ROCK PROGRESSIVO ITALIANO

Things look fine on the surface. The album has lovely evocative cover art with a lavish CD booklet, even if the colours are a little dark and ominous. The album is essentially one continuous 38 minute 14 part title track with three additional numbers at the end, and like the previous album, much of the music is grandly symphonic and full of numerous instrumental movements. There's an endless overload of majestic Mellotron, dazzling Minimoog, stirring electric guitar solos and delicate acoustic atmospheres, as well as some brief orchestral flourishes. This Italian band works closer to the Neo and symphonic genres than proper RPI, though there are still glimpses of that every now and then. The previous album showcased what a talented band of musicians they are, especially main composer Cristiano Roversi, and from an instrumental point of view, that is still very much evident. Just listen to the multi Mellotron choir `Prologue' that opens the album, the exhilarating `Childs At Play', the haunting `Sleepfall' and sumptuous `Aftersong'.

However, where the album badly falters is the use of vocals this time around. The addition alone wouldn't necessarily be cause for alarm, but in this particular case it has very damaging results. Lead vocalist Ricky Tonco employs a forced gothic slur, a kind of pained David Bowie by way of Marilyn Manson-esque croon that pushes the wondrous music so far to the background. It sounds like the band were kind of hoping for an IQ/Arena dramatic and theatrical sound here, but despite much of the album having extended instrumental sections, everything crashes to the ground because of the endless use of the drab vocals, and it gives the music a colourless, mundane quality overall. Just compare how much the album picks up the second the vocals stop and you suddenly start paying attention again. I challenge you to make it through the 8th track `Passing Strange' and not give up on the album altogether, absolutely excruciating. Oddly, one of the extra tracks at the end features a different vocalist, Mirko Ravenoldi (of fellow Italian prog band Catafalchi Del Cyber), and even his delivery is quite shrill and harsh! Can't win either way here.

I think a serious rethink concerning the vocals is in order with this band. I'm all for artists trying new things, and I think we all have prog albums in our collection with poorer or average vocals that we still grow to love, but for now I think they are a serious liability for Submarine Silence. It's a shame they cover so much of the music (probably about 80% of the album), because the actual compositions and performance here are so promising. If you are willing to be patient, to take the time to focus on the playing and can overlook the vocals, you may really end up liking this. I'm quite sad to be so critical of this point, and probably Tonco would sound fine under different circumstances. I really hope other listeners can enjoy the album more than I did and can see past this factor.

So a bit of a frustrating missed opportunity, but let's not write write the band off just yet, as there's too much talent to dismiss them quite so easily. Let's also hope we don't have to wait another 12 years for their next work.

Two and a half stars...rounded up to three for the actual playing and compositions.

The art cover was painted by the old friend Adriano Maragoni, the same painter who was in charge of the wonderful art cover of their début album. It tries to catch the spirit of this new work, rooted in the past and projected towards the future with a sense of rebirth and perpetual change. The album was produced with the help of the off-stage Alphataurus' member Gianpaolo Santandrea who also contributed to the song-writing of two tracks. In my opinion the result is excellent, the overall sound perfectly blends vintage instruments and new technologies, good musicianship and genuine feelings.

The opener "Progressiva-mente" (Progressive Mind / Progressively) is a kind of manifesto of Alphataurus' new deal and invites you to look for new rules and to leave behind the old clichés and the ideas that someone else chose for you. The music alternates some aggressive parts with delicate, dreamy passages and a strong sense of melody. If you can avoid all the thoughts that can make you feel uncomfortable you might overcome obstacles such as false ideologies and religions and you will be able to climb up on you personal stairway to heaven... "It is not easy, it never will / Just live it at the right speed... Progressively you'll become aware / Suddenly you'll recognize yourself... Progressive mind, open mind that creates, imagines, improvises...".

The following "Gocce" (Drops) deals with environmental issues. It draws in music and words an apocalyptic picture featuring dark colours and some touches of hope. You're lying under a starry sky and you feel helpless in front of the immense power of nature, you have never felt so small before and you reflect about the merciless greediness of the human race. Melodic vocals soar like a prayer... "Mother earth, sooner or later you will collapse under the blows of your children / We are drops in the sea of immensity, the wasted sweat of civilizations / We are the blood of a world that doesn't have a soul any more...". To overcome this sense of loss you have to fight. But now it could be too late and perhaps you would have better to think of leaving this planet and embark on an interstellar journey through the stars to find a new source of life, a stream that would make you strong.

