Here we have the third album in three years from the project put together by Billy Sherwood in 2012. Yet again he has provided a lot of the music himself and then brought in loads of guests, with only Rick Wakeman credited on more than one track, where he plays with Nektar on one and Todd Rundgren on the other. Billy only credits himself as soloist on one song, and for the rest we get Steve Stevens, Steve Morse, David Cross, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Patrick Moraz & Omar Hakim, Kasim Sulton, Frank Dimino & Marco Minnemann, John Etheridge, Steve Hillage & Gregg Bissonette, Todd Sucherman, Joe Bouchard, Pat Mastelotto, Chad Wackerman. I have never been a huge fan of this type of album, which were so beloved by some labels back in the Nineties, and while I admit I enjoyed Billy's last one, 'Seeking Peace', it must be said that this is not at the same level.

Part of that may be due to the musical style, as this takes a deliberate turn toward a more brooding and melancholic musical path, filled with ambient and eerie melodic passages, and for some reason it feels very middle of the road. Some of the soloists, especially Steve Stevens and Steve Morse, take the opportunity to show exactly what they can do and definitely stand out, which in many ways also does not help in the overall feel as this comes across way more as a project and far less of a cohesive whole. Even Dimino seems strangely subdued and given I have been a fan of Angel for more than 40 years I was very much looking forward to his contribution but was disappointed. This is a pleasant album which will undoubtedly have its fans, but for me there is far more exciting stuff out there to discover.

FIG LEAF were a four piece band out of Norway who released three studio albums during the second half of the 90's. The debut called "Hum" that is shown on the site here is when they were called FIG LEAF MUSEUM, so it's cool to have that included here. Their first proper album is from 1995 called "Plays Bob W. And Other Selections" and was apparently a low budget affair but I haven't heard it. Next was "The Humble Poet" from 1997 where they get some backing and studio time resulting in a very solid, hard rocking record for the most part.

I was surprised though when I saw they were listed under Prog Metal here as this comes across more as a Heavy Prog record. After seeing that though I spun it a couple of more times, and sure the vocals bring Metal to mind and sometimes the music, but this feels more rooted in the 70's. "New Ship" the opener is getting close to Proto Prog territory with that organ driven sound and this is fast paced. Not typical of the rest of the album, and really this is not a good start to this recording. There's a nice heavy sound to that title track and they contrast the mellow with that very well. Some uplifting moments here too.

"Shadowlands" is a favourite for the tone of the guitar. "On The Seventh Day" is another highlight, and it has it all really. Love the bass and that guitar solo, and it's uplifting here as well. "Hi There" is the most metal sounding track in my opinion. "The Critic" might be my favourite for the heaviness and again it clicks with me emotionally and is quite uplifting. More of that great sounding bass as well. The album ends with "Thanks" just over 3 minutes worth then silence before a 9 minute hidden track shows up. The hidden song is pleasant along with "Thanks" being very laid back with flute.

The vocals do bring this down some but that's more to do with that opening track. Still, I have to go 4 stars for this emotionally charged album. Released in 1997 which was a tough year for our music. 1997 was a surprisingly strong year for the Norwegians. I mean they run the show these days but here's four really good records back when times were tough for Norway, including "The Humble Poet" along with IN THE WOODS... "Omnio", TANGLE EDGE's "Tarka" and THE SMELL OF INCENSE's "Through The Gates Of Deeper Slumber". Add the three amazing albums from Sweden and these two nations dominate my 1997 list.

3.5 stars. VESSELS are a five piece band from England and this is their debut from 2008. Of their four studio albums this is the one to get, and their most Post Rock sounding. By their third album "Dilate" they add a lot more electronics and techno sounds that just don't jive with me. The first two are at least in the same ball park and I like that the cover art for those two records have a similar colour tone and style, while changing that completely on their third record "Dilate".

An interesting lineup where we get four of the five playing guitar. Only the drummer doesn't plus two of those who play guitars add synths, and another adds keys and bass. A talented group who touch on Math Rock here. It's interesting that they recorded this in the USA, but also mixed and mastered it there. There are vocals unfortunately and that drops this to a 3.5 star album in my world. Some great contrasts on this one between the mellow and powerful. That first track "Altered Beast" is a good example of your typical Post Rock build. Slowly of course but ending up in a wall of sound. A beautiful calm ends it. That's my favourite but I like "Happy Accident" quite a bit despite the vocals. While "Look At That Cloud!" also stands out some from the rest.

