MITOPOIESI

3,5 stars, really. This symphonic band from Palermo started with an excellent debut CD, quite varied and full of promises. The first track, Mitopoiesi is pure 70´s prog rock, with powerful guitars and keyboards. Vocals are only average, but work well once you get used to it. The electrifying start does not sustain muck, thought. The second track, Sorridi, is much slower and probably the weakest in the whole CD, a bad sign. But - fortunaltly - the remaining songs are quite good, being very progressive and less aggressive than the first one.

The instrumentation is superb, those guys can really play just about anything. And that´s the album´s only real flaw: they lack a strong musical direction. it is not like those CDs that seem like each track was played by a different group, but it is close. The second part of the album has a more coherent collection of tracks than the first. And they really know how to write fine tunes. Their music is very italian, and yet they don´t really sound like any other itailian band I know. The resulting workc is quite melodic, full of passion, elaborated and very well done, with no fillers.Production is also top notch.

In all I found this CD to be very pleasant and surely those guys are talented enough to leave their mark on the italian prog scene. They just have to hone a little their obvious songwriting skills and ajust the vocal lines a bit more.. I´m looking forward to hear their next work. A band to watch for.