L'ULTIMO VIAGGIO

In year 1988 the prog revival was already on its way with bands like Marillion,IQ,Pallas carrying the torch and trying to bring to the surface some of the 70's progressive rock spirit...Well,in Italy things didn't go that well,the giants of the 70's went ''pop'' and nothing showed a clima of change...But a bunch of young italian guys had a different opinion...NUOVA ERA suddenly appeared with their debut ''L'ultimo viaggio'' and the sound of the album was really a shock...Complex yet melodic musicianship very close to the traditional italian symphonic rock sound with an excellent concept theme and dramatic atmosphere!A stunning piece of prog music!

''Eterna sconfitta'' is the opener delivering smooth rock musicianship with nice keyboards and guitar interplay...The eponymous track is amazing with changing rhythms,melodies and climates,a progressive beauty!...''Cattivi pensieri'' (parts I and II) are two short yet perfectly played instrumentals with speed complex themes...As the album unfolds,it gets darker and darker...''La tua morte...'' is among the best tracks of the album,dark italian symphonic sound with haunting keyboards and mysterious drums and bass lines followed by strange dark solos,very close to the darkiest moments of EZRA WINSTON...I cant find any comparisons with the neo prog genre except maybe from ''Ritorno..'', which is a very emotional track with melodic solos yet it has a very italian sound as well...''Epilogo'' is the closing track,a short song where Ivan Pinni makes a dramatic performance,a thrilling track!

If it wasn't of the kind of flat production we would talking about a progressive rock classic!!!That doen't mean that this is not an excellent disc...4.5 stars is my rating for this album,this isn't just an essential one,it's almost a must have...Extremely highly recommended!