DEUS LO VULT

Four years after Discesa Agl'Inferi D'un Giovane Amante, the highly regarded second album from Italian's Il Bacio Della Medusa, they return with the follow up, Deus Lo Vult which for a non- Italian speaker like me is thankfully easier to get the tongue round. After such a stunning album that saw them use a template of classic 70's Italian prog and drag it well into the 21st century, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. Have they done it? Well the answer is yes and no.

Let me elaborate. Deus Lo Vult features some stunning music, as good as their last much of the time. There is a problem however and that is that the album is so damn short. Seven tracks lasting less than thirty four minutes, which even back in the days when vinyl ruled would have been considered short. That aside, apart from the disposable Urbano II Bandisce La Prima Crociata, which comes across as a 19th century military style piece for want of a better analogy, it's all good. The classic 70's comparisons are inevitable but there's no doubt that Il Bacio Della Medusa add elements that mark them clearly as a band of our time by injecting a healthy dose of modern sounding metal. Despite mellow moments like opener Invocazione Alle Muse they have much in common with the wilder excesses of RPI bands like Osanna and vocalist Simone Cecchini brings to mind Jumbo's Alvaro Fella with a raw and emotional delivery at times, though capable, which he often demonstrates of a far greater range. There's a theatrical approach here too bringing to mind the little known outside Italian prog circles Officina Meccanica. Prominent is Eva Morelli's sax and flute, an indispensable part of the band's sound, giving the obvious Van Der Graaf Generator and occasional Jethro Tull comparison's and they certainly share the wilder excesses of the former. The band rock out in fine style with some blistering instrumental sections too, making it an exhilarating, if short ride.

So there you have it, Deus Lo Vult doesn't disappoint, apart from its short length, but I can forgive them that as half the band have already delivered an excellent album this year as Ornithos. Il Bacio Della Medusa have reinforced their position as one of the most important Italian prog bands of the last twenty years.