EPSILON

FEM are a young Italian band that are currently working on their first album and in the meantime have released this introductory four-track EP to generate interest in the full- length work. Well, if this votive offering is anything to go by the full album promises to be spectacular. 'Epsilon' is a short but rarefied journey and while the running time is brief the ground covered is incredible.

The band's twin aspirations are to revive the progressive rock of the seventies and to produce introspective music - the glorification and the sufferings of loneliness provide the broad context for this collection. The opening song 'Nella Stanza Vuota' grows out of the sadness and resignation of the singer; the delicately wrought expression of his impassioned vocals in dialogue with electric grand piano have a ghostly effect that accentuates the sense of isolation within the lonely room of the title.

Leaving the singer alone in his empty room of solitude, the other members of the band zigzag through the cultured instrumental 'Fuori Dal Mondo' and this track in its turn prepares the way for the EP's two principal pieces. 'Nel Mezzo Del Cielo', the lyrics of which were inspired by a saying of Leonardo da Vinci's that ponders the subject of human flight, and 'Noi, Granelli Di Sabbia' together span 18 minutes and thus form the heft of this work. These tracks are knee-deep in wonderful instrumental combinations and they give a clear sense of the band's full potential. And by flashing a light onto the past FEM produce a sound that in all respects is oriented to the seventies with its thick coating of analogue keyboards and 12-string and wah wah guitars.

On the evidence of the handful of tracks here FEM have managed to preserve the spirit of the old bands. They also sound as if they could hold their own against any contemporary Italian band. Correspondingly, their forthcoming full-length album may see them disputing possession of the title of RPI album of the year but at the very least it should be awaited with eager anticipation by fans of symphonic prog. 'Epsilon' is currently available as a download from Amazon for a few measly quid and in CD format from the band's official website and BTF Records.

Forza Elettro Motrice (in short F.E.M.) began life in Meda, near Milan, in 2007 on the initiative of keyboardist Alberto Citterio and guitarist Paolo Colombo with the aim to rediscover the progressive rock sounds of the seventies. After some line up changes the band started to work on some original compositions and, after a first demo in 2011, in 2012 they released Epsilon, a debut EP featuring four pieces for about 22 minutes of music. The current line up features Giacomo Balzarotti (vocals, classical guitar), Emanuele Borsati (drums, percussion), Marco Buzzi (bass), Alberto Citterio (piano, keyboards) and Paolo Colombo (guitars) and the result of their efforts is quite interesting. The overall sound of the band draws on the style of Italian prog masters of the seventies such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Locanda delle Fate or Alphataurus but the enthusiasm of the musicians is great and their song-writing skills good enough to express something original and not too derivative.

The delicate, short opener 'Nella stanza vuota' (Into the empty room) begins with a nice piano pattern, then soaring melodic vocals come in describing the search for a shelter, a hidden place where you can be alone with your thoughts, a quiet room where you can let you thoughts run free and have a rest when you are sad... 'The empty room, I close my eyes / And I paint a picture with my thoughts / I am a cloud, I am a cloud / A cloud lost in a gust of wind...'. For a while you don't have to think of anything and you melt in the air, escaping from reality. Then piano and vocals give way to the following 'Fuori dal mondo' (Out of the world), a good instrumental that describes the breakthrough from the daily grind. Now you're flying like a cloud looking for an imaginary harbour in the sky, baffled by fresh keyboard waves and warm guitar passages...

'Nel mezzo del cielo' (In the middle of the sky) is a complex, beautiful track with many changes in rhythm and mood. It begins with a joyful energy that takes you up towards the sky, then the rhythm suddenly calms down and gives way to a dreamy acoustic passage... 'Only a few steps to take off in the sky / And suddenly the silence envelops me and the world stands still...'. The music invites you to fly high and get lost in the space, then a more melodramatic passage follows and the operatic vocals of Giacomo Balzarotti announce a comeback to reality. While you are floating in the air pursuing a thought and a new life begins to beat in your chest a sudden lightening takes you down on earth...

'Noi granelli di sabbia' (We are grains of sand) is another long, complex track. This excellent piece concludes the album describing the 'landing'. Well, when you fall down after a dream the impact is not always so hard, you can survive and sometimes you can even enjoy the perfume of the earth and discover new colours around you... 'And feeling the earth in the palms of my hand I rediscover its aroma... Feeling like a grain of sand and forgetting that in front of us there is the sea to gaze at...'. The music every now and again could recall Genesis while the warm, heartfelt singing of Giacomo Balzaretti depicts the need to accept what life brings to us without trying to obtain what is out of reach. You can't stop the time or the wind and you can't keep on longing to be somewhere else at all costs, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and face reality... 'Grains of sand spread in the world, I will recognize my eyes / I will recognize myself / I will accept myself and my image will reappear in the mirror...'.