Next comes "Ripensando e..." (Rethinking and...), a beautiful instrumental track, a bright collage of musical colours and classical evocations that takes you back to the seventies on the footsteps of the days when it was originally composed. It leads to "Claudette", a long, complex track describes in music and words a dialogue between an old man and a little child. It begins softly, the mood is dreamy and melancholic... "I would like to be like you, go back to your age / A clean mind that sees everything for what it is / But life will forcefully change us / If I could save you from the truth!...". But you can never go back in time, you have to grow up quickly while the contrary winds of life rage on you. The rhythm rises while the music underlines how ever changing is everything on this earth. You have to deal with all the challenges of life while the ideal world of the fairy-tales crumbles around you. You have to learn, you have to study, everyday you become more and more conscious of what reality is. Finally you'll understand that you can't change a destiny already written and you'll follow the mercilessly rules of power. But even then, you would had better to remember the purity of your childhood.

The music of the last track, "Valigie di terra" (Suitcases of land), tells in music and words the need to set off following a dream to live, the need to move on breaking the borders of a unsatisfying reality looking for a new life and a spiritual rebirth. Now you're on the road again with nothing but a few suitcases containing your past, land for your roots. But you might have to buy other suitcases along your journey because you know that the future will give you better things to care for... "I won't stay here / I made up my mind, this is not my reality / I will follow the way that will stir my emotions / So I will come to a new life...". Well, a great conclusion for an excellent album!

Homunculus Res is one of these bands. Coming from Palermo, Italy, this septet emulates the Canterbury sound as if they were in the 70's. Formed by Dario D'Alessandro (vocals, guitar, minimoog, glockenspiel and percussion), Davide Di Giovanni (keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals), Daniele Di Giovanni (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals), Domenico Salamone (bass), Mauro Turdo (guitar), Federico Cardaci (Minimoog, organ) and Dario Lo Cicero (flutes), Homunculus Res released their first album in June 14 by the Italian label AltrOck. Homunculus Res Homunculus Res recorded an album with small tracks in a total of 18 and lots of humor.

They begin with the funny and weird 'Culturismo Ballo Organizzare', and in the next two tracks you can see that the band will have many marvelous and curious moments, especially if you understand a bit of Italian to laugh with their lyrics. 'ΔU' and 'Dj Psicosi' for example, are perfect examples of that.

Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013) is a 50/50 album, the instrumental part has tracks spread through the album like 'Preparazione Bomba H' that brings the Canterbury sound very alive, 'Sintagma' that is weird and almost electronic, 'Rifondazione Unghie' that has a bit of Jethro Tull on it and 'Nabucco Chiappe D'Oro' that is an explicit Caravan influence. The other part of the instrumental tracks are 'Il Papa Buono' with a great drum work by Daniele Di Giovanni, 'Accidenti' that is just a really short intro kind of track with a very nice bass line by Domenico Salamore. And while 'Centoquarantaduemilaottocentocinquantasette' (which means 142.857) is a weird track with broken time signature, 'Profiterol' is a bit more melodic with guitars taking the lead. The next two tracks 'Estate 216 Solstz' and 'Puk 10' come to show how weird Homunculus Res can also be when it comes to choosing the names for their songs.

Now, talking about the tracks with vocals and lyrics, it's quite incredible how Dario D'Alessandro's compositions can emulate the classic 70's sound so well without falling into the copy field. 'Jessicalaura' and '[Che Ne Sai Tu Di Un] Cerchio Nel Grano' present us another unexpected mix of sounds that could figure in any great 70's record of the subgenre.

Going forward we'll find 'La Ballata Dell'Amore Stocastico' that, as the name suggests, it's a love ballad. Also, we have 'χΦ' that once again has a symbol as a track name and 'Il Contrario Di Tutto' that is the last track on Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013), a solid song with a good melody and many vocals.

Throughout the album one thing that impresses is the big amount of vintage keyboards used in the recordings: minimoog, casiotone, memotron, piano, organ, microkorg, Wurlitzer, arp odyssey, farfisa and hohner. This shows how serious the band is about having their sound 'real'. Once again, the Italian label AltrOck delivers a high quality product with beautiful artwork in one of their albums.

