog rock scene, over the years Italia has become my favourite country regarding prog rock, and lately with bands like J' Accuse..!, Il Bacio della Medusa, Akt or Coral Caves among others, i am truly pleased and happy with the music those bands are offering.

J' Accuse is a band that start playing in the early 00's, and after a lot of work they released in this 2008 the album entitled Abbandono del Tempo e Delle Forme, featuring 6 songs, 3 long compositions (over 10 minutes each) and a total time of 53 minutes approx, and what i like of this album, is that it has a very interesting mix of styles, it is not stuck in just one style, so we will listen to very different things from one song to other, which sometimes fails, but in this album that mix is completely succesful.

The album opens with Introduzione, you don't need to learn Italian to know the meaning of that word, so as you can imagine this is a short piece that shows the door to enter to the world of J' Accuse..!, the song has some landscapes and some birds sounds effects that remind me a bit to Echoes by Floyd, it has a constant drumming and then a heavy guitar at the end that leads to the next track... Il Tempo Muta Le Forme continues immediately with the same heavy guitar, and after a few seconds the vocals enters with of course that great Italian language. This is one of the first long compositions, and probably the heaviest of them all despite after some minutes, it has some softer sections . Overall the song has a great power, and a great work by all the members.

Sul Bordo Dell' Abisso is the second long song of the album, and it definitely has a less heavy sound, here is where the mix of sounds in the album will be noticed throughout the minutes. There is a moment where the guitars remind me a bit to Oceansize and some kind of alternative rock, but then in the middle of the song, they return to a heavier style where i can feel a sense of anger that is being released with the music that when it is fully released, the music becomes lighter and with a relaxing feel, let me tell you that the musicianship is excellent, in the last minutes the guitar sound is very post-rock like, so that is another different style into the same song, what a magnific blend.

L' Angelo as i could read was inspired by Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake, it is a shorter track but it returns to the heavy style that we listen in the first song, this is to be honest my less favourite track because i believe their work could' ve been better if they used a slower tempo song.

Cercando un Punto Lontano is another 6-minute song and contrary to the previous track, this is soft as hell, and great as hell too. After the storm, everything is calm...this is how i describe this beautiful and mellow song, it's a song with an spacey mood and that again shows what the band can do, i mean their vast blend of styles that fit perfectly into a single album, after a few minutes the ryhtm is a bit more intense and the vocals enter and make the song even better, a great moment in the album for sure!

And in the end (sadly everything has an end), we have the longest epic entitled Ricorre L' Abbandono and i believe it is their most complex and finest song,with a great mixture of styles again, it has some heavy moments, spacey ones, some darker passages and even a jazzy guitar solo. Within the song we will listen to several time and tempo changes, which is obvious since it is a long track with different passages and movements, it has some nice bass lines and what i like a lot during the whole album is the work of the drummer, always constant and precise with his times, the outro of this song is very emotive, and it does sound like a goodbye where the band is leaving everything they can offer, and putting their maximum effort on it, an excellent song!

What a great album is this, fans of Italian prog must listen to it, and fans of prog rock must know that there are bands like this with something new to offer, and i bet your ears will be happy after you listen to this interesting release. My final grade is 4 stars, highly recommendable to any prog lover.

Enjoy it!

I can't give this album anything less than 5 stars,for my taste this is flawless.The guitar driven aggressive passages, contrasted with the beautiful mellow sections that have mellotron at times, are simply gorgeous.There's nothing about the music here that i don't like,and that's rare for me.The organ,flute,fantastic drumming and throbbing bass are all played and arranged perfectly.I do have a problem with the album cover though.Haha.It reminds me of history class,although it is humerous i suppose. "Primo Tempo" opens with guitar sounding more like BLACK SABBATH than a symphonic Italian band.I love it! Ripping organ and pounding drums have me saying "What the heck?". These heavy passages are contrasted with beautiful pastoral ones with reserved vocals and floating organ sounds.Scorching guitar comes and goes while we get some fat bass lines.Some flute and acoustic guitar 4 1/2 minutes in.Those dark heavy guitar melodies with sinister organ runs are back 7 minutes in.Big drum ending. "Seconde Tempo" opens with gentle guitar as percussion and flute join in.The sound builds.Some catchy flute melodies in this one as well as french horn.The guitar suddenly comes crashing in after 3 minutes to end it. "Terzo Tempo" is lit up early with some aggressive guitar.Piano takes over joined by vocals.The guitar is back 2 minutes in.Nice.Some great guitar,bass and drumming as mellotron floods in around 3 minutes in.Piano and flute take over after 3 1/2 minutes before some blistering guitar takes over.This contrast continues.This is incredible! Guitar and mellotron end this song in style. "Quarto Tempo" is classical sounding and uptempo as organ and guitar lead the way.Amazing sound. Piano and guitar sound so good together 2 minutes in.A change after 2 1/2 minutes as gentle guitar ends it. "Quinto Tempo" opens with intricate guitar leads.Dual flute melodies follow.I like the vocal melodies that come in.Drums,acoustic guitar and organ before 2 1/2 minutes sound fabulous.Mellotron a minute later.The vocal melodies are back with drums.Wonderful. "Sesto Tempo" opens with some energy as drums and guitar lead the way.Organ comes in then synths as drums continue to pound.Guitar's turn after a minute with throbbing bass.French horn and flute 1 1/2 minutes in.Organ returns a minute later and then lets go with some good runs.Vocals 3 1/2 minutes in as it calms down.Synths and a more uptempo sound returns.Solid drumming ends it. "Settimo Tempo" features some good contrasts between the intricate guitar and flute with the guitar,organ and drums.Some ripping organ before 4 minutes.And man can this guy play the drums! Check him out during the final minute of this song. This is classic Italian music that feels like a warm blanket on a winters night.Just right.

Corte Di Miracoli is not a well-known band. They played some Italian symph with a jazzy taste. I have to admit that this is not the combination I prefer.

But I can cope pretty well with the good E Verrà L' Uomo that opens the album nicely. The fine and symphonic vocal parts combine nicely some more jazz-oriented instrumental sections. Some sounds which are reminiscent of ELP can also be noticed. Same comment about Verso Il Sole except that Graziano Zippo doesn't sound so good in this jazz number.

I am more at ease while I listen to Una Storia Fiabesca. The Italian symph ingredients are all there, and it is mainly due to the dual keyboard players who add more depth to the music. Vocals are also more melodic than during the previous song. It is a highlight from this work.

The pleasure goes on with the emotional Il Rituale Notturno. It is symphonic during the first and sung part of the track, and turns as a jazz one when the instrumentals start (somewhat similar to what could be experienced in the opening song). Since I don't speak Italian, I can't tell of which Nightly Ritual they speak about...It is another fine song by all means.

My favourite one is the closing number: I Due Amanti which holds references to Notre-Dame De Paris. A fine moment to be honest: there are plenty of theme changes, keyboards interplay are excellent and the percussion work is impressive.

You should be aware that this album holds serious jazz influences before you listen to this it. A good album anyway. On the edge of the four stars rating (seven out of ten). Three stars.

A nice bit of neo-classical music with reference to Jimi Hendrix

For people living in the Americas the thought of a symphonic rock sub-category based entirely off of Italian Musicians can seem a little bit threatening to start. Not to mention that in this new millennium the albums by these artists are almost impossible to find. The New Trolls emerged onto the scene in the late 60s and are likely one of the most ignored bands in the world considering that they've had a long and prolific career which just about no one outside of Europe has heard of. Granted, that's a big market, but for American prog lovers who are more accustomed to the UK scene this band, and indeed this subgenre, is well worth checking out. Concerto Grosso Per I is the third album from these Italian Prog rockers and they really seem to hit the market well here. The music presented is a terrific blend of classic progressive rock, hard rock and neo-classical that makes for a very interesting listen. While this kind of music normally would make the listener want to sit in a big leather chair in front of a fireplace and smoke a corn-cob pipe (aka - be snooty) the music fails to become pretentious throughout the course of the album, making for a very enjoyable and approachable listen. The album is mostly instrumental throughout it's two compositions, but splashes of well placed vocals are used for good measure.

The album is composed mainly of two segments. The first half is a suite comprised of 4 parts, and the second half is a 20-minute instrumental improvisation of massive proportions. While the second half is certainly the most tempting on the track list, it's not the standout of the album. The first half of the album is really the one that should get most of the attention. 1° Tempo: Allegro opens the album in a pomp and lush environment, mixing blissful violins with distorted guitars to make a blend of refined and raw which is really pleasing for the 2-minutes this section of the song has to unfold. The rest of the song is fantastic as well, slower and calmer parts mix in with the heavier other sections such as the wonderful 4° Tempo: Shadows (Per Jimi Hendrix) which may not be the most ''normal'' Jimi Hendrix tribute, but his influence is notable anyways.

The second half of the album may not be quite as breathtaking as the first half, but it's well worth the listen in any case. Nella Salla Vuota is a long and interesting instrumental improvisation full of everything from those heavy distorted guitars down to a drawn out percussion-jam-session with a rhythm reminiscent of what Yes would one day do in The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun). Some non-lyrical vocals come into the mix now and again to build the atmosphere, and everything just clicks overall. Many improvisational tracks have been done in the history of our fair genre, but not many of them work quite this well.

For an interesting use of neo-classical prog that's good on the ears, The New Trolls receive a 4 out of 5 for this effort. While the album may not be quite in everyone's style, its eclectic nature certainly makes for a ''something for everyone'' feel, and with repeated listens it certainly reveals more and more of its charms. Highly recommended.

While in italy a lot of singers were singing songs with the important part of voice, tunes and few instruments, few (very few) like BMS were trying to found a progressive group, like PFM or even Le Orme... '72: After the year of adjustments in the group (Francesco Di Giacomo, Renato D'Angelo & Pierluigi Calderoni joined in '71 form Esperienze) BMS comes out with 2 gems: Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Darwin!, where the influence of english prog rock music were folded with italic tenor voice, giving to the music a footprint of liricism but still focused on the prog sounds.

We have 7 tracks, 1 instrumental and 2 half... from the 1st 2 songs we see what we are talking about a strong opera that was built on keyboards using Di Giacomo voice as storyteller of the facts, or better of what is happening to the Earth and his young creature, the man, we see here some chaotic music a draw to explain the perpetual change of the planet and the creatures that live it with the keyboards (excellent stops and reprises using piano and keyboards), while L'evoluzione is full of parts where the voice explain the phases of the evolution La conquista della posizione eretta is an instrumental piece till the last few words that make the voice works as instrument to describe the erect position. (mostly poetic and slow as the singer cannot explain in words what he see!). From here (side 2) the suite is end, a man is born but there is time to make a step back, here Danza dei grandi rettili is the instrumental and starts with an increasing of the piano and Keyboards, while the other instruments play their part quite but giving to the song a strong jazz influence.

Back to the man... the born of tribes and the rapid changes in the human society, from tribes to big cities, here we can see 2 parts... the first is full of chorus, with rapid music from keyboards, while the second part starts with quite voice, some words to describe the born of the a village, and again with a grow of keyboards and voice, to finish again with some tribal chorus... but now it's time for love... 750000 anni fa... l'amore? starts again with the piano and the voice from Di Giacomo that describe a woman from the eyes of someone that want her love (as something that is more sex than love, but we are a lot time before today...) at the middle of the song there is an interlude which is a lot different from the main song, again some great piano and voice and again at the end an increasing of voice and paino that bring us to the next... again we have a into of full music with piano, and after 2 minutes the voice of Di Giacomo start do sing as strong as it can while the music change again and become quite till the words ends then the music (keyboards and piano, yes) take the reprise of the intro with the help of good drums and guitar. Ed ora io domando tempo al tempo ed egli mi risponde... non ne ho! is the end of all, the mankind is old and in this song we have a creak that follow the singer to remark the evidence of how all is finished while the music plays like a circus repetitive tune... till the end where all ends... all but the wheel and his creak. 5/5 stars on music and 1/1 from bonus (they worth it for the first italian concept album and the sleeve that I like it too much), so 5/5 total... an album that NEED to be in every prog collection!

“Frost Of Watermelon” is the third album of the Italian prog band Court. It was released in 2007, ten years after Court’s previous album “Distances” and it’s definitely more various, heterogeneous and with a richer sound. The line up features a new guitarist, Marco Strobl who took the place of Andrea Costanza, and some guest musicians... The “recipe” is tasty and well balanced, including “ingredients” like classical and acoustic guitars, mellotron, recorders and glockenspiel along with powerful bass lines, electric guitars and “smashed pumpkins”... Well, the band is not stuck in the past and you can find on this work not only echoes of Genesis and Pink Floyd but also some peculiar “grungy passages”.

“I will be back again / Just to step and fly away / Believe me / I founded my world on a dream...”. In my opinion the highlights on this album are the dreamy “My World” and the hypnotic and mysterious instrumental “Bridge To Maya”. Prog lovers will find very interesting also the long and complex suite “Mad and Child” and the acoustic ballad “When I Lose” featuring mellotron, glockenspiel and recorders... The overall result is very good, so... “Sprinkle on the frost of watermelon” with slivers of dark chocolate, put the bowls in the fridge and serve cold”!