Well, in my opinion this is a very promising debut. The band has a good potential and the musicians are still working on a more challenging task, a concept album inspired by a science-fiction story by German writer Kurd Lasswitz. Sulla bolla di sapone. I'm looking forward to listen to it!

Promising new act

FEM Prog Band is a relative newcomer from the Milan area whose roots date to about 2007. There have been several personnel changes but the line-up is now stable and they are poised to begin recording their first full length album titled "Sulla bolla di sapone". In the meantime they have released this EP in Spring 2012 as a public introduction to the group. The band are influenced by and unashamedly smitten with the 70s progressive rock and the Italian symphonic greats, having a background of doing covers by Banco and Orme.

"Epsilon" features just four tracks totaling about 23 minutes yet it leaves a very clear indication of the group's potential. Their enthusiasm for the classic symphonic scene is most evident yet they are likely affected somewhat by musical movements since, such as neo-prog and prog-metal. The album begins with two shorter numbers which feel like a two-part set-up or introduction to the two longer, meatier tracks which follow.

"Nel Mezzo Del Cielo" offers it all up without hesitation. Big "sticky" synths and robust lead guitars delivery a heavy, fuzzy opening with an upbeat feel. This gives way to an introspective section with piano and finger-picked acoustic, very beautiful, leading to the first vocals. Mr. Balzarotti may not be amongst Italy's most mind-blowing lead vocalists but he is very good indeed. Putting a finger on their sound is not easy for me, I was reminded of Corte Dei Miracoli, Nuova Era, Coral Caves, and sometimes Yes. The closer "Noi, Granelli Di Sabbia" is the second long piece at around 10 minutes. Again it begins with a moderately heavy key/guitar jam leading to a light acoustic section and the vocal, soon rejoined by the grandiose keyboard sound. The long and winding guitar solo at time reaches some real heights, very colorful and emotional, backed by a thick wall of mellotron/bass/drums which push it further.

There is great potential and talent in this group yet this first display of composition leaves me less than overwhelmed. It's pretty safe, locked in a comfortable cruise-control, capturing the beauty of the sound but unable to pull me in or truly excite me. My rating (2 1/2 stars) is not a condemnation but rather an opinion that there is room for improvement and opportunity to challenge themselves in the writing process. That said, I do have a gut feeling their coming full length will be a huge step up from "Epsilon." This one is a fair introduction mostly for RPI enthusiasts.

FEM stands for Forza Elettro Motrice, the real name of this group from Meda, Italy, evolving in 2007 out of the ashes of an act named QK and its former members keyboardist Alberto Citterio, guitarist Paolo Colombo and singer Paolo Borgonovo with Marco Buzzi taking over the bass and Dimitri Merati recruited as the drummer.The following year Merati and Borgonovo were replaced by Matteo Paparazzo and Raffaele Chiummo with Stella Colombo joining for a brief period on violin.Line-up changes continued in 2009 with Paparazzo being replaced by Emanuele Borsati and Chiummo quiting in 2010, as Giacomo Balzarotti enters the picture on vocals and classical guitar.At the time FEM Prog Band had evolved from a cover act to a group with its own material, which was offered for the first time through the 2012 private EP ''Epsilon''.

Having being an act which started playing covers of P.F.M., BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO, LE ORME and other classic Italian bands, it is pretty reasonable that FEM's style contains evident hints from the Italian Prog scene.They come close to the likes of RANDONE and second period LE ORME, maybe with a more pronounced modern flavor through the constant use of synthesizers, and if you search for melodic Progressive Rock with romantic Italian lyrics you should look no further.The music of FEM has evident symphonic orientations with the omnipresent synths being supported by beautiful piano textures, while the guitar parts are carefully played with a fair sense of melody.Of course the powerful keyboards do add a Neo Prog approach to the whole album, but there are still some discreet organ to be found in here, while even the voice of Giacomo Balzarotti comes in a very poetic style, similar to Italian singers of the past.All pieces are pretty strong with bombastic instrumental themes, Classical references, instant melodies and impressive songwriting with cohesive links between the smoother and more dynamic changes and some atmospheric tension, which comes as a trademark of the group.

Really cool Italian Neo/Symphonic Prog.The first signs of FEM Prog Band are more than encouraging.A band to keep an eye on and a must have for fans of Italian-flavored Progressive Rock.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.