Homunculus Res is a band that if you're not aware of them you'll swear that Limiti All'Egualianza Delle Parte Con Il Tutto (2013) was released in 70's and you're just discovering it now. This fact makes them perfect for you, fan of Canterbury.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

The album may only be 37 minutes long, but you'll be overwhelmed with variety. Fragments of contemplative, spacey keyboard effects, soft and romantic acoustic guitar passages, unhinged electric guitars and driving hard rock seamlessly flow together. Especially satisfying is an aggressive use of flute and saxophone (as well as harmonica) that would become trademarks of the Italian progressive bands to come, deeply passionate, confident and lusty vocals as well as some occasional classical sophistication too.

`Non Sei Vissuto Mai' features some addictive snarling electric guitar, the grooving funk rocker `Vado Verso...' will get your hips shaking in no time, and `In Un Vecchio' could lift you away to the clouds with it's blissful dreamy harmonies. The band definitely seemed to have an international audience in mind too, with tracks like the powerhouse `Mirror Train', the howling `Everybody's Gonna See You Die' and grinding Jimi Hendrix-like `Lady Power' all utilizing English vocals and having a more straight-forward rock sound.

My first exposure to the band was their fourth album `Landscape of Life', and although being somewhat indifferent to that one overall, I was more impressed here and wish I had started with the debut all along. OK, so there's still that somewhat confusing lack of proper cohesion or direction, and the band seem to want to tick as many boxes and cover all bases as possible. I also find their baffling decision to use both English and Italian vocals confusing, and I really wish it would be one or the other (by that, I mean just Italian!). But there's no denying the talent and ambition on display here, and listeners who enjoy adventurous 60's flavoured rock and want to hear the early development of Italian progressive music should love this work.

`L'uomo' is now reissued with the follow-up album soundtrack album `Milano Calibro 9' on a single budget priced CD, so there's never been a better time to pick up a copy!

Three and a half stars.

If you "get" these guys, this is going to be one of the best finds you'll ever encounter. Imagine that their 1974 album with Adriano Monteduro was a double album and that's about what you're in for here.

There are some certified classics amidst this lost collection. "Aeroporto" has that perfect blend of symphonic and folk that made the second album so brilliant. And "Una Canzone" is actually an alternate version of the track that appears on that same album, but here violin takes a prominent role.

While it might not reach the consistent heights of the second album, this archive release is essential for any committed fan. As usual, the musicianship is stellar. And by that I don't mean that players are spinning virtuoso solos left and right. I mean that the collective goal of the melodic content attaining its desired dynamics and emotional depth is brilliantly served.

"Uomo Rosa" is a bit of a departure with its "old-time" flare and "Topolino Topel" is different than anything they ever did on the first two albums. The latter almost sounds like music for a quirky commercial. Entertaining, but it's the first seven tracks here that will really warm your heart if you can't get enough of the melodic brilliance that these guys brought to the table

Criminally underrated, much of the music from Reale Accademia Di Musica is timeless. That quality is evident on the best material here.

And it would be a pitty of it was not, because this one belongs among the widely unknown gems of Italian Prog, having an elaborate sound based on lush, symphonic arrangements and the overall style recalls bands such as CELESTE, LE ORME and ERA DI ACQUARIO, although some pop hints are still present.Extremely sophisticated music with majestic orchestrations and lots of breaks of Classical nature, while you should add the stronger presence of electric guitars compared to any other album by Fogli.Words are very poor to describe Fogli's incredible voice, definitely one of the best singers ever to perform in Italy.The man captures the concept with comfort and rises it to another level with his crystalline chords.All tracks are absolutely satisfying with very dramatic instrumental moves, characterized by delicate harsichord, soft organ and depressive string lines, while the vocal parts are tremendous as already mentioned.The atmosphere is grandiose and cinematic with a tight connection between the tracks and efficient music performances.''Salutando un amico che va via'' should belong among the classics of the genre, a monster example of elegant Italian Prog with extended piano and acoustic textures, highlighted by the smooth flute lines, the angular moog synthesizers and the pompous orchestral keyboards.

Of course Fogli's career couldn't have been slowed down by a single unfortunate moment, regarding his fail to release this album on time, and he kept producing solo albums for over 30 years, all in a Vocal/Pop style.However ''Matteo'' is considered as his absolute artistic pinnacle.Quite unfair, this one remains also his less known work ever.Beautiful Italian Orchestral Prog/Pop with a genuine atmosphere.No less than highly recommended.

