DANZE D'INCENSO

I found this CD by pure chance. And I was amazed by its terrific musicality. I was not expecting much: although Italy has produced an incredible number of great prog acts since the 70´s, lately I was a bit disapointed with its newer groups. But Malaavia is really something else. Their debut album is absolutely stunning for its sheer power and musical diversity: think of any style and you´ll probably find it here somewhere. It´s hard to describe it and hard to believe it. And what could be a ragged and/or confused array of different kinds of music, turns out into a very cohesive, melodic and well rounded piece of art. Thanks to their great knack for writing good tunes, tasteful arrangements and fine melodic sense, this is by far one of the most satisfying albums I found this year. I specially loved the alternating male/female vocals, with some operatic male voices thrown in at the right places.

I was equally surprised by the different ratings this album got from other reviewers. Naturally some of them didn´t get it. And I guess it´s just a matter of taste. A challeging album like someone said? Not for me, that´s for sure! I fell in love with it the minute I heard the first few notes from Preludio Di Luna Piena. And every time I listen to it I love it more. Every note, every instrument or voice, comes and goes at the right moment. Not a single boring moment in the whole CD. Not even a weak moment. Excellent songwriting, terrific musicanship, beautiful vocals. Can you ask for more? Oh, yeah: tremendous powerful. emotional and convincing performances. And you get that a lot in Danze D`Incenso. Original, bold and quite different from other italian acts, ok, and yet very familiar, accesible and captivating. Prog with a capital P. Something to listen from beginning to end without skipping a single track.

There is no highlights, really. You should listen to it as a whole. Production is top notch.

I probably should not give this album five stars so soon, since this is only their first release and I want to believe they can improve even more in near future. But I can´t help it. It would not be fair to do otherwise: for me it´s a masterpiece. And my rating might contribute to diminish the unfairness of some misguided reviews I found here. Definitly recommended! One of the best debut albums I heard in a long time.

I was a little disapointed with what I heard lately in the field, bu now my faith into prog music is restored!