I don't feel like they released a better record than this, their debut. The music will scratch a few itches. An open mind helps with the contrasting styles in play.

Although UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA formed all the way back in 1998, this eclectic zeuhl hybrid act hasn't exactly been the most prolific artist in the world of prog having only released three albums in its quarter of a century existence but while UTO Giorgio Golin's former band Runaway Totem has been much more productive as far as releasing a large quantity of albums, UTO has rather focused on quality which is something i appreciate very much. It took nine years for UTO to follow up it's 1999 debut "Rituale Alieno" and finally in 2008 "The Magus" emerged and it would take another eight years to release its third album MATHEMATICAL MOTHER which came out in 2016. As of this calendar year 2024 it seems that it's time for a fourth installment in the UTO universe as the band appears to remain active and given the creative mind-blowing albums it's delivered so far, i sure hope that's the case!

Amazingly this third album retains the exact same lineup as the previous one while the second album featured an almost completely new lineup! Once again Ana Torres Fraile, Antonio Fedeli (vocals), Daniele Valle (guitar), Fabrizio Mattuzzi (keyboard, piano), Uto Giorgio Golin (drums) and Yanik Lorenzo Andreatta (bass) along with seven guest musicians and vocalists to deliver another slice of extraordinary diverse prog rock primarily based on the Magma inspired zeuhl flavors of yore. Adventurous and exceedingly eccentric, UTO fortifies its zeuhl foundation with all kinds of classic prog flavors including dissonant guitar rumbling in the vein of classic King Crimson, knotty time signature raucousness reminiscent of Gentle Giant, Middle Eastern flavored folk fusion reminding of the Italian classic of Area and even moments of Renaissance inspired symphonic prog. Add a few spacier moments courtesy of the world of Krautrock and Pink Floyd, elements of jazz, opera and medieval music and you have one amazingly diverse slice of top notch zeuhl here!

It's really hard to describe such an album that infuses so much into its six tracks that add up to about 54 minutes of playing time. While retaining that bouncy zeuhl grooviness most notably in the bass lines and vocalist Ana Torres Fraile's vocal style right out of the Stella Vander playbook, the "extras" on this album have no limits. It's crazy electronic keyboard solos one minutes and Indian vocal chanting the next from the multitude of backing singers who offer opposing contrapuntal elements to Fraile's mostly uniform vocal style. Sounds you almost never associate with zeuhl are fair game with UTO. This includes Middle Eastern musical scales, guitar solos, Phillip Glass inspired keyboard virtuosity, Gregorian chants, touches of gothic rock, crazy avant-prog diversions and well the list goes on! UTO also retains its Italian prog heritage by delivering lyrics not in some fictitious language but rather in its native tongue.

With so many elements on board it would be easy for album like MATHEMATICAL MOTHER to spiral out of control but UTO does an impeccable job of keeping it all organized in a logical and cohesive procession with Fraile's motherly vocals providing the stabilizing force to let the rest of the band run wild. Of course the zeuhl bass grooves also add a bit of cohesiveness to the entire affair but even Andreatta is let off the leash a bit allowing more dynamic bass grooves than pretty much any other zeuhl act i've yet encountered. Perhaps the most unexpected element of MATHEMATICAL MOTHER is the recurring use of those exotic Middle Eastern musical scales that evoke Area's early albums. Add to that the abundant use of crazy time signature rich adventurism and i could easily call this one of the most diverse and demanding zeuhl albums out there. It's not all technical wizardry though. Plenty of slow and contemplative moments occur as breathing room such as the soft and warming beginning of "Architettura Dell'Acqua." In other words, the album is well balanced.

I was thoroughly impressed with UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA first two releases but this one just takes all the wild and unrestrained creativity to a new level and not only that pulls it off with ease! Perhaps it required the entire eight years to polish the early rough gem into the sparkling diamond that it would become. The band has also strayed further from the Magma influences than most others all without deemphasizing its dedication to the zeuhl branch of progressive rock that it has nurtured so well into a totally new independent offspring. A demanding album that requires a few spins to sink in but a rewarding one with so many twists and turns that it's impossible NOT to be impressed! Bravo. It'll probably require another eight years of hard work to top this one!