According to the band, their main sources of inspiration stem from artists linked to the Canterbury scene of the seventies such as Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Caravan and Hatfield and the North. Anyway, in their music and artistic approach you can find also the legacy of an Italian band from the seventies as Picchio dal Pozzo and echoes from contemporary bands as Yugen or Breznev Fun Club. Homunculus Res' style is bold and eclectic, they showcase a great musicianship and creativity but even in their most extravagant, challenging sonic experiments they never lose the sense of melody with brilliant results.

"Limiti all'eguaglianza della parte con il tutto" (the title could be loosely translated as "Limits to the equality between the part and the whole") features eighteen tracks very different in mood and length but that flow away as if in a long suite where you can find everything and its contrary. The lyrics swing from the funny nonsense of the opener "Culturismo Ballo Organizzare" to the poignant sarcasm of "(Che ne sai tu di un) cerchio nel grano" where they jokingly quote "bunga bunga", Lucio Battisti and Fabrizio De André.

In "Jessicalaura" the band mix Pink Floyd and Gianni Morandi in a funny, original way while the instrumental "Rifondazione unghie" recalls seventies atmospheres and an Italian band called Calibro 35. You can find a parody of a psychotic D.J. fan of Michael Jackson ("Dj Psicosi") and an ironic love song as "La ballata dell'amore stocastico". There's also a short quote from the "Happy Accidents" by Rascal Reporters ("Accidenti"), some echoes of bossa nova ("Estate 216 solstz") and many more interesting ideas.

By the way, the main composer of the band, Dario D'Alessandro, is also a painter and maybe his paintings and drawings that you can find in the booklet could describe the music better than my words. Have a try!

Another wonderful band on the ever-growing excellent AltRock label, HOMUNCULUS RES is a Sicilian band centered around songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Dario D'Alessandro. Other members currently include keyboardists David Di Giovanni and Federico Cardaci, bassist Domenico Salamone, flutist Dario Lo Cicero, and drummer Daniele Di Giovanni. A featured guest on the band's debut is YUGEN keyboardist Paolo "Ske" Botta.

The primary inspiration for the band is PICCHIO DAL POZZO, the best Canterbury-influenced Italian band from the 1970s. They seem likewise, as did PICCHIO DAL POZZO, to derive inspiration from other Canterbury bands, particularly CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE. There are some trippy GONG-like passages as well. But HOMONCULUS RES is far from being a simple clone--they have taken the light, breezy, humorous Canterbury feel and mixed it with the early material from PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI and even LE ORME. They have combined these influences, spinning the whole in their wonderful melodic sensibilities, in the process creating one of the more unique and memorable entries into the crowded field of modern excellent Rock Progressivo Italiano.

This is one of the more interesting and better entries into a very crowded field of recent Rock Progressivo Italiano albums. The melodies are infectious, and the songwriting always interesting. There are several musical quotations that briefly appear (my favorite is the Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" riff that shows up in "DJ Psicosi"). The musicianship is stellar, as well, though always restrained and tasteful. And how can you not love an album with a song entitled "Preparation H Bomb"?

Don't let this album go unheard! There are several songs on YouTube and some abbreviated clips on Allmusic. (Also, catch the excellent progmistress review!) This is one that you'll enjoy for a long long time. Four stars (Gnosis 12/15)

This album is my first taste of the Three Monks as I have missed the debut, and my general impression is of a sort of "dark Rick Wakeman", but really better than many of the releases of that very prolific master of keys. In this darkness there's more rock and listening better, the "Italian" factor adds a difference. The Wakeman's impression is caused mainly by the use of the Pipe Organ with its very distinctive sound. Think to Criminal Records to have an idea.

Well, the Wakeman think ends here. There's a lot much than just pipe organ in this album. The second track, in example, would be a perfect fit for a horror movie, nothing less than most famous bands like Goblin. Wanting to list possible influencers, the "trio" lineup made of keys, bass and drums and the tracks composed by "Julius", the keyboardist can remind to ELP.

Another mention goes to the "classical" mood of "The Rest Of The Sacred Swarm", a very powerful title, too. It's clearly inspired to the Albinoni's "Adagio", but its weird sweetness reminds me to the grotesque Azatoth of the old Canterbury band Arzachel.

