PASSIO SECUNDUM MATTHEUM

This is amazing music! What totally blows me away is the fact that LATTE E MIELE was just a trio. This magnificently reproduced 180-gram vinyl LP on Akarma Records keeps the original artwork presentation and sound intact on the Italian prog-rockers first effort ''Passio Secundum Mattheum''. In 1972, YES had released their masterwork ''Fragile'', so surely bands such as this were considered obscure in comparison. They fell into the cracks never reaching the audience they should have, as many other worthy bands did. I think it is time to take a harder look at the importance of groups like this that contributed to the development of the definition "progressive" in rock music, even though their status was not as elevated as legendary bands from the U.K. and U.S.

I was not discouraged at all listening to the vocals in Italian, so it had to be very good, which it most definitely was. The vocal workouts are simply gorgeous by the entire group so understanding what they were singing about really did not matter to me. Their music was sublime, with sounds ranging from neo-classical prog-rock, industrial-metal-rock (although non-existent at that time, it was an indication of how advanced they were) and full-blown prog-rock workouts with the vocal parts opera. I found their sound very engaging without fail throughout the run of this entire album. It was always in evolution sounding different on every track. I found the cover art quite thought provoking and colorful as well. It served as another component to their musical endeavors, and actually complimented the ambiance created on this recording. Possibly Picasso could have inspired them? Whatever it was that drove them to make such original music, it worked.

Rating: 4.5/5