IL PAESE DEL TRAMONTO

In 2008, the Italian progressive rock band Unreal City was founded by Emanuele Tarasconi and Francesca Zanetta in Parma. In these days, Unreal City was composed by Emanuele Tarasconi, Matteo Bertani, Dario Pessina and Andrea Gardani. For personal reasons, the founder Francesca Zanetta left Unreal City as was announced by the band in 2018.

Managing to the release of the first EP in 2012, Unreal City took part in several music contests. In 2013 the band released their debut studio album, recorded with the artistic direction of Fabio Zuffanti, titled "La Crudeltà Di Aprile". After its release, "La Crudeltà Di Aprile" went at the top of many Italian progressive rock albums charts, and many positive reviews were published. During the promotional tour of the album, Unreal City played on some important Italian and international stages. In 2015 the band released their second studio album "Il Paese Del Tramonto". In the same year the band joined in a European tour. In 2017, Unreal City released their third studio album, "Frammenti Notturni".

The line up on "Il Paese Del Tramonto" is Francesca Zanetta (electric and acoustic guitars and Mellotron), Emanuele Tarasconi (lead and backing vocals, piano, Hammond, synth, Mellotron, harpsichord, Theremin and clavinet), Dario Pessina (backing vocals and spoken voice, bass and bass pedals) and Federico Bedostri (drums and percussion). The album had also the participation of Fabio Biale (violin) and Rossano Villa (trombone and accordion).

With their debut album, Unreal City made that immediately the world speak of them in very positive terms. "La Crudeltà Di Aprile" indicates the proposal of revival the Italian symphonic prog of the 70's. The sequel released in 2015, which begins exactly where its predecessor had stopped, is a clear evidence of that. The ability of having chosen the leitmotif of the concept, which leads to various dream experiences in a kind of delusion with unreal contours typical of the hour of the twilight, is a proof of that. The themes will also be gloomy, fragmentary and dramatic, but the notes flow full of enthusiasm, giving the whole image of an "adventurous journey", thanks also to the analog recordings. Even the lyrics are based in the Italian 70's style. They are well blended and even Tarasconi not having a powerful voice, his timbre appears appropriate. The classical and brainy references are numerous, all over the album both, lyrically and musically.

"Overture: Obscurus Fio" is an instrumental with great changes. 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. The closing word is for keyboards. "Oniromanzia" starts with keyboards only. Unreal City has the real ability to compose beautiful melodies. Tarasconi has a nice voice where you can notice the 70's resemblance. They are young musicians tremendously talented. The track is diverse but the music is dominated by keyboards. "Caligari" opens slow and mysterious. The track brings the modern sound of RPI, though of course, the retro elements prevail here. All musicians are equally important. The quality they created is really impressive. Their talent is evident in both, composition and performance. You can find some jazzy parts here too. "La Meccanica Dell'Ombra" shows the band's changing direction. It comes to my mind the folk eastern influences, so dear to their compatriots Area. The composition is well crafted, nice tense atmospheres, fast passages contrasting with faster moments. It's impossible not to be surprised by changes in time and mood. "Il Nome Di Lei", the musicianship floats, and no matter how many retro prog elements, the sound is modern. The keyboards give way for a bit, letting the guitar take the lead on two beautiful, slow and melancholic solos. Here, the keyboards and the piano lay down a soft melodic foundation. "Lo Schermo Di Pietra (Kenosis)" brings even more energy and power than the previous tracks. The rock is evident here, perfectly suited by keyboards, strings and drums. The vocal melodies are beautiful and are sung with great passion. "Ex Tenebrae Lux" is divided into several parts. To prove their composition skills, the band ends the album with this 20 minute epic. It's a diverse piece of epic proportions. This epic combines space rock with a gothic sound, with even funk in some brief passages, with jazzy tunes and of course, with splendid progressive rock predominance. This is a magnificent salad of progressive sounds that close the album amazingly.

Conclusion: With "La Crudeltà Di Aprile" and "Il Paese Del Tramonto", Unreal City proves to be a band, to take note, in the modern prog rock scene. Their music is heavily instrumental and gloriously bombastic. The music of Unreal City is keyboard dominated. And despite their music be influenced by the music of the great Italian prog bands of the 70's, the band sounds new and fresh, in spite of their retro prog sound. You won't find weak points on this great album, really. And of course there is an epic lengthy track divided into several parts at the end. With these two albums, Unreal City thus continues the Italian progressive rock tradition, fully aware of the classic role models, with a successful mixture of orchestral symphony, devoted vocals and hard rock sprinkles. These are two albums not to be missed, by any way.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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