There are "goblins" also in the following track "The Battle Of Marduk". For who doesn't know, Marduk is one of the most ancient obscure Gods of the history: son of Enki, who later became the most important God in Babylon, identified with the planet Jupiter. Not bad for a devil, isn't it? The track is split in two different parts: one very dark and heavy, followed by another very dark but more ambient oriented, mainly driven by the bass. Perfect for Dario Argento.

Rieger is probably a tribute to the Austrian Organ-maker, but it's still very dark. If this album has a problem is that the mood doesn't change much. This means that the occasional listener may find it boring after a while, but if it's listened with the attention that it deserves, it's rewarding.

"The Strife Of Souls"sounds very Emersonian. Some passages are reminding of Works (Pirates), but let me say that the music is not derivative. It's sometimes similar because of the particular instruments used, but unlike many other bands around the world they can't be considered a clone of anybody.

The final "Toccata" is the less dark track of the album. It's a canon, likely inspired to J.S. Bach. An excellent closer for an album which is balanced between evily darkness and classical mood.

Strongly suggested to fans of Goblin, ELP, Wakeman and Organ driven music in general, regardless the historical period it belongs to.

You can find out the full story on why this album was not released for over 35 years on the italianprog dot com web site. But this is a treat to be able to have a never-heard 1974 album available. Most of the time, those "never before released" albums tend to be "a drag".

However, there's some good songs on this album. I feel there's actually a few great songs on this album. It's an uneven album with a few "skippable" tracks (skip over after you heard them 1 time) but there's a few songs that are beautiful italian prog/folk.

For a few of those beautiful tracks "Nenae" and "Oratorio", I'm reminded of a few of the mellow tracks from Nuovo Idea's "Mr. E Jones"(another album worth seeking if you've never heard it) and Gruppo 2001 along with a few in the vein of the 1974 Adriano Monteduro album w/Reale Accademia.

Those 2 are great songs with vocal harmonies and nice melodies that make lots of those italian songs from the 70's stand out.

The other really good song is the "Makumba Hotel" with it's breezy/airy wordless vocal harmonies and argentine/south american overtones. It's infectious. Sort of reminds me of the 'South American Getaway" that was the background music on Butch cassidy and the Sundance kid when they were in South America towards the end. You know the music where the vocal harmonies are going "Ba ba baaaa ba" :-)

Cool tune.

Just those 3 songs alone make this a justifiable purchase for $5.99 which you can get on amazon.

I've heard this album several times and those 3 songs stand out.

As per the others, "La Cometa" (the opener) has a "cool melody" but it gets old very quickly and runs out it's pleasure after 2 minutes and repeats itself for the next 3-4 minutes. The other songs (which is about the other half) are either skippable or "mediocre" and forgettable. The last song is dreadful and I agree with the reviewer here that it sounds like the music from a cheesy 1970's game-show.

I'd bark and howl at the moon in anger if I paid $20-25 for this. However, for $5.99, I snort like a happy pig and purr like a happy cat at the 3 good/great songs I mentioned and only growl at the not so good songs.

I'd give this about a 2.8 round up to 3 stars.

Worth a listen. You can go to amazon and listen to 30 second sound samples for each song on this album. Should give you a sample.

I sure hope there are other "never-before-released" albums from 1970's in the vaults across Italy by many of these bands.

BTW, I would like to mention the brand brand new albums by Reale Accademia in 2008/2009 titled "IL LINGUAGGIO DELLE COSE" and "TEMPO SENZA TEMPO" (where Adriano Monteduro has resurrected a band under that name) are horrible albums. Almost "techno" with drum machines and literally no melodies.

I found out from the italian prog website on a recent interview with one of the original members of Reale Accademia (who was the lead guy on their 1972 album) that Adriano used the name of "Reale Accademia Di Musica" for these 2008/2009 albums without the permission of the original members from the 1972 band. Be very careful with those 2 albums. Buyer beware.

This "La Cometa" album even ranks below "TEMPO SENZA TEMPO" on this website. I feel that's an unjustified joke because "La Cometa" is so much better in every sense of the word. Don't let that 2.29 rating scare you from at least going to amazon and zipping thru all the 30 second sound samples of "La Cometa". Also, youtube has 2 of the songs from "la cometa" in it's entirely including the ""Makumba Hotel" album. It's worth typing that into youtube and giving it a listen and then deciding if it's worth buying the album (or at least just a few songs from the album).