LA QUADRATURA DEL CERCHIO

Le Vele di Oniride began life in Imola in 2017 on the initiative of the band's lyricist and main composer Nello De Leo, former member of another prog band called Ellephant. The aim of the band is experimenting with progressive rock and psychedelia by combining vintage and modern sounds in the vein of other contemporary Italian prog bands such as Il Giardino Onirico or Gran Turismo Veloce. La quadratura del cerchio (The squaring of the circle) is their debut album and was released in 2023 on the Lizard Records label with a line up featuring Francesco Ronchi (lead and backing vocals), Nello De Leo (electric and acoustic guitar, synth guitar, backing vocals), Lorenzo Marani (bass), Jacopo Cenesi (drums) and Cristiano Costa (keyboards, synthesizers, piano). The artwork by Egidio Marullo tries to give a visual form to the musical and lyrical content of this very interesting debut work...

The nightmarish opening track, "Sogni infranti" (Broken dreams), starts with a spacey atmosphere and slowly draws you into a menacing illusion you can't get rid of. All around you there's nothing but a dark cosmic void, then a heavy sheet of metal appears in the sky weighing you down. Your energy is running out, your strength is fading and you are chained to this new, gloomy reality made of broken dreams...

"L'illusione dell'oblio" (The illusion of oblivion) alternates bursts of energy with calmer parts. It describes in music and words raging waves that drag you into the vortex of a dark reality and make you desperately fight against the tide to survive. Many questions haunt your mind but there is no answer and you end up to dream of forgetting everything to rest and slowly slip into oblivion...

"Catarsi" (Catharsis) is an introspective piece that tells of a surreal oneiric experience: an inner journey through the labyrinth of a man's mind, the consequent meeting with his soul and the return to the centre of his real ego. The protagonist flies above the shadows of his steps under an enchanted rain, he can smell strange perfumes and hear thundering thoughts. Eventually he wakes up in the forest, under the branches of some beautiful trees. Now the clear sky is just the canvas where he can paint new flights in a dream of purification and rebirth...

"Apologia di reato" (Apology of crime) begins with a tense atmosphere that could recall Goblin. The music and lyrics tell of a very particular, paradoxical crime. A man is put on trial. What sin did the defendant commit? What crime is he charged of? What did he do that was so bad? What wickedness stains his soul? He did something that wears your soul out and tears it apart. But what he did was nothing other than telling the truth. He killed falsehood causing infernal pain and now he is proud of his crime...

"Isolazione" (Isolation) describes in music and words a strange sense of solitude, the feeling to be helpless and out of place in the world, disconnected from an oppressive reality. The protagonist feels alone even among of millions of people who have lost their critical sense and keep on talking without saying anything. He has been given a number and a role but he refuses to comply. He feels like as if he should die without reacting...

"Madri di niente, figli di nessuno" (Mothers of nothing, children of no one) is another track full of dark energy and nightmarish atmospheres. The lyrics here paint disquieting visions on the musical canvas and every now and again the narrative vocals might recall Pholas Dactylus. The protagonist perceives obscure plots to manipulate him. There's someone who wants something from him that he doesn't have, someone who wants him telling something he doesn't know. Then, theatrical vocals evoke metal bars falling from above to imprison him and the protagonist feels that now he's chained to his eternal scaffold: his existence. Hypocrisy, lies, deception, extreme fanaticisms and distorted conceptions of life are represented with vivid colours on this crazy tableau...

The last track, "Miraggi remoti" (Remote mirages) begins calmly, the pace is slow and evokes a long, tiring journey across an undefined desert. The protagonist is plunged in a kind of collective hallucination among figures of non-existent men surrounding him and strange faces all around observing him. How long will his trip last? How many mountains will he have to climb before he can see the sky above the sea? Ha can't tell and calls for help...

On the whole, an excellent work!

From lovely Imola with its stunning Sforza castle, comes this new addition to the RPI school of prog, offering a classic take, flush from all the legendary influences, but adding a darker, as well as a more contemporary, somewhat investigational twist to the proceedings. Let me introduce the talented five-man blue squadra: vocalist Francesco Ronchi, Nello De Leo on guitars and vocals, keyboardist Cristiano Costa, and the rhythmic tandem of Lorenzo Marani on bass and drummer Jacopo Cinesi.

While there are many moody adornments on the silky opener "Sogni Infranti", the arrangement does eventually veer away from the initial Floydian atmosphere into a crosscurrent of conflicting dissonant melodies that certainly add drama so as to herald the rather operatic vocals from Francesco, who seems to be in very good voice, a set of voluminous lungs that are both expressive and effusive. The windy synths, the churning organ, and the tense mellotron seek only to follow the ardent bass undercurrent and the stabilizing drumbeat.

The cavernous choirs rise and fall on the sombre "L'Illusione dell'Obilio" catapulted forward by an elastic bass line and then exploding into a howling hurricane or organ-fuelled rage. The transitions and tempo changes are expertly navigated, as if bathing in some cosmic nirvana. Francesco scours the sonic crests like a pro, as the slashing guitar riffs pound the valley below (the Rogue poet). A colossal mellotron wave puts this one to bed. The magnificent "Catarsi" takes aim at a more atmospheric realm, eventually settling into an elegant groove (that thumping bass again) as the piano meanders a sorrowful lament, heightened by the pleading voice. Nello's bluesy axe rant shivers and trembles, up and down the intensity scale, propelled along by some majestic keyboard colorations. The piano (which was there all along) re-engages with even more concentration, honing further the direction of the arrangement, which reaches celestial heights as the operatic voice brings down the velvet curtain onto the stage floor.

The impressive "Apologia di Reato", with its flickering wrist guitar is another sombre bass-led reptile, slithering along menacingly as the voice flings itself vigorously beyond the pale, until some well-intentioned keyboard wavering obfuscates the impending doom, synthesizers effervescing like blinding phosphorous, gradually the voice crawls out of the abyss, to finally collapse into silence. Magnifico! The lovely retro sound of "Isolazione" showcases the wonderful osmosis of old school RPI with a more contemporary sound, but very much in keeping with their style of rising levels of thrusts and contrasts, the rifling guitar and the swirly synths being a pure delight, all well anchored by some deft drumming. The relentlessly painful fretboard solo is a showstopper. The passion expressed in the vocal department is equally outstanding. Adventurous and impeccably done.

The mighty organ takes center stage on the wild and at times manic "Madri di Niente, Figli di Nessuno", an obvious wink to Uriah Heep, a track that seeks to blitz intimidatingly with no mercy, a whirlwind of raging voices, Middle Eastern synth sax motifs in a jazzy sandstorm and even some hypnotic psychedelia. The devilish voice spits venom and thankfully gets shown the door and cleared out by a bass security guard.

The final track is the longest one here, clocking in at 7:39 and as such is a perfect finale, a remote mirage of sweltering dunes of sound, perfectly encapsulating their rather unique style. The bass guitar once again flows along like a river of consistent tranquility, leaving the passion to be delivered by the residual instrumentalists and the madman's declaration. The extended finale is a shimmering wave of exalted guitar shadings, keyboard flourishes galore, manic, and relentless drumming and an apotheosis of vocal expression.

I was totally captured by the overwhelming natural rawness of it all, namely the theatrical vocal deliveries, the solid rhythmic pulse, and the fascinating keyboard interventions and the gritty guitar work. This is a band that should have a fascinating career, which I fully intend to follow and to promote as best as I can. By the way, the cover art is absolutely eye catching and luxuriant.

4.5 Squaring Circles