LA LEGGENDA DELLA GRANDE PORTA

With La Leggenda Della Grande Porta Italian's VIII Strada have come up with a modern sounding prog album, blending elements of metal, symphonic prog and rock and I have to say it's very good too.

Despite their prog credentials and Italian status their sound owes little to the classic RPI sound of the seventies, though occasional glimpses shine through their sound with piano playing a prominent role. The prog metal tag, whilst relevant tells only part of the story. Yes there are certainly prog metal elements on display, very much with a Dream Theater vibe at times, but whilst they produce a powerful sound there aren't really enough metallic riff laden moments for full prog metal credentials with many light and shade sections added to the ingredients.

The music is fairly intricate with many twists and turns but without losing sight of a strong melody at the expense of complexity. Despite this being their first album they have been around quite a few years, even apparently releasing an EP back in the late nineties, so they've had plenty of time to perfect their craft and the standard of musicianship is not surprisingly excellent, shown to good effect on the many instrumental sections throughout the seven compositions. This is perfectly demonstrated on the eleven minute instrumental Sinergy and as good as it is, this album reaches its peak when they combine their instrumental prowess alongside the fine vocal work of Tito Vizzuso (sung in Italian) like on album highlight, the opening title track. It's a song that builds from quiet restraint as bird song and bass lead in the rest of the band into a powerful and melodic piece with an inventive and exciting structure over its eleven and a half minutes with a myriad of changes.

Overall VII Strada have produced a strong debut album likely to appeal to prog metal and symphonic lovers in equal measures. Highly recommended.