MYSOGINIA

Notable Italian group Syndone, founded by Nik Comoglio, formed in the very early Nineties, with an expanded line-up delivering a selection of constantly more ambitious symphonic works since that time, 2014's `Odysseas' being their first showing of true greatness. While their latest `Mysogonia' is not a concept album as such, the nine pieces all share a mutual branching theme of women, in some cases the songs highlighting the way love, lust, obsession, depression, jealousy in themselves and suspicion from others affect their lives, and Syndone's keyboard-dominated music, often heavily influenced by legendary British rock group Queen, is presented in conjunction with a multi-piece orchestra here. The words alternate between Italian and English in the vocals, not a feat that often turns out well from Italian prog acts attempting a worldwide crossover appeal, but fortunately we have an incredibly talented group of performers here that pull it off far more successfully than numerous others have.

Opening instrumental `Medea' instantly grabs attention with its dramatic and eclectic mix of sounds. Gigi Rivetti's pristine piano is quickly met with sweeping orchestration weaving in and out, the piece picking up in tempo as it's blasted with Maurino Dellacqua's murmuring bass, Marta Caldara's busy percussion and sparkling electric piano all laced with a jazz-fusion fire and manic avant-garde daring. What a peppy and energetic introduction this is, reminding of the ambitious fusion of strings and rock music that legendary Seventies Italian progressive acts such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Latte e Miele and the New Trolls all implemented on various albums!

For the first song piece here, `Red Shoes' controversially offers an English lyric, although thankfully Ricarrdo Ruggeri still delivers all the proper Italian passion and theatrical flair in his wild vocal! It's a punchy rocker that's really an ode to freedom and love, pumped full of Nik Comoglio's scratchy Hammond organ, whirring Minimoog and sultry slivers of strings. `Caterina' begins as a sombre gothic piano-led ballad with a mournful vocal and confronting lyric about an innocent woman convicted of witchcraft in 1617 before ultimately turning defiant with all manner of spiralling keyboard colour (lovely flute contributions from New Trolls member Vittorio De Scalzi throughout this one too).

`12 Minuti' is a hilariously melodramatic and comical prance about a female serial killer with a swooning vocal and playfully quirky instrumental backing that dials the early Seventies Queen influences right up, and `Evelyn' is an overwhelming ballad detailing a suicide, the piece laced with so many reflective little details and lifted high by guest vocalist Viola Nocenzi soulfully crooning alongside Riccardo. The title track `Mysoginia' races with aggressive Hammond organ, grumbling bass and Martino Malacrida's smashing drum attacks with deliriously frantic break-neck runs of keyboard fury behind a female-fronted choir, and `Women' is a strident mid-tempo English-sung melodic rocker that somewhat reminds of English pop-proggers Muse in its more anthem-like moments but with an added retro Seventies keyboard-overload touch.

Queen fans will notice that much of the vocal and instrumental melody of `No Sin' seems lifted from `The White Queen (As It Began)' off their `Queen II' album from 1974, but there's such a tender affection to Riccardo's romantic vocal (he probably sets the standard for English sung on an Italian prog disc on this track), and there's some great extended passages of jazzy soloing from all the players throughout the remainder of the piece (with guest guitarist Gigi Venegoni really standing out here). Two-part closer `Amalia' begins as a classically inspired instrumental of elegant violin, heartbreaking piano and evocative string swells, but ultimately it becomes a gloriously warm and embracing farewell ballad.

Once again, Syndone has released a vibrant, dramatic and endlessly lavish symphonic work in `Mysogonia', and its mix of first-rate musicianship, unpredictable arrangements, thoughtful lyrics and charismatic vocals is endlessly captivating. Fortunately the dual languages do not detract from the album in this instance, and the disc not only proves that there's a damn good reason why Syndone is one of the most highly regarded Italian prog groups currently active, but it proves to be one of the most exciting and luxurious discs from that country of 2018.

Four and a half stars.

(note - Syndone offering both English and Italian lyric translations in the CD booklet is to be highly commended, as it's a great way to welcome intimidated newcomers to Italian progressive music, and it's something more Italian bands should consider doing in the future!)