LE PORTE DEL DOMANI

I have grown a full on attachment to Italian Progressive Rock. The lot of multiple musical styles in a fresh new and foreign tone gives it a sort of edge, both stylistically and conceptually, especially with Italian culture being in the front end of most albums from both the classic and modern eras of Italian Progressive Rock and what brought it to be and what kept it moving forward. It's only super interesting to learn about. However I am not gonna talk about that, because I am reviewing the album by the side project band curated and lead by Fabio Zuffanti, La Maschera Di Cera, the album of which is Le Porte Del Domani.

I really love La Maschera Di Cera. How the band uses the old elements of what made Progressive rock so good, and revitalize them to where they are more modernized is super cool to me, and I am always a sucker for that kinda stuff in music. I feel like that is the main reason why I really dig the band so much to begin with, especially with their longer songs and how to can make such a bombastic sound. It's honestly entertaining to hear. How the album just goes super hard and how it can switch from a Symphonic sound to a Folk sound on a dime gives it a lot of weight.

I'd say, Ritorno Dal Nulla is such a great opening track on this album. How the such just ascends and changes to such a grand sound is super well done and I just feel super good when listening to it. La Guerra Dei Mille Anni is also pretty good, it's a bit more folk like but it doesn't stray away too far from the general sound of this album. Ritratto Di Lui is a pretty beautiful ambient-ish track that is fairly calming, though it kinda leaves your head afterwards which I find a pretty bad detriment.

L'enorme Abisso is such a good track. It goes super hard and hits you like a train after the last track, and just has some kinda epic quality too it. Funny how after this we get another more calming track with Ritratto Di Lei, however it's less quiet and a bit more intimidating, which I think adds a bit of flavor, but it is also fairly forgettable also, so that kinda sucks.

But after all that, we get another hard hitting track with Viaggio Metafisico, super hard and kinda heavy, and has some great drumming and synth work that makes me surprised that this band isn't as popular as bands like PFM or Le Orme. Now afterwards, the album sorta gets a bit slow for me, especially with the song Alba Nel Tempio. It's a good track, don't get me wrong, I love the guitar and the synths on it, but it starts to show on how fast this album can probably lose it's steam after some great and hard hitting tracks, especially since the songs afterwards are a better slower and quieter than the previous ones.

This is where I find some mishaps on the album. For one I feel like the vocals are a bit rusty. Not bad but they are definitely a acquired taste, especially when they sing in a higher pitch. It definitely feels a bit old and rustic, which could add to some charm, but for me they sort of way the album down a bit. And also, some songs just don't really work. The ambient and more tranquil tracks especially, they feel a bit out of place next to some heavy hitting songs and they kinda make the album lose all the speed it was building up. It's not the worst thing in the world, but they kinda hold a candle on what I think you should not do when making more quiet tracks after your more heavy tracks.

So all in all, great album, and definitely will be a Italian Prog classic, though that doesn't mean it's the best album in the world. It's a classic in my eyes, but even classics have some issues that should be critiqued on. I really liked this album, and I think you'll do too.