EQUILIBRISMO DA INSOFFERENZA

If there is a better, more creative, versatile and just plain incredible European prog-rock band out there, I don't know of it. If I could give this album six stars, I would. (I might give the same to their newest album, Cinque, as well.) This is simply the most well-written and executed amalgam of prog-rock-cum-jazz-rock I have heard in well over a decade. The musicianship alone is so outstanding - across the board - that almost nothing else matters (though, of course, it does). Sure, there are influences. Mahavishnu and GG (including some very Phil Shulman-sounding sax work) come to mind, and even the avant garde jazz approach of Oregon finds itself in the mix. However, little if anything about DeM's music says "derivative"; these guys channel their influences so well that what comes out the other end is almost a completely original sound. From the simple (ha!!) instrumental duo of amazing acoustic guitar and fretless bass ("Amori Difficili") to the almost frightening musicianship and compositional skills in pieces such as "Distrazione Infinita" and "Cosmopolitismo," Deus ex Machina displays a versatility unmatched by any other European prog band. Add to this Alberto Piras' oddball, but appropriately perfect, vocal approach (with lyrics in Latin, no less!), and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more consistently original, interesting and exciting. (I'd also really like to know who plays the trumpet solos, and who arranged the horn parts.) IMHO, DeM is one of the absolute standard-bearers of current prog (within their subgenre), and deserves a place in the pantheon of the most exceptional prog bands ever to grace the prog scene.