LA CRUDELTÀ DI APRILE

What I love the most about music, is that it never ceases to surprise me, and though regarding progressive rock some might say that its best era was the 70s (yeah, it might be), nowadays there are amazing bands like Italian monsters Unreal City who are creating gems that must be discovered, spread and listened by prog lovers. They are four young guys who don't fear to enter into this realm, whose passion and musical skills have a pronounced talent, which can be appreciated in this debut album named "La Crudeltá di Aprile", which was released in 2013.

One hour of excellent RPI divided in 6 songs, the first five range from 7-9 minutes, while the last is a 17-minute epic. It opens with "Dell'Inocenza Perduta" and since the very first seconds they let us know they are not just another band of the bunch, they show us its talent with clever compositions and wonderful arrangements. The amalgam the four form is an example that they as a musicians get on well when comes to composition and performance, and I assume they get on well also as friends. Great keyboards, strings and drums overall, and a nice touch of violin in the final part of this song.

"Atlantis" has a somber tune, a great mellotron as background while guitar plays disarming notes. The music progresses, adding nuances every minute. The voice has a soft tone, it will remind you of some 70s RPI bands, however, it is perfectly adapted to a fresh XXI Century prog sound. Some might describe their music as retro- modern RPI, just like Wobbler makes retro-modern Scandinavian prog. "Catabasi" is a magnificent piece whose first three minutes have a dark, gothic sound with keyboards, later it makes a great change when violins enter and loony vocals appear; one can easily put images on the mind, create stories, the music is very visual. It is awesome how after that dark, delirious and somber passage, the band all of a sudden produce a softer, friendlier sound when one can take a deep breath and feel relieved.

"Dove la luce e piu intensa" is a candid track that I like a lot, because though its first seconds provide keyboards with a lot of energy, that make me think of someone running for his life, at the same time the sound is friendly to me, so maybe he is running for freedom. Later the song changes, vocals appear, acoustic guitar and a nice pastoral passage. It is wonderful to listen to keyboards making solos, while mellotron works as background. "Ecate" starts with mellotron and bass, then little by little the structure is being built up; vocals enter, a symphonic and pastoral mixture live here, and so many changes inside the song can be perceived. The guitar work is great, it has some sublime moments, and as you can imagine, keyboards also play a wonderful role here.

Finally, it comes the epic long song that closes this awesome album. "Horror Vacui" whose 18 minutes are divided in four sections, will give you a blast of excellent music. A fascinating journey through diverse branches of prog, of course the symphonic sound predominates, however they offer much more than a label, they offer their own style, the Unreal City sound. Again, the capacity they have to change and change and change through the seconds, without harming the music is simply impressive, all those changes perfectly match, so the music flows, providing a river of emotions, where the water might be the purest and cleanest, and later a bit somber and grey, but always exciting, that's a fact!

This is an album that marks the debut of what I presume will be a giant prog rock band, and now with their newest 2015, I can happily say they are not a one-album-wonder band, they have a lot to give, so please give them the chance, listen to this amazing album and we'll talk later.

Enjoy it!