IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE

Female keyboard wizard Elisa Montaldo was the person that started the whole Il Tempio delle Clessidre project in Genoa back in 2006 next to former Museo Rosenbach singer Stefano "Lupo" Galifi.Named after the eponymous piece of the classic Museo Rosenbach opus ''Zarathustra'', the group soon became stable with Fabio Gremo on bass, Giulio Canepa on guitar and Paolo Tixi on drums.Abandoning the covers and working on original ideas, they were discovered by Black Widow Records and in 2010 they released their self-titled debut both on vinyl and CD formats.

With Il Tempio delle Clessidre and such a story behind the band's origins, a prog fan is sure what to expect.Vintage-styled Italian Symphonic Rock with long instrumental themes, virtuosic solos, complex breaks and haunting lyrical parts.A much wiser and mature Stefano Galifi now uses his voice with control with hardly any of the rougher singing from his years with MUSEO ROSENBACH.Musically the band sounds very close to Galifi's former band with also strong resemblances to LA MASHERA DI CERA, LA TORRE DELL'ALCHIMISTA and LA CONSIENZA DI CENO.Even veterans LE ORME spring to mind here and there.Ten balanced tracks of well-written Classic Italian Prog with a good balance between lyrics and music offer a nice listening experience.Most of them are centered around the work of Montaldo on keyboards and piano with cinematic Mellotrons, powerful organs but also mellow Classical interludes and atmospheric synthesizers.The harder and most bombastic tracks contain also complex guitar moves with the organs and Mellotron in evidence, alternating between grandiose instrumental interplays and heavy, pounding rhythmic parts.But Il Tempio delle Clessidre have also chosen to keep the decibel in balance as well, throwing in a few smoother and more song-based pieces with light piano, dreamy melodies and good performance by Galifi.The music is far from anything original, but the good execution and the diversity in moods are definitely rewarding.

Another tasty fruit on the modern Italian Prog tree.''Il Tempio delle Clessidre'' is by no means a shocking album, but it would be a crime to be left out by the collection of anyone respecting Italian Prog.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.