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A journey through the Italianprog scene |
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andrea 
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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 Posted: December 22 2010 at 03:35 |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: December 22 2010 at 10:26 |
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SUICIDAL DREAMS FROM TORINO...
JANICE LINTNER, from Torino. A solo project of guitarist Gabriele Lombardo...
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: December 22 2010 at 14:36 |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: December 23 2010 at 12:02 |
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MORE PROG FROM UMBRIA
VITALBA come out from the Pietralunga, a village located in the province of Perugia. Their roots date back to 1991. After a long hiatus, in 2009 the return on stage...
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: December 24 2010 at 08:01 |
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METAL TROUBADOURS FROM THE ALPS
Well this a song from the original soundtrack of the film “State buoni, se potete” inspired by the life of San Filippo Neri (the score is by Angelo Branduardi who appears in the video)
This is the result after a metal treatment...
Well, if you like it and you like bands such as the Germans IN EXTREMO, CORVUS CORAX or SUBWAY TO SALLY, check these ones:
FOLK STONE, from Bergamo
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LOU QUINSE, from Torino
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FUROR GALLICO, from Monza
More info:
Edited by andrea - January 04 2011 at 14:26 |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: December 28 2010 at 16:04 |
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MORE PROG FROM ROMA
PROGETTO ESPERIA is a new progressive project from Roma...
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andrea
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Posted: December 31 2010 at 11:30 |
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PSYCHEDELIC ROCK FROM LOMBARDIA
GIÖBIA, from Milano...
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andrea
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Posted: January 04 2011 at 14:22 |
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ELECTRO FANCIES
Fabrizio Goria comes from Torino and is a former member of FANCYFLUID. Recently he started a solo project called HYDRARGIRIUM. The self-produced debut album, L’ombra blu del cuore, blends prog with electronic pop and other influences.
If you want, you can listen to the complete album in streaming, just click HERE
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Andrea Cortese
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 05 2005 Status: Offline Points: 4411 |
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Posted: January 04 2011 at 17:00 |
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^^^
excellent work here...  Just for curiosity: which italian region do you think is nowadays more prolific of prog bands? In particular, what about Veneto (the region where I live)? |
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 05 2011 at 14:12 |
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FROM VENETO...
Absenthia are one of my favourite bands from Veneto (see post #1 on this blog). They come from Vicenza and were formed in 2005. The line up features Igor D’Aoconte (vocals), Alberto Saccozza (bass), Massimiliano Piazzon (drums), Enrico Baù (keyboards), Paolo Miotti (guitar) and Ferruccio Caoduro (guitar). Their music blends influences ranging from PFM, BMS and Le Orme to folk, Italian melody and prog metal in a very original and convincing way. The band has a strong theatrical approach with the operatic vocals of Igor D’Aoconte in the forefront. The history of Ancient Rome is the main source of inspiration for the lyrics of their debut album, the excellent self produced “Tenebrae Vinc**t”, that was released in 2009.
The album opens with “Commentarii – De Bello Gallico VII”, a beautiful ballad inspired by the life of Julius Caesar and his assassination. Lyrics deal with the immortality of ideals and great achievements that can be reached only after the death... “When I will turn into ashes / You will understand the true reminders that loom the time / The flesh can die but the dream will come back in your head / In my death is concealed the secret / You will inherit my eternity”.
The second track is the aggressive “Atomica Achillea”. The Achillea is a kind of medical herb that the ancient Greeks used to treat wounds. Here uranium is compared to a medical herb: what could have happened if the most ferocious armies ever on earth could have had atomic bombs? Perhaps just the end of the humankind and the beginning of a new world of dreadful peace...
“Absira e la battaglia di Teutoburgo” is a complex track, romantic and powerful in the meantime, a love song settled in the middle of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D. The character of the female slave Absira is a kind of metaphor for the pleasures of life that are wasted in the name of the greed for power and money... “Absira silently dies in the twilight / The blood on her dress is like dropped wine... The flames are dancing around a dying love”. This track is available in free legal download from the official website, so have a try!