— First review of this album —

Named after a reference line from the film "The Karate Kid," SWEEP THE LEG JOHNNY proved to be a musical ninja in its own right with its unique mix of math rock, indie rock, post-rock, jazz, art punk and noise. Formed by alto saxophonist / vocalist Steve Sostak and guitarist Chris Daly when they were students at Indiana's Notre Dame University near South Bend, the duo started out as Check Engine in 1993 and then started their second band soon thereafter in 1994 before relocating to Chicago after graduation. There they met bassist Matt Alicea and released a couple singles before unleashing their debut 4.9.21.30 on Divot Records in 1997. The band existed until 2002 and put out four albums, each with its own distinct flavors and stylistic approaches.

This debut followed in the spirit of nerdy math rock inspired art punk acts like NoMeansNo, Slint and Minutemen with a combination of King Crimson inspired dissonant chord progressions, complex zigzagging compositions, forceful jackhammering punk angst and the oddball addition of Flipper inspired saxophone accompaniments. A tad of alternative heavy rock also reminds a bit of Jane's Addiction especially in some of the vocal parts. Navigating a labyrinthine series of eight tracks in its 43 minute run, 4.9.21.30 dished out a contrasting mix of fast tempo brashness along with more sensual moments of placidity. The album's opener "Shower Scene" evokes aspects of post-rock although the knotty math rock riffs dominate the soundscape.

The main gist of 4.9.21.30 is for the bass groove to provide a basic melody while the twisted chord complexities weave their way around it. Motifs change at the drop of a pin but recurring cadences offer a stabilizing force while the guitar and drumming techniques offer unique fills often employing a series of jazzy time signature moves to craft super tight yet freeform musical expressions. Vocals range from abrasive punk shouting to more relaxed subdued singing. Distortion is on the noisy side and the clamoring of the guitars offers a jarring [%*!#] it all demeanor amplified by free jazz saxophone blasts and abrupt hairpin turns. Together these attributes showcased an extremely disciplined technical wizardry coupled with the freewheeling explosiveness of anarcho-punk offset by slower moments of post-rock with a jazzy touch. Add a touch of emo fueled vocal angst and you have a wild ride!

Jagged dissonant guitar textures with saxophone smoothness sally forth in irreverent processions finding noisy outbursts pacified by cool-down periods and vocal harmony call and response sessions. The album delivers a steady yet agitating roller coaster ride of bantering mathy art punk ceding to more standard uniformity where the independent nature of the instrumentation suddenly plays together in unison. Abrasive tones and tumultuous timbres plunder the senses while frenetic chaos lurks around every musical measure. A triumph of rhythmic mystery and organized dystopia, SWEET THE LEG JOHNNY emerged as a veritable powerhouse of punk-infused art prog that melded its influences together so well that it's impossible to distinguish any particular passage as attributed to one source.

The band was notable for its ability to change things up significantly from album to album as members jumped ship and others joined the ranks. Bassist Matt Alicea would leave after this debut and replaced by John Brady for the band's second release "Tomorrow We Will Run Faster" which focused more on slower progressive post-rock elements more similar to "Godspeed You! Black Emperor" than the NoMeansNo meets Flipper and Minutemen approach of this debut. Overall an impressive beginning for a wildly unhinged band that was notable for its prolific live performances that kept the world of punk rock relevant in the alternative experimental 90s and beyond. I really love how the band crafted a huge arsenal of interesting experimental approaches on this debut. An amazingly strong piece of proggy art punk.

One of the lesser appreciated neo-prog bands in the scheme of things, the Hamburg based German SYLVAN started cranking out uniquely designed albums since its debut "Deliverance" in 1998 although it took many years to get to that point. After losing its bassist Patrick Münster, SYLVAN returned two years later with Lars Koster on bass as well as the saxophonist Soren Grimme. ENCOUNTERS was released in 2000 and found SYLVAN upping its game in a number of ways. While the debut was excellent in its own right, this sophomore release found the band expanding its sound and confidence level to a more sophisticated approach with tighter song structures and increasing complexities. It features a typical neo-prog trait of a nebulous concept, this time about a journey to ENCOUNTERS that will change the world. Well ok now!

While broken up into 12 tracks, ENCOUNTERS basically features two distinct tracks followed by the ten suite title track that swallows up 40 minutes of the album's near 54-minute run. Continuing its primary focus on catchy neo-prog melodies, SYLVAN focuses on more guitar, bass and drum based compositions without all those heady layers of atmospheric keyboards however the keys are without a doubt a vital part to the band's sound. "No Way Out" starts the album and worthy of being released as a single although the band never went that route. Catchy and bouncy, it's more of a typical symphonic rock song with the typical verse / chorus structure and predictable developments however it's chock filled with energetic drive and is a great way to get the juices flowing as you're introduced to the band's second offering.

