ART

There is so much incredible music being served up globally, that even for a seasoned researcher like the Rogue, it becomes arduous to keep up with the avalanche of releases and more often than not, some get relegated to the "later folder". It can occasionally cause a huge surprise when something just knocks the mind sideways, as is the case for this Italian band, from beautiful Bologna whose second album improves greatly on their debut which I found enjoyable. "Asylum" is a killer issue from 2019 that pushes all the pleasure buttons, knobs and levers that I adhere to, in a very modern setting that I am sure will garner interest from the community. Lead singer Denis Borgatti expresses himself in perfect English, no accent at all, as if schooled in Canada or the US, and a style not too far removed from Midge Ure, offering power, subtlety and hitting all the levels with apparent ease. In fact, in analysing the instrumentalists, I detect a strong Ultravox feel moulded into a more progressive slant and I loved it from the get-go (Ultravox kept me fed when prog was pretty much dead). Guitarist Roberto Minozzi has razor sharp technique, Enrico Lorenzini adding voluptuous ornamentations on a variety of keyboards, while the rhythm section tandem of Diego Quarantotto on bass and athletic drummer Ivano Zanotti power the percussive motors expertly. The style is compact, punchy, hugely melodic, expertly played and sung neo-prog with a contemporary twist.

For the sake of mixing up the usual track-by track method that I advocate, relying instead in groups of levels of quality instead. Let's start with the absolute winners first, get them out of the way. The final three tracks are thorough jewels that just scream out quality, as well as consolidating as a suite. A wretched merciless anthem of despair and a plea for survival or healing, "Asylum" slams hard emotionally, a balancing act between control and freedom. A place of possible reality or unspeakable horror. A prefect set-up for the tremendous "The Box", kicked off with a soft and majestic vocal, as well as a slashing guitar riff straight out of classic the Fixx, a rosy synth that leads into a volatile maelstrom of sound and fury. And back and forth, the arrangement goes, where it will end, nobody knows. A safe house, a hideout? Best piece is the last, "Hide the Light" is the epitome of what has gone on here, a deliriously addictive melody, a final plea for liberation, beautifully sung by Borgatti, a majestic guitar rant, adorned with lustrous keys, a rumbling bass and a timekeeper drum pattern that sweeps away the glare , as if a long awaited solar eclipse had come to take us out of the despair.

The opening and longest track here "No Way Out "starts out like a bombastic and throttling powerhouse of raging riffs, shoved along by predatory drum patterns that would awake a jungle, suddenly halting into a dreamy piano sequence, where the suave vocals seek to enchant, all within the confines of melodies that attract attention. The mighty chorus deals with insanity, perhaps explaining the title, a twisted straitjacket synth tying up any hope of escape. The build up is truly first-rate stuff. A superb opening salvo. The following synth-laden piece is the shifty "Black Mist", slit open by some sizzling guitar hacks, the tremendous lead vocals carrying the ebb and flow, the pulsating beat relentless, and a memorable overarching chorus that stick to the brain like epoxy. Wicked corkscrew guitar solo (guest Stef Burns maybe?).

Then, there are a series of very good pieces which for the majority of the remaining tracks presented here. The third number "B.Case" is the second lengthiest piece and as such , offers a selection of contrasting segments from staccato fretboard mayhem to serene vocal observance, with some dollops of swerving synths loops, dabs of electronic details and a monster rhythmic pulse , a menace recalling the afore mentioned Ultravox as well as Killing Joke, with big, meaty and solid pounding. The swift axe solo and the twinkling piano finale are splendid. The more sombre "Seven Stones" shows off a more brooding side, again emitting a slight "Vienna" sound, a concrete, urban late-night feel, and a repetitively plaintive axe solo that is all emotion and restraint. A childlike voice suggesting delirium ices the cake. When dealing about this kind of subject matter, a title such as "The Doctor" should evoke dread and it does, in rather frosty terms, the vapour emanating from Borgatti's lips is an image difficult to erase, tortured voice in a room of cracked mirrors and multiple eerie voices within the padded walls, a gut wrenching and acidic guitar solo adding to the absurd tautness. Where are we? "Room 46" is a white room, ascetically decorated with senseless wires and monitors, commemorating glumly the opioid victory over the hapless patient's patience and failing resolve. The instrumental mid-section equates with a body struggling with the bonds that keep freedom at bay, bouncing off the metallic chair and onto the floor, ready to surrender. The finale is a Floydian expanse flush with white flags of submission, only a thin flutter of hope for a possible escape.

