CRAC !

I'll be honest, I'm a lover of Italian Symphonic prog, it being my top favorite genre with Canterbury right behind it. When I saw such high regards for this album on the website 'Gnosis', the experimental side of my musically nature was scratched. So I plunked down some hard-earned cash and bought it home. Man-oh-man, was I blown away. Now mind you, fusion or jazz/experimantal music is NOT my cup of tea. But this album was SO highly rated it had to have something else going for it. And believe me, it does and his name is Demetrio Stratos. The man has a voice like no other. The only comparision I can possible make with another human being is the dude from Deus Ex Machina. There's times during the album where you'd think it was some kind of synthesizer making the noise, but no, it's Demetrio. Hot damn it's weird but wonderful at the same time. Musically, they're the tightest bunch of Italians I've heard so far. Just flat out AWESOME musicians. Up and down, guitar to bass to drum to keyboards, they're as professional as any English/American, etc. band you can possible compare them to. Be it jazzy, fusion, or even Canterbury, they do it with flair Italian-style. If not for the last song, "Area 5" which is the freakin weirdest Itailan song I've heard yet, it would be an unequivicial five-star disc, but in all honesty I'll round it 4.75. If you have exhausted all the Italian symphonic bands and want to branch out further in the country musically, start with Area and this album. Like a doctor, you'll thank me in the morning.