IL PASSO DEL SOLDATO

One year after ''Io e il tempo'' things did not seem to go the right way for Nuova Era.Guitarist/singer Alex Camaiti decided to leave the band and the contract with Contempo Records expired.However Walter Pini was determined to move on.The band found a new home in Pick Up Records and recruited singer Claudio Guerrini.Despite the absence of guitars Nuova Era entered the studio to record their fourth full-legth release ''Il passo del soldato'', eventually released in 1995.

The album was a concept around the states of war and marked a very dark-sounding and lyrically intense effort by Nuova Era.Never denying their 70's firmly rooted sound, the new work of Nuova Era sees an even greater E.L.P. and LE ORME influence due to the total lack of guitar parts and the constant use of keyboards by Walter Pini.His playing is based on organs, Mellotron, bells and synths, delivering nice piano interludes, organ solos, Mellotron-led orchestral passages and a fair amount of virtuosic offerings.The style remains highly symphonic with strong Classical influences and new singer Claudio Guerrini sounds a lot better than Camaiti, having a controled and very expressive voice.Plenty of dramatic both instrumental and lyrical sections give a nice flow to the whole concept, the overall performance of the band is great and my only complaint comes from the heavy EMERSON-ian virtuosic keyboard jams.

Another strong effort by Nuova Era, not better than their debut to my ears, but great enough to make them maybe the most consistent Italian band of the 80's/90's.Strongly recommended, especially if you are a fan of keyboard-driven prog albums...3.5 stars.