Next up, "Essence Of Life" provides a transitional approach that is overtly more proggy yet retains some of the immediacy of the opener. At eight minutes plus it's definitely one that delves more into the neo-prog sound with emotive guitar sweeps and keyboard based moments of placidity. The song also showcases SYLVAN's mastery of dynamics with faster motifs trading off with the slower more contemplative moments. It also revs up the prog aspects in the songwriting territory but still has those staccato guitar stomp sort of catchy choruses that give it a slightly commercial feel. Like the debut album ENCOUNTERS benefited from an excellent production job with lots of nuances to tones, timbres and electronic effects that are delivered below the surface. This one has more atmosphere as well and pretty much sets the stage for the ten suite title track that follows.

The real treat of the album is without a doubt the 40-minute title track broken into ten distinct suites. This is where SYLVAN really comes of age and showcases its ability to craft super complex compositions that wend and wind and yet cohesively construct a larger theme. Displaying influences from Marillion, IQ, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Eloy and others, the band offers a bit of metal light with feistier guitar moments and keeps the individual suites on the shorter side and distinct. While "Overture" displays a multitude of sounds, "About To Leave" opens with a trippy spaced out keyboard sequence out of the Eloy playbook. "Your Source" is the ballad that mixes a jazzy sax with a rather AOR sounding rock style and my least favorite part of the album. Exercising their skillful use of dynamics though, the guitar crunch fueled instrumental "Tremendously Different" offers some nice proggy workouts on the keys with some more demanding moments of technical wizardry.

"Long Ago" is basically a piano based warm up that adds some guitar crunch before ceding into the funky "All Of It" which sounds more like a progressive metal band like Dream Theater than neo-prog. "Presentments" jumps back into neo-prog territory with lots of keyboard parts, passionately delivered vocals in the IQ or Pendragon style and cedes to the similar sounding "Would You Feel Better" only with variations in keys and bass more abundantly displayed. "In Vain" operates with an acoustic guitar intro before breaking into rock and then offers an abrupt jazzy saxophone performance. The title track part of the title track suite ends nicely with a Dream Theater flavor in the vocal department and a neo-prog grand finale sort of coming down vibe.

Perhaps a bit overweening at times but ENCOUNTERS is a decent slice of high quality neo-prog without enough diverse elements and a competent dabbling of prog to be worthy of an ENCOUNTER. Marco Glühmann doesn't display any trace of a German accent and rest of the band flawlessly executes its British and American influences while whipping them into a style all their own. Kay Söhl's guitar work is above average in a neo-prog context adding tastefully delivered solos and traces of metal without losing that connection to the world of Steve Hackett's influence. Likewise Volker Söhl finds exciting ways to keep the keyboard and piano runs from falling into staleness. Perhaps the drumming of Matthias Harder could be, well harder! While not a perfect album and it does feel a little lopsided with a commercial sounding opener that slowly ratchets up the prog until a 40-minute sprawler but overall this is a brilliant delivery of extremely competent prog.

EKTROVERDE were a rather large band from Finland who had a six album run from between 1998 and 2003. "Ukkossalama" is their final release from 2003 worth 72 minutes, but only four tracks. Yes they like to jam. The final two songs are both over 26 minutes. This album was recorded and mixed on March 6 and 7, 2001. Over a dozen musicians are involved here, and this is mostly current and former members of CIRCLE who are an amazing band, but we also get some people from MOONFOG PROPHET, PHAROAH OVERLORD and more.

There is a surprising amount of vocals on here, although that's nothing new when it comes to CIRCLE's music. The opener and second track are both over 9 minutes and both have the same vocal style which reminds me of the singer for OUT OF FOCUS. These guys really do jam continually but with the large cast of musicians we get some different flavours. Love the sax on this record and the guitar as well. Lots of spacey synths and swirling music. Kind of like the OZRICS but much better, and I'd say that about CIRCLE as well, in fact their "Pharoah Overlord" and "Terminal" records are incredible from the mid 10's.

