IL-LūDĕRE

The tradition of Rock Progressivo Italiano has been very vital in recent years. Numerous classic bands of the 70's have re-activated and released new music, and several new bands carry on in the retro style. Il Tempio delle Clessidre was formed in 2007 but it had a link to the classic era: the original vocalist Stefano Galifi sung on the milestone album Zarathustra (1973) by Museo Rosenbach. He was replaced by Francesco Ciapica already on the second Tempio album AlieNatura (2013). I'm not familiar with the preceding albums, so I can't say anything about the way the group may have matured or maintained/updated their style. But perhaps I could say that the recent output of Black Widow Records is very interesting and diverse, and against that background this album, for me, is not among the ones to write home about.

My early impression is that while the slightly heavy sound is pretty much what one expects from RPI (well, maybe not quite as keyboard oriented as with many other bands), the compositions have a bit too much emphasis on the vocals. The brief opener is basically an instrumental (featuring some distorted voice-over) but frankly it functions only as a prologue. If it manages to raise some expectations of a dynamic and epic album entity, they are not fulfilled. There's not a single proper instrumental which certainly would have done good. 'Dentro la mia mente' is over 7 minutes long and I hoped to get some more symphonic instrumental passages, but instead there are again spoken words. I'm not fond of Ciapica's low-ish voice.

I'd lie if I said there aren't a lot of dynamic playing within the tracks, even fine solos, without forgetting some acoustic, delicate moments amidst the powerful band sound. But in the end the songs (mostly 4-6 minutes long) fail to make a deeper impression on me. Perhaps the best one is the longest, 'La Spirale del Vento' (8:43). Yes it is, thanks to the instrumental, symphonically inspired final part. This is not a bad album. It's well produced, and doubtlessly it will please many friends of Italian prog scene, especially those who like also the heavier, less pastoral side of it (Il Balletto di Bronzo, Museo Rosenbach, ...). It just isn't MY ideal RPI album.