MITOPOIESI

Superb full-length debut

What a year for Italian prog! Usually I play an album many months at a minimum before writing a review, but sometimes when you have brand new material you have to get the word out and get some information up for prog buyers. And so this is the early quickie review for those intrigued by our newest ISP band-I may flesh it out at a later date. A bio is being prepared at this time but in short Coral Caves is a 5-piece band from Palermo with a sound that I'd almost given up finding in a young, current band. They are a band that has actually managed to present a fresh face on a classic sound and pull it off with devastating emotion and sincerity. This is not a band trying to be "difficult" or musically snobby, but rather a band going straight for that pleasure center in your musical brain. This is not a "grower" that will take 25 spins to get, in fact, it is remarkable how instantly likable they are, several people have mentioned to me being wowed on the first spin. Where they really succeed is making this "kind" of progressive rock something new again, rather than something from the distant past. There is wonder. The music allows you to lay on your back and stare at the sky uninhibited again.

CC merges classic Italian prog ala PFM with the rich spacey goodness of 70s Pink Floyd, but presented with youthful vigor and optimism. There are hints of neo-prog accessibility and a bit of Jester's Tear era Marillion in the instrumental pacing and feel of some tracks. The players seem far more interested in the melody, atmosphere, and the emotional impact than they do in technical wankery or anything else for that matter. The compositions are beautiful and authentic and original despite the band's love of 70s rock, they succeed in taking the great elements of their influences without falling into the trap of worship. They sound fresh and modern in their presentation. Saviano has a great, strong vocal delivery in the Italian tradition and adds his flute to a few tracks. The keyboards are front and center, blending spacey retro sounds with modern synths and some piano and organ. Lead guitars wail throughout this album in classic Gilmour feel at times, but with original things to say, and backed by nicely handled rhythm section and acoustic guitar. At times they rock with the grungy, garage force of Neil Young like at the end of "Sorridi." Together the band has incredible instincts for melody and arrangements that keep you completely on board at all times. They marry their music with excellent video content on their website. Coral Caves is not for shredders, tech-rock nuts or the avant lovers. But this album is a must for melodic prog lovers: anyone into Floyd, RPWL, Marillion, Kansas, PFM, should be running to grab this one. And I enjoyed comparing the cover to the Jester's Tear artwork-while perhaps unintentional there are some interesting similarities if you look close. A strong album that will please most lovers of Symphonic, ISP, Neo, and Crossover. Sorry for the quickly composed review but watch for more on this band from the Italian team in the form of a good bio and interview. 7/10

Coral Caves is a new Italian five-piece formation that has delivered a wonderful, often compelling debut CD that scouts the borders between neo-prog and symphonic rock, the warm native vocals add a 'healthy Italian Progrock factor' to the music. The sound on the 9 compositions is very melodic and accessible, from dreamy with flute traverse and acoustic guitar to tight mid-tempo rhythms and bombastic eruptions with a tasteful keyboard colouring by the EMU Proteus sound module (Hammond, Mellotron and Moog ). But the focal point on this album is obviously the excellent duo-guitarwork: biting wah-wah drenched in Sorridi, Santana inspired in Cliff Of Moher, Gilmourian in Senza Di Me and Ricordi (exciting slide guitar) and lots of moving solos with often howling runs in most of the tracks, shivers down my spine! My highlights are Senza Di Me (great build-up, from mellow with twanging guitars to bombastic with a wonderful vintage keyboard sound, beautiful guitar and emotional vocals) and the long and alternating final composition Il Dolce Canto Della Terra: first a slow rhythm with organ and warm vocals, blended with dreamy parts featuring classical flute and guitar, halfway a moving electric guitar solo, culminating in a very compelling final part with fat synthesizer flights and a sensitive electric guitar solo, accompanied by a lush organ sound, goose bumps!

I am sure this album will please both the symphomaniacs as the neo-progheads, what a very promising first effort by this unknown new Italian band!

The Sicilian-based Coral Caves continue the unending Italian prog legacy of providing fresh music to the eager masses and comes as another pleasant surprise, right on the stiletto heels (Italy is shaped like a boot after all!) of the recent Il Bacio della Medusa masterpiece. Our astute finnforest is correct in stating that this disc will not need 25 spins to sink in, its very straightforward Italian prog. Where there is a bit of a difference in terms of delivery and substance, is the feature of a dual electric guitar attack (the two Gallotta brothers, go figure!) that begins with a furious onslaught right from the get-go, the title track firing off a few searing salvos of swirling synth runs, bending leads, hard riffs, aggressively passionate vocals and some stunning bass /drum interplay. "Sorridi" is one of the highlights, a revving motorcycle launches this moody, bass-propelled piece, brash dual axes flirting with dissonance, a helter-skelter main melody that evolves into a