FRONTIERA

Procession's, first album, Frontiera is a guitar heavy concept album about immigration (pastoral Southerners coming to the cities of the north) that is unlike any album I've heard in Italian 70's prog. It is also quite unlike their second more keyboard heavy album.

Opening song Ancora Una Notte puts us on notice immediately with an arrangement and vocal straight out of the first two Flash albums. A more angst ridden Colin Carter style vocal propels a vigorous twin guitar assault that would please early Rush fans: guitar heavy proto prog. The opening song is like a Black Sabbath version of Osage Tribe, another heavy guitar RPI band everyone should have in their collection. Uomini E Illusioni is reminiscent of the first song on side two of the New Trolls album Ut, Sabbath heaviness unleashed. Wolfmotherish in a fashion that the New Trolls song also is.

The band is capable of producing some epic sounding stuff with an excellent ability to shift from heavy to acoustic guitar sections when the symphonic kids are starting to freak out. Italian themes are identifiable throughout this album (sung in Italian) ensuring you son't mistake this for some unheard lost UK rock gem.

Incontro is a catchy 12 string acoustic guitar romp--Starcastle meets Head East through PFM (whew!) with the first signs of flute and mellotron.

Side two: we are off and running again on a wild ride once again similar to the heavier stuff on Ut. Dynamic riffs will keep metal heads banging in a complex fashion as it gets a bit 2112-ish before settling down once again into an acoustic propelled Italian version of Flash. Their love of Tony Iommi is very apparent on Solo 1. Un'Ombra Che Vaga brings in atmospheric echoed guitars in a delicate acoustic background before a VDGG 'Man-Erg' style riff abruptly changes things, almost proto punk rock. North and South seem to be represented by the juxtaposition of heavy electric and gentle acoustic approaches. Solo 2 finishes us off with a harmonica fueled blast of something that would be comfortable on Black Sabbath's debut album, an exhilirating ride to the end.

This album has really grown on me with repeated listenings, and will appeal to guitar heavy prog fans. It is really a singular release in RPI, I haven't encountered anything that sounds like this album. For symphonic fans, beware, there are really no keyboards or flute on here for those that might be afraid to go far from their comfort zone. (They borrowed the mellotron from kindred band R.R.R.)

Flash meets New Trolls on Ut. Fans of the first few Rush albums might dig this too.

4.25 stars