FRONTIERA

A lesser known act among the Italian prog bands of the 70's and formed in early 1972 in Turin,PROCESSION were an idea of singer Gianfranco Gaza.In April 1972 the band started to perform in local base,but the next month, with the help of artistic director Tuccimei Pino,they found themselves unsigned but performing before 50000 people (!) at the biggest rock event of Italy,the Villa Pamphili Festival.In October PROCESSION move to Rome and record their debut ''Procession'' within a week,distributed by the smaller label of RCA,Help.

This is a great find for lovers of guitar-driven hard prog,as the band features two talented guitarists (Roby Munciguerra,Marcelo Capra),though it contains a few suprises as well.Plenty of hard guitar breaks,some nice soloing but also a few dual guitar attacks makes ''Frontiera'' a classic rock release presented under a progressive scope.When Munciguerra and Capra put the electric stuff down,then they handle their majestic acoustic instruments (among them some mandolin parts) to color the album with Mediterranean soundscapes and a more traditional/Italian musicianship.Surprisingly in ''Incontro'' there are also some nice and delicate flutes,while the following ''Anche io sono un uomo'' contains a fair amount of melodic mellotron,getting close to the more typical sound of Italian prog!I won't forget about Gaza,who has a sharp and rockin' voice,making overall an impressive performance,often doubled by Munciguerra in a few choir-like harmonies.

Despite the almost fuzzy guitars and its pure power,''Frontiera'' has a good balance between raw passages and melodic lines and the acoustic parts add a touch of originality on this album.Recommended mostly for fans of dynamic heavy prog with an undenieable Mediterranean approach.