A must have prog album, modern tightly wound neo-prog but unfortunately, it seems to have been a last hurrah, as the band has fallen off the radar. Maybe they will be paroled soon and free to join us again the safe haven of the prog community.

4.5 safe houses

Despite being a fairly new band the Italian neo-prog band ART still remains extremely obscure with very little info regarding its history and plans for the future. This Bologna based band debuted in 2016 with "Planet Zero," a tale in musical form that narrated a blind alien using advanced technology to monitor the lifeforms and inhabitants of a faraway world called "Planet Zero." The band suffered the loss of two band members after the release of album #1 but regrouped and forged ahead. By 2019 the band that featured Denis Borgatti (vocals and piano), Enrico Lorenzini (keyboards), Roberto Minozzi (guitar) welcomed new members Diego Quarantotto (bass) and Ivano Zanotti (drums) as well as two world-famous guests, Stef Burns (Alice Cooper, Huey Lewis and the News, Vasco Rossi, etc) and Vince Pàstano (Vasco Rossi, Luca Carboni etc.).

This new lineup released the band's sophomore album ASYLUM in 2019 which continued the concept and theme of the blind alien story. Like the debut, ASYLUM features nine tracks but play a tad longer at nearly 50 minutes. Once again the band employs the basic genre format of neo-prog with melodic hooks that include the expected synth-layered atmospheres, passionately delivered vocals and Steve Hackett inspired guitar sweeps. While the debut employed moments of heavy prog and progressive metal, a trait that modern neo-prog has adopted in the 21st century, those moments were rather unpredictable and only occurred on a few tracks with the majority of the album floating on a dreamy space rock mode with a few tracks verging on AOR radio friendly hits. Likewise ART also added moments of new wave which to my ears sounded most similar to 80s albums from New Order but none of that is to be found on ASYLUM.

In fact ASYLUM is a much stronger and more consistent album in every way showcasing ART's maturing as a band having found the right chemistry with the new members. This is a much heavier album than the previous one and starts out right out of the gate with choppy heavy guitar staccato stomps that alternate with keyboard runs. This album employs a much more frequent use of dynamics that range from dreamy and pacifying to the more ambitious and energetic however add to that the melodies and the songwriting are both much improved with more memorable hooks and guitar solos that fit more snuggly in the context of the musical flow. On the debut there was a sense of awkwardness in how certain moments progressed but on ASYLUM the band had come of age and crafted a very professional sounding album. Even Denis Borgatti's vocal style seems to fit in better this time around although it doesn't sound like his octave range has expanded in the least.

"No Way Out" bursts onto the scene and delivers a nice rotisserie effect of instrumental interplay with varying motifs that usher in the main storyline which finds the alien succeeding in his adventures. Unlike the debut that had many sleeper moments, ASYLUM doesn't let up and when it does delve into the mellower aspects of neo-prog it doesn't drop the ball on interesting percussive beats or intricately designed synthesizer effects. Borgatti also found ways to add nuanced inflections to his singing style which makes up for his lack of range. In a way the instrumentation picks up the slack. The album is very well produced and features a rather Porcupine Tree type of mixing job. Some of the electronic effects used as supplementation are also rather brilliantly woven into the mix. While guitarist Roberto Minozzi sticks to heavy riffing mostly on the album, at moments he does let loose and delivers a ripping guitar solo. "The Doctor" features the most dynamic solo on the album.

