INCIDENTI - LO SCHIANTO

I am a romantic guy who has always been enthralled by poignant melodies, intense choruses and miscellaneous musical goosebumps, as well as heartfelt instrumental performances. While prog represents 95% of my interest, I still get emotional when I hear a thousandth rendition of Nessun Dorma, as well as deeply enjoying many non-prog artists whether in jazz, blues or even pop environments (mostly in a live setting). I do not care much for mainstream, rap, death metal or country, its just not my bottle of vino rosso. Even super complex is something I generally shy away from, like most experimental, minimalist or RIO artists. Then comes along Claudio Milano, a ''classically trained seven-octave vocal range ''singer from Milan who owns a voice that is squarely not a pair of lungs, but an outright musical instrument expressed through his body. His various projects under different names surely rank as some of the most ORIGINAL music, any genre, anywhere.

In 2014, I reviewed his Ukiyoe album, inspiring me to compose one of my most 'out there' assessments ever, as if I had been under the influence of some Dali-esque hallucinogenic that directed my fingers on the keyboard. Claudio actually included a small excerpt in this new 2021 release, as well as quoting a slew of my PA colleagues, proving only that the relationship between artist and fan is truly binary, timeless and cyclic. I enjoy his music enormously, mainly because his energy literally intimidates me into abject submission, generally accompanied by huge grins, massive smiles and waves of chicken skin (this being a rare event; I assure you all, as well as myself). My grandfather once commented to me when I was a little boy" Italy is not a country, it's a theater'' and in Claudio's case, a theater of sound is what he judiciously presents on his latest work. He is both supremely talented and a touch 'pazzo' (crazy) because he tosses the normal musical manuals right out the cathedral window, landing somewhere in the Duomo's Plaza, pecked upon mercilessly by a bevvy of supercilious pigeons and the odd foreign tourist, cell phone camera in one hand and a dripping gelato in the other.

17 tracks that cover 78 minutes Incidenti-Lo Schianto delivers a more accessible insanity, where a multitude of instruments and guests provide a proper backdrop for some of the most overpowering singing you will ever hear anywhere. Claudio's irascible temperament and colossal talent are both on full display, unfettered, unafraid and confident. Swerving, veering, spinning, twirling, screeching and always stunning, the tracks bleed (literally) into another, as if ready a sci-fi book in an unknown language (like Kobaian LOL). The prevailing emotions are of humour/insanity, oppression/deliverance, pain/bliss, with forays of synths, bass rumblings, sax blasts, guitar scratches and percussive mayhem, all delivered in sharp compact eruptions as on the fabulously Gothic third Track "Variations on the Jargon King". Pleasantly weird.

Futuristic theater is next on the menu as "Il Barbieri degli Occhi" introduces violin, bass and Claudio's intestinal lung work, Wagnerian piano and a whole lotta love. Over 7 minutes of exploration and a healthy dose of surrealistic pillowing, never boring, always heading somewhere that only Claudio"s fertile musical imagination can control. Slightly 22nd century schizoid with a baroque undertone. Satisfyingly bizarre.

A couple of slippery snippets of "balance, composure and harmony", where the voice pied pipers along merrily intervene unexpectedly (well, that was to be expected!). A medieval flute paints the initial background for La Scatola , another extended piece that confounds time and place, as if Claudio has morphed into a perfectly rational troubadour entertaining a castle full of insane knights and wacko lords with their conniving dames in attendance. Stark, torchlit and sooty walls of sound, that spin into a musical gavotte on a sesterce (Roman coin). This violin- driven collision of "avant' and 'apres' (read before and after) is truly a stroke of utter genius. It' s companion piece, the proverbial "Last Cigarette" has a decidedly more accessible, dare I say modern tone, a post-coital siesta that showcases Claudio's incredible instrument. Some lung tapping stuff here. Agreeably unusual.

A three-part section comes into play, the This Order & Coucou Selavy suite of 'gothic and theatrical avant-metal' that features heavy drums and a vocal delivery that will test your aural endurance. A dark wave of brash insanity (lalala lalala), where dissonance and melody coalesce albeit reluctantly, which makes it even more anguished. Suddenly, the clown shows up, red-nosed and oversized carnival shoes in tow, as the merry go round runs cheerfully in spheres, a dizzying out-of-body aural hallucination of the best kind. The third part is where excepts from Progarchives reviews are inserted into the vaporous blend, with mountains of voicetronics to paraphrase Mister Fripp. Delightfully strange.

A return to more electric incongruity, 'Sabbia Scura' and a operatic flight on 'Del Mondo Gli Occhi' establishes more sonic room to elaborate the whopping 10 minute + finale 'Nyama'. Here there are more world/ethnic/avant intonations, with chamber orchestra welding itself to voices, vocals and arias, chanting and warbling as well as outright singing. Sounds like a late 13th century Marco Polo bard stuck on some Great Wall of China parapet, yearning desperately for his mama, and yelling his heart out! This is quite the mammoth piece and will require a great deal of intestinal fortitude. That heavy bass onanism at the end?.well! Charmingly peculiar.

2 extra little tidbits to put this monster album to bed (a four poster with canopy and veil, please) . What a session?..exhilarated but pooped! Thank goodness I am vaccinated?.

Why bother being so pedantic and boringly obvious with heavy metal growls and booming drums, if you really want to get back at unruly neighbors, play this FULL blast (during legal hours) and scare the be-jesus out of them. You only need to do it once?. The effect is permanent. As Claudio theatrically states" With this album, I wanted to express the alteration of perception that an individual can have of sound when a truck hits him". On some Hungarian street in Milano, I guess?.wink

This needs to be in every audiophile's collection, as that out-of-the-sleeve joker will stun any guest.

4.5 Incidental crashes