The two long tracks also impress big time. Again for the same reasons, and that third song "Kaski" features vocals that are chilled like on the first two songs. Trippy music with some great sounding guitar after 8 minutes and sax around 13 1/2 minutes. It gets intense late. The closer also has vocals but here they are more in the extreme style, yelling out followed by guitar that also cries out. A beautiful sound to this one early on, and by the half way point it's powerful pretty much to the end.

If your into that jamming, psychedelic style of music like CIRCLE, the OZRIC TENTACLES, ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE and the like, you might just fall for this one. Remember this has vocals though. They apparently did many live shows mostly in Finland, but also in Belgium before calling it a day. A solid 4 stars.

Review Nº 795

"Come And See The Show: The Best Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer" is a compilation album of Emerson, Lake & Palmer that was released in 2008. It has three tracks from their eponymous debut studio album, two tracks from their third studio album "Trilogy", four tracks from their fourth studio album "Brain Salad Surgery", one track from their fifth studio album "Works Vol. 1", one track from their sixth studio album "Works Vol. 2" and one track from their debut live album "Pictures At An Exhibition". It has also a track never released on any of their studio albums, "Peter Gunn".

So, "Come And See The Show: The Best Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer" has fourteen tracks. "Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 2)" is a track from "Brain Salad Surgery". "Karn Evil 9" is a great opus. It's divided into three movements or impressions. Here we have only the "First Impression Part 2". It's an instrumental track featuring Emerson on piano sounding like jazz and Palmer's drumming showing his percussive great skills. "Lucky Man" is from "Emerson, Lake & Palmer". It's a ballad for acoustic guitar. It's a song with acoustic guitar, beautiful singing and a great synthesizer solo towards the end. It's one of the best songs written by Lake. It became as one of the band's most commercial and accessible tracks in their career. "From The Beginning" is from "Trilogy". It's a beautiful acoustic song featuring Lake on vocals and guitar with some participation of Emerson in the end of the track. It's a song with a simple structure. We can say this is one of the best compositions written by Lake for the band. "Knife-Edge" is from "Emerson, Lake & Palmer". It's based on the first movement of Leos Janacek's "Sinfonietta" classical piece. This is another piece with a great showcase by all band's members, with particular emphasis to great bass lines. "Hoedown" is from "Trilogy". It's a highest moment on that album, one of their best and most beautiful compositions. It's largely an instrumental piece much over piano in the beginning, heavily influenced by the classical music. In the middle, the music blasts with all instruments playing in continuo. This is an amazing track. "Jerusalem" is from "Brain Salad Surgery". It's a classical British church hymn. This is a band's arrangement of Charles Hubert Parry's hymn, based on the prologue of William Blake's poem "Milton". This is a great version of the original piece. "C'Est La Vie" is from "Works Vol. 1". This is a well known acoustic song. It's probably the most similar in style to Lake's ballads on their earlier albums. I like it, especially of the amazing voice of Lake. "Still... You Turn Me On" is from "Brain Salad Surgery". This is the obligatory acoustic number on that album. It's a Lake's classic acoustic ballad in the vein of "Lucky Man" and "From The Beginning". It's one of Lake's best ballads. A big radio hit in U.S.A. "Tank" is from "Emerson. Lake & Palmer". It has a Palmer's small but beautiful studio drum solo. Basically, the piece showcases Palmer's unique drumming style and features one of the few drum solos on a studio album. It also marks the first appearance of the Emerson's famous Moog synthesizer. "Fanfare For The Common Man" is from "Works Vol. 1". It's a great interpretation of a classical piece of Aaron Copland re-arranged for rock. Copland's original is great and ELP didn't make a bad job on the arrangements. Synths are heavily used, especially in the later sections. It sounds like early ELP, being experimental and heroic. "Toccata" is from "Brain Salad Surgery". This is an instrumental track based on the fourth movement of Alberto Ginastera's "1st Piano Concert". This is a modern classical piece created by an Argentinean composer and rearranged by Emerson. This is a great interpretation by the band, really. This is a live version. "Peter Gunn" is a non-album's track. It's an instrumental by the American composer Henry Mancini. The song was written for the television program of the same name. Emerson, Lake & Palmer decided to release a cover of the song on their live album "Emerson, Lake & Palmer in Concert". This is a live version and is really a great cover. "Nutrocker" is from "Pictures At An Exhibition". It's a jazz variation of a Tchaikovsky theme. This is a showcase of the band's disposition to light things up after an extended, demanding display of serious music. It's a re-elaborated version of a "Nutcracker" section, yey another example of the trio's interest in exploring the roots of the chamber music and translates it into a rock context. This is a live version. "I Believe In Father Christmas" is from "Works Vol. 2". It's a nice song, one of the best moments on that album. It's a ballad based on a Sergei Prokofiev's theme with good arrangements and ironic controversial lyrics about the negative effects of the commercial Christmas.