A step up in pretty much every way, ASYLUM delivers not only an improved interplay between the musicians at hand but finds each part delivering a much improved quality of playing as well. Add to that the compositions flow together perfectly this time around and are of a higher caliber. The guitar riffs are more inventive as are the keyboard parts. The creative difference between the first album and this one are reflected in the debut's amateurish cover art while this one actually looks more like a melodic prog album cover. I'm not sure what happened to this band as they seemed to have disappeared after the release of ASYLUM which is too bad because they were just hitting their stride here. Of course several years between albums in nothing unusual these days so it's quite possible a third installment is underway.

ART is a modern neo-prog band from the city of Bologna, Italy although a first glance of the album cover art will make you think it's more in the world of post-rock. This band started as the passion of keyboardist Enrico Lorenzini who formed the band in 2012 and spent a few years writing and crafting the band's first album PLANET ZERO which was released on the Slapstick Records label in 2016. Like practically all neo-prog albums, PLANET ZERO features a concept which narrates the story of a blind alien who uses advanced technology to study the life forms and inhabitants of a place that's called PLANET ZERO. The album features nine tracks that run just over 45 minutes of playing time.

Pretty much following the 20th century trend of adding a bit of progressive metal to its neo-prog sound, ART evokes a strong connection to modern IQ, Arena and Pendragon although delivers a bit more of a laid back approach much of the time with sensual piano runs and rather mopey vocals. The opening "Blind Man" takes a good while to warm up with a lengthy instrumental opening that shifts between heavier rock and more chilled space rock before launching the storyline of the alien goings-on. While clearly in neo-prog much of the time with the usual synth-layered atmospheres and Hackett inspired guitar sweeps, ART also adds some interesting electronica and varying keyboard approaches that at times sounds a bit like a theremin.

Unlike the majority of Italian prog bands, ART uses the English language. "Four Colors" opens with a piano run and remains a slow mopey ballad however delivers a sizzling guitar solo. "Perfect Time" shifts gears and almost sounds like synth-pop with tinny fast stabbing keys grinding away while guitar chords add a bit of power pop. Even the vocals sounds more like New Order than a prog band!n "No Butterflies" follows in a super mellow mode with another power pop sounding ballad. The title track finally adds some sizzle with catchy keyboard riffs and guitar riffs to match. While still sort of on the New Order meets symphonic prog kick, the track is a bit more interesting with a better mix of instrumentation and pop hooks.

"Insomnia" is one of the better tracks on the album with a beefy bass groove ushering in a few keyboard stabs before morphing into a cleaner jazzy sounding neo-prog style that offers a great guitar riff, excellent atmospheric backdrop and percussive heft. This one debuts a bit more metal djent-ish guitar chord stomps and faster tempo overall. The track shifts gears into a tender acoustic guitar moment with fragile vocals with a Pink Floydian darkened atmospheric backdrop but drifts into a more traditional neo-prog sound before fading out. "Yellow Leaves" is another semi-ballad with a slow tender tempo and earnest lyrics but once again delivers an energetic guitar solo. "Scarecrow" is another interesting track that mixes the band's New Order style with more moments of heavier rock bombast. The short "Nothing Else" ends with a beautifully orchestrated piano ballad.

Overall ART's debut is an interesting if uneven slice of neo-prog that adds other prog and new wave elements to its mix. The flow of the album feels stilted with too many ballads clogging up the middle and personally i don't really find the album exciting until the second half but the band delivered a distinct sound that lovers of the mellower side of symphonic prog or metal-tinged neo-prog. The main problem i have is that the album feels a bit monotonous as Denis Borgatti's vocals are a bit underwhelming and a much more dynamic vocalist could've carried the music a lot farther. Neo-prog almost demands a competently wide ranged vocalist to elevate the music to a higher level. It's a noble effort but not really something that's utterly brilliant enough to repeat return visits and as far as the silly alien story is concerned i didn't find it very convincing.