IL PAESE DEL TRAMONTO

This is the second album from this group of young Italians. I haven't heard their first album yet but after listening to this I now want to. The music is a mix of retro symph prog and more modern harder-edged stuff. The sound and production is really good. Not too loud and the drums in particular are mixed very well. The keyboardist is also the lead vocalist. The keyboards are generally retro sounding while the guitar playing alternates between bluesy 'classic rock' style and a more modern distorted sound.

"Ouverture: Obscurus Fio" opens the album with some altered vocals and spacey sounds. Then some piano lays the foundation for the other instruments to join in. A great symph prog instrumental with some great synth soloing. The track moves around to different sections and is a great introduction to the album. After a majestic theme "Oniromanzia" goes into more straight-ahead rock territory. The vocals here are in the traditional emotive Italian variety. The clavinet is a nice touch in the keyboard department. A soulful organ solo in the middle. Changes to a few different sections for the rest of the track.

"Caligari" starts with some bells and other atmospheric sounds. I like the delay/chorus effect on the guitar near the beginning. After it goes into traditional symph prog territory. Then it goes into an upbeat marching band type of vibe (including brass, although I'm not sure if it's 'real' or not). A jazzy section with a piano solo follows. I really like the 'la-la-la" section with the background vocals. "La Meccanica dell'ombra" opens with some MidEast inspired synth work backed by a sympathetic rhythm section. Eventually goes into RPI style ballad territory. Nice organ solo towards the end when the music gets more busy.

"Il Nome di Lei" has some great harpsichord work and some Floydian style guitar soloing. The vocals arrive once the music settles down into RPI ballad territory. Near the end is piano chords reminding one of Floyd's "Echoes"/The Phantom Of The Opera. "Lo Schermo di Pietra (Kenosis)" has a video for that can be watched on YouTube. This is both the most retro sounding and also the most modern sounding track on the album. The album closes with the 20+ epic "Ex Tenebrae" which is divided into four parts. Spacey synths and random drumming which gets more busy gives way to classical piano. Then we are in heavy symph prog territory. Then it switches to great funk-rock with clavinet playing. At one point you hear a violin.

The vocals appear once the track has changed to a ballad vibe. There is a catchy vocal part which is repeated. Classy organ and guitar soloing over an odd time signature in the middle. Gets more traditionally symph prog oriented over halfway. I like the jazzy piano riff and altered vocals around the 17 minute mark. It is too early yet to say if this will be one of the better prog releases of 2015 but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. This album is yet another example of the great music that continues to come out of Italy. 4 stars.