IL PAESE DEL TRAMONTO

Recently, among my fellow Mexican prog friends, the name of Unreal City has been mentioned several times and always with positive comments about them. Now, after some weeks I've been listening to them, I have to thank them for bringing this band to my ears, and thank the band itself for creating such wonderful RPI gems that any fan of the classic Italian prog would love. After their incredible debut, entitled "La Crudeltá di Aprile", this 2015 the band comes with their second child, named "Il Paese del Tramonto", whose first class music will satisfy us.

It features 7 tracks that make a total time of 69 minutes that provide a feast of retro prog with the undeniable modern touch, so go figure. The album opens with "Ouverture", a 5-minute introductory track which happens to be the shortest one. Some voices or noises at the beginning, later piano in a classical way and then the other instruments enter and begin to create a structure; of course, the keyboard work stands out in some moments, while strings create nice somber atmospheres. It is an instrumental track with some great inner changes.

The second track "Oniromanzia" opens with the increasing sound of keyboards, which remind me of Anglagard in some way. It is strange, but in moments while listening to them, not only RPI bands come to my mind, also Swedish and even Japanese, so they sum up different prog cultures and styles in a few minutes. After two minutes, male vocals appear for the first time in the album, you will immediately notice the 70s resemblance, however, it is important to mention these guys are young musicians, but tremendously talented. In this second track I love how they pass from smooth passages to tense and fast moments, and so on. After 6 minutes there is a moment where a flute appears, adding a pastoral touch, but it lasts some seconds and later voice and a rockier sound come.

"Caligari" is a 10-minute track that really brings the modern sound of RPI, though of course the retro elements prevail in some moments, but I think here it is more evident this fresh and new sound. The quantity of nuances they create through the minutes is impressive, so their talent is evident in both, composition and performance. The voice is great, and thankfully they sing in Italian, which is a lovely language. What I like a lot is that all the musicians are equally important, the music would not be the same without one of them, I mean, they complement each other really well, and know where to emphasize keys, bass, guitars and drums.

"La Meccanica dell'ombra" is a fabulous track whose sound might be something like "modern gothic", if that exists. The composition is very well crafted, nice tense atmospheres, fast passages contrasting with some faster moments, great piano in the right time, etc. It is impossible not to praise them, and not to be surprised by their inner changes in time and mood. After four minutes the voice enters and adds that soft and gentle sound. Great song! Later, "Il Nome di Lei" is another wonderful track where their musicianship floats, and where no matter how many retro prog elements they bring, the sound is totally modern. I hope you get me, but well, I perceive it. Unreal City might actually have two different sounds: with and without voice, because when Tarasconi's vocals appear, the sound immediately becomes mellower, beautiful, calmer.

"Lo Schermo di Pietra (Kenosis)" is a great bombastic track that brings more energy and power than the previous ones, the rock is evident here, perfectly suited by keyboards, strings and drums. But well, it shows the two faces again, because the instrumental introduction is the faster and passionate, and later when voices enter, it brings the emotional but calmer sound. But wait, after minute three, both sides are combined, so we listen to a fast and exciting song with vocals included. Great track without a doubt!

Finally, the long 20-minute suite "Ex Tenebrae Lux" which simply shows how competent they are in compositional terms, they are young exquisite musicians that have much more to offer in this progressive rock realm, this sole song is enough to realize about that. This epic song is amazing, they combine space rock (first moments) with a gothic sound, with even funk in some brief passages, with jazzy tunes and of course, a splendid progressive rock predominance. The addition of some non-conventional elements such as the violin, is always welcome because it brings new textures. But well, it would take me another page to describe all the moments of this song, but I will sum it up in this line: a magnificent salad of progressive sounds gathered in the cage of life.

Unreal City really rock, I am happy to listen, review and recommend them. So do not hesitate and get this album (and their debut one, which is as wonderful as this one) soon. In Mexico the album will be distributed by Sol & Deneb records, so if you are from my country, you know where to buy it.

Enjoy it!