HIEROS GAMOS

"Pholas Dactylus" is another Rock Progressive Italiano band that released an album in June 2019 that hasn't released an album for quite some time (the other being the band""Gli Alluminogeni"). The band was formed in 1972 and only released one album called "Concerto Delle Menti", a single track divided into 2 parts. There were several people that wondered why this band only released one album and then disappeared. Well, they regrouped in 2018 and now have released their 2nd album "Hieros Gamos" (Greek for Sacred Wedding). The original line-up had 6 members, and out of those six, 3 have returned for this long awaited album, namely Paolo Carelli on vocals, Maurizio Pancotti on piano and organ, and Rinaldo Linati on bass. The other two "newer" members that make up the now 5-person group are Tobias Winter on guitars and Csaba Papp on drums.

Where the first album was made up of one track, this album is made up of 8 with a run time of over 43 minutes. The album is divided up into 2 parts, however. The first part is the 21 minute title track "Heiros Gamos". The 2nd part of the album is made up of the 7 remaining shorter tracks and is called "Ognuno da Lande Diverse" (Each One From a Different Land).

The title track is written by the group's keyboardist Maurizio. As stated before, it is a 21 minute piece, actually a suite that uses a concept of tying together the past with the present. The track starts with a beautifully played piano solo which sounds inspired by the romantic era of classical music. Before the 2 minute mark, the band kicks in with a definite progressive sound. The vocalist comes in just before 3 minutes. Something to note about this vocalist, he doesn't sing, but uses a poetic spoken word in expressing the lyrics. This was also the case with their other album, so this will come as no surprise to those familiar with the music. This is the thing that separates this band from other RPI bands, the music is great Italian progressive, but the words are all spoken (in Italian on this track). The music, on the other hand, can be quite expressive. It is mostly led by piano, but there is still plenty of heavy guitars which also improvise in places and percussion, and the music can go from simple to complex quite quickly. Another thing to note here is that the music doesn't sound like an old band trying to sound up to date. It sounds like a current progressive band with a romantic and neo-prog edge that happens to use spoken word vocals. After 14 minutes, the main instrument changes from piano to organ for a heavy solo, but soon switches back to peaceful piano when the vocals come back in. Tempos, style and meters change throughout the track, but the music really does grow on you and it always stays interesting.

After this track, we go into the 2nd part of the album with shorter tracks, beginning with "A Personal Gift". This is a pastoral style with acoustic and soft electric guitars only and some minimal percussion. "Yellow and Blue" continues with the acoustic guitars, but with jazz and dissonant chord progressions, again with light percussion and bass. "I Don't Want . . ." uses piano with an old time-y flair. Vocals return on this track, again with a combination of English and Italian spoken word and even though there is no other vocalist credited, it sounds like a much lighter voice this time. There is also light percussion added to this track. "Ogni Volta che Tocco it tuo Viso" (Everytime That I Touch Your Face) returns to the romantic piano style, but is led more by the spoken vocals with the piano being more reserved.

"Ninna Nanna per Gianluca" (Lullaby for Gianluca) begins with vibe-like (in a music box style) keys playing and baby sounds. The sound is quite lullaby-like as suggested by the title, soft and gentle. "Une Valse Pour Nous" (French for "A Waltz for Noua") is only a piano playing a nice soft waltz. "Ballata di un Mercante di Sogni" (Ballad for a Merchant of Dreams) returns to the deeper, masculine spoken vocalist (all in Italian again). The spoken word is the main component of this track with an atmospheric background from the synths, almost drone-like. The toll of a bell stops the vocal and a lone piano starts to play. The vocals start again as the piano continues softly playing. There is the sound of footsteps, and sudden dramatic synth sound is cut short and then there is nothing but vocals. After, there is a sudden roll of drums and then more spoken word to the end.

This is definitely a unique recording with the best track being the long title track with the most complex and progressive music. The 2nd half, by contrast, is simple, more minimalist, and concentrates on singular instruments or voice. The three original musicians from the band have provided these tracks to show their diverse paths that they have taken over the past 45 years as individual artists and it shows how different they are, but also, how alike they are also. Anyway, it is an interesting album, but the first part is going to have the best impact on most listeners as it is the most progressive. The second half, while lovely, might drag for many. I felt it was nice to listen to once, but might not be appealing enough to put on rotation for playing, where the first part definitely does merit hearing several times. So, the first part could easily get 4 stars, but the 2nd half would get by with 3. Overall, the album gets 3 stars, but just know that if it continued in the style of the first track, it would have been 4 stars.

After a long period of hibernation (more than forty five years!), in 2019 Pholas Dactylus reappeared on the Italian prog scene horizon with a new album entitled "Hieros Gamos". It was released on the independent label AMS with a line up featuring three original members, Paolo Carelli (vocals), Rinaldo Linati (bass, acoustic guitar) and Maurizio Pancotti (piano, keyboards) along with two new musicians, Csaba Papp (drums) and Tobias Winter (guitar). This album represents a bridge between the past and the present of a band that is still able to blend music and words with great personality and poetical force. The beautiful artwork by Tiziano Crisanti in some way tries to depict this concept...

The album opens with the long, complex title track, "Hieros Gamos". The title refers to Greek mythology and indicates a sacred marriage that plays out between a god and a goddess. It's dedicated to the memory of original Pholas Dactylus' drummer Giampiero Nava who passed away in 2014, as the band was planning the reunion and sound like a heartfelt, poetical elegy. The goes through many changes in mood and rhythm while the lyrics evoke images and memories of a lost friend and build a bridge that does not divide, a bridge over destiny, a bridge over a morning cloud that binds light and darkness, life and death... A wonderful track!

The second part of the album, entitled "Ognuno da lande diverse" (Everyone from different lands) sees the separate contributes of the three historic members of Pholas Dactylus. The first two come from Rinaldo Linati that composed and played "A Personal Gift" and "Yellow And Blue" with his acoustic guitar in a style that might sound closer to that of Leo Kottke (but not up to that level) than to the Italian prog tradition.

Then it's the turn of four short tracks by keyboardist Maurizio Pancotti. The first one, "I Don't Want..." features a bluesy piano solo with narrative vocals by Solange Menegale who recites one of her poems (half in English and half in Italian) dealing with a problematic relationship and the difficulty to express feelings with words and to comprehend each other. "Ogni volta che tocco il tuo viso" (Every time I touch your face) follow in the same vein with the narrative vocals of Solange Menegale reciting another romantic poem on a crepuscular piano background. The dreamy "Ninna nanna per Gianluca" (Lullaby for Gianluca) and the classical inspired piano solo "Une valse pour nous" close the space reserved to the pianist.

The poet Paolo Carelli ends the album with "Ballata di un mercante di sogni" (Ballad of a merchant of dreams), a piece that features just narrative vocals, sound effects, a drum roll and some touches of piano in the background. Of course, words have their rhythm, their evocative power, a visionary force that can stir your emotions and make you dream of unknown worlds?

On the whole, an excellent album for the first part while the second one sound to my ears more like a filler and I fear it could be disappointing for prog fans.