Conclusion: "Come And See The Show: The Best Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer" is another good compilation album of ELP. It has some of the best tracks recorded on some of their best albums, the albums that belong to their best and most progressive phase and the albums that belong to the golden era of the band. We may say that all those tracks are great in their own way. But, in addition, we can also say that the four tracks that don't belong to those albums are also good. I sincerely like especially of "Fanfare For The Common Man", but even "C'Est La Vie" and "I Believe In Father Christmas" are nice too. Finally, the ELP's version of "Peter Gunn" is a nice cover too. So, 3 stars for this compilation.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

It's been a long time since I've descended this low on our dear planet, I think it's even the first time! ADELAIDE is the large metropolis of southern AUSTRALIA, slightly northwest of TASMANIA and its wolf (or tiger or devil...).

"Pillar's Dust" is the combo's second record after "Liminal" in 2022, which has completely passed under my auditory radar. THE SLOW LIGHT presents itself as the musical vehicle of Jack BOLINGBROKE accompanied by various musicians who have already played together in different indigenous and little-known groups, or even at all... The major influence of the group is undeniably PORCUPINE TREE first era (the only one that me suitable) until "Fear of a Blank Planet", mainly for the guitar, BOLINGBROKE had to give himself WILSON infusions!

Two ultra short titles (1 and 7), a single long one "My Regret" and the other seven with a duration between 4:02 and 6:43, here is the menu. The pieces that particularly caught my attention, the devilish Wilsonian "Paradigm" (guitar, synthesizer, voice), then "Throw My Life Into a Fog" with the piano of Nathan CHURCHES and the mellotron of guest James Robert IVANYL, the superb and the word is weak "Silhouette" which we can listen to on loop without weariness, "My Regret" as written above the only long title of the album, just as beautiful as the previously mentioned, with keyboards at the top (piano, synthesizer, mellotron) the complete range is there, a candy cane to be savored slowly.

On the other hand, I moderately appreciated "Encased" calm and even too lymphatic (this remains subjective of course) and "Burning Omen" which is part of the same movement with the very present fretless bass of Morris EWINGS and a six-string who knits and which I had some difficulty appreciating and finally "Pillar's Dust" the eponymous piece too basic for my taste.

Conclusion, a significant gap between the two essential pearls and the three average tracks mentioned, a good record but not an excellent record. Nice discovery nonetheless. Originally published on profilprog.com

The band I Sincopatici have made a name for themselves with their Cineconcertos, performances meant to unify film and live music. They focus on the rediscovery and reframing of silent films - leaving me wondering if they might take a crack at parts of Abel Gance's Napoleon some day. This album is a recording of a 2021 performance for L'Inferno, Italy's first full length feature, one that like many great silent films has gone through partial restorations (including one two years after this performance), and a harrowing depiction of the horrors of Hell. Joined by the titanic vocalist Claudio Milano, I Sincopatici have delivered a haunting and sublime accompaniment to the film.

The instrumentation is driven largely by the pianos and synths of Francesca Badalini, who is the primary composer of the group's music which is then built upon by the rest of the band. Over the course of the hour long performance the band veers between her somber piano and more rocking, unnerving stretches like "I Barattieri" where the power of bassist Andrea Grumelli and drummer/percussionist Luca Casiraghi come forth. These moods are only heightened by both Badalini's turns on her synths and the ever unpredictable Milano's fearsome vocals. Milano takes the epic poetry of Dante Alighieri and runs it through his wild, vanguardist stylings. He is at once narrator and vengeful spirit, slipping across the stage and twisting his poetry into the cries of the damned. As previously seen in snapshots on Milano's ManifestAzioni collection, I Sincopatici only grows mightier when he is on hand to deepen their leftfield connections to the films they work with.

Together with the 2023 performance collected digitally with this record from Piacenza, the Cineconcertos that I Sincopatici and Claudio Milano have delivered are astounding reinterpretations of a classic film that unfold into sonic vortices befitting the many circles of Hell. I heartily look forward to future Cineconcertos.