“Aria – Ricordi di un soldato” (Air – Souvenirs of a Soldier) is a beautiful ballad full of pathos and energy where a soldier remembers his past days and a woman... “Days never come back / The memories of a time that’s gone will fade away into the wind / But here inside me there’s still your souvenir”.
“La danza dei miei Satiri” is another great track, full of rage and despair for the ambiguities of life and the greediness of people. Then comes the fast and heavy marching beat of the next piece, the rebellious “Catilina e la congiura degli stracci”, that deals with the living hope of a man that fight against a corrupted class of politicians with a weapon called reason, without mercy. It was inspired by the character of Lucius Sergius Catilina (108 BC – 68 BC).
In the dramatic and sensual “Amore e Psiche” heavy guitar riffs are counter pointed by fiery organ chords. Lyrics are inspired by the tale of Cupid and Psyche by the Latin prose writer Apuleius. Next comes the dark and mysterious “Argonautica”, inspired by the character of Medea, an enchantress in the ancient Greek mythology. The operatic approach of the singer here is more evident than ever.
“Spartacus” is a powerful track dedicated to freedom and to the dignity of people that die fighting in war because of the stupidity of dictators or politicians and was inspired by the character of Spartacus (109 BC – 71 BC)... “Blood on the dust / Smell like ambition / That flies away from this joy / Theatre of death...”. The last track, “Lo schiavo infante e la matrona romana” is a peculiar ballad that tells the love story between a young slave and his older matron.
You can listen to more samples, just click HERE
More info about the band:
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 06 2011 at 04:37 |
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UNIDENTIFIED NOISY OBJECTS...
U.N.O. – Unidentified Noisy Object come from Roma and were formed in 1999. After a still immature debut album and an album of covers, in 2005 they released a concept album, “U.N.O. strappo alla regola” about a suicidal girl... The sound is quite eclectic and influences range from Fabrizio De André to Rage Against The Machine, from prog to hip hop. You can listen to the complete album and legally download it. Just click HERE
 Their last album is another concept one, “Poi dice che U.N.O. si butta a sinistra”. The band defined it a Marxian album, since it’s dedicated both to Carl Marx and to the Marx brothers, full of caustic irony even when dealing with hard subjects like “the years of lead”. You can listen to this work and legally download it as well. Just click HERE
More info about the band:
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 08 2011 at 14:40 |
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A NEW IDEA REVIVED...
Nuova Idea were formed in Genova in 1969. Today Nuova Idea’s drummer Paolo Siani is trying to revive the prog days of his old band. Recently he released a new album containing brand new pieces under the name PAOLO SIANI & FRIENDS fearturing NUOVA IDEA on the independent label Black Widow Records.
The album is titled Castles, wings, stories & dreams and you can listen to it in streaming, just click HERE
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 16 2011 at 04:12 |
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A PHOLAS DACTYLUS IN A LABYRINTH OF MIRRORS
LABIRINTO DI SPECCHI (the name means labyrinth of mirrors) come from Chiusi, in the province of Siena. After a first demo in 2007, they have just released a debut album on the independent label Lizard Records, Hanblecheya. The album features as a guest poet and vocalist of Pholas Dactylus Paolo Carnelli.
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Prog Geo
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: November 09 2010 Location: Athens (Greece) Status: Offline Points: 2555 |
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Posted: January 16 2011 at 05:27 |
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What's your opinion about Melos?
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Sonorous Meal show every Sunday at 20:00 (greek time) on http://www.justincaseradio.com
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 16 2011 at 05:39 |
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Prog Geo
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Joined: November 09 2010 Location: Athens (Greece) Status: Offline Points: 2555 |
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Posted: January 16 2011 at 05:50 |
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Ok,I get it.Very good review.Euterpe is a great track.
