L' ENIGMA DELLA VITA

This band was originally formed in 1996 and this is their third album, although it is the first since 2001. They are listed as an RPI band but the music is more retro-symph-prog than RPI (old or new). The vocals however are more in RPI territory and don't sound like most symph bands. Although a quartet, there are two keyboard players while one member does both the guitar and bass duties. "Antifona" is a spacey and electronic oriented instrumental opener. Vaguely Floydian sounding. This leads into..."Venivo da un Lungo Sonno" which is more Genesis sounding. The vocals start almost halfway but they don't sound anything like a British band. I like the guitar solo towards the end which sounds like a cross between Gilmour and Hackett.

"In Fuga" starts with some Rhodes piano playing that you would not find on any Genesis or Floyd album. Some mellotron and synth join in just before the rest of the band does. After some vocals the keyboards and guitar alternate doing mini-solos. "Alla Fine Dell'ultimo Capitolo" fades in on a Genesis vibe. Love the chorus/delay effect on the crosspicked guitar. Really nice key/chord changes just before the guitar solo (and during it). Later a very symph prog sounding synth solo. One of the more interesting songs on the album. "N.A.S." is an instrumental. Generally more dark and harder-edged than what came before. The synth soloing is very good and melodic.

The synth and guitar sounds/tones are really good in the title track. The music gets faster and more symphonic starting in the middle. Then the tempo slows back down and the vocals return. "In Principio" is one of the highlights for me. Opening with synth arpeggios and some lovely acoustic guitar. Some vaguely spacey synths can be heard in the background while the vocals are out front. After the drumming arrives the music gets slightly busier. Over halfway comes a menacing sounding synth which, along with the almost funky guitar playing, takes the whole track to a different level. The music continues to get intense with a sympathetic guitar solo.

"Pioggia in Campagna" fades in on a very Genesis sounding note. Eventually things gets more acoustic and RPI sounding. A very symph prog sounding organ solo before the middle. Overall the music is classic symph prog but the vocals are more RPI. "Il Rumore Dell'aria" ends the album on a dark, mysterious note. The sound of water drops and some spoken word creates an atmosphere of suspense when coupled with the dramatic and 'dark' sounding synths. Nothing on here which is truly origin or groundbreaking but the album is still enjoyable and consistent. Recommended to fans of retro-prog or the more retro leaning modern RPI stuff. I will give this a 3.5 but round it up to 4 stars.