P.s.:I don't find this album in Greece.Damn! |
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Sonorous Meal show every Sunday at 20:00 (greek time) on http://www.justincaseradio.com
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andrea
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Joined: May 20 2005 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 2064 |
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Posted: January 22 2011 at 14:08 |
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WORK IN PROGRESS FOR A NEW “SUPER-GROUP”
Gigi Cavalli-Cocchi, Bernardo Lanzetti and Cristiano Roversi have recently teamed up and now they are working on a new project...
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andrea
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Posted: January 25 2011 at 15:30 |
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MURPLE (A)LIVE...
Murple were one of the many one-shot bands of the Italianprog scene from the seventies. They are back with a new line up featuring a young female vocalist. Some videos from a concert in Roma in 2010... You can find an interview with the band on progarchives, just click HERE
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andrea
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Posted: January 27 2011 at 10:07 |
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FROM THE WHEEL OF TIME...
Ballo delle Castagne were formed in 2007. The name of the band means “The Chestnuts Ball” and it was inspired by a legend involving the Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503) and his luxurious habits: the “Chestnuts Ball” was a kind of “Satanic Sabbath” where naked women used to dance in the light of candelabrums picking chestnuts from the floor with their mouths. The music of Il Ballo delle Castagne is an interesting blend of psychedelia, hard rock, progressive and new wave... Their eponymous debut album was released in 2009 and in the same year they released also a vinyl single featuring two covers, Biglietto per l’Inferno’s Ansia/Confessione and Franco Battiato’s Paranoia. They have just released on the independent label Hau Ruck S.P.Q.R. a new album inspired by Wheel of Time, a documentary film by Werner Herzog: Kalachakra. The album is distributed by Black Widow Records
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andrea
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Posted: January 30 2011 at 05:40 |
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DARK PROG FROM CAMPANIA
Sophya Baccini is an Italian artist from Naples. After many albums as a singer of a band called Presence (by the way, don’t miss their interview on progarchives that you can find HERE) , in 2009 she released her first solo album, “Aradia”, on the independent label Black Widow Records. The album was recorded with the help of some collaborators like Vittorio Cataldi (violin, accordion), Franco Ponzo (guitars) and Pino Falgiano (keyboards). Some guest musicians contributed to enrich the sound like, among others, Martin Grice (Delirium), Lino Vairetti (Osanna) and Stefano Vicarelli (Fonderia). Sophya Baccini composed the music, wrote the lyrics, played piano and synthesizers and sung. This work features a long suite in 13 parts, three other tracks and a Joni Mithcell’s cover, “Circle game”. The suite is a kind of musical and spiritual path describing the friendship between two women, Aradia and Elide, and its importance for the way of life and the full self realisation of the protagonist Aradia. The music is extremely heterogeneous with influences ranging from jazz to classical, from Piazzolla to Jethro Tull, but the thread that keeps the single parts of the suite together is very thin and the blending is not always convincing. Some passages are absolutely brilliant, like the charming overture “La pietra”, the unquiet and dreamy “Don’t Dream That Dream” or the melodic and sumptuous “Elide”. Other parts in my opinion are less good like “Ever Too Small” that seems coming out from an album of Diana Krall or the melodramatic duet with Lino Vairetti “Non è l’amore il tuo destino” that you can listen in the video below:
“Aradia” contains many good moments, but in my opinion it’s like if some parts were put in the wrong place... The voice of Sophya is beautiful, powerful and melodic, but listeners have to jump from one thing to another and, at length, even the outstanding tracks are in some way diluted by the excess of different musical ideas and risk to lose their charm. Lyrics are hermetic to say the least, in part written in Italian, in part in English and in part in French... This doesn’t help to comprehend the “concept” and there are no liner notes to explain it on the booklet. Luckily on progarchives the artist gives some clues about the concept in a very interesting interview that you can find HERE. Don’t miss it! You can listen to the whole album in streaming, just click HERE
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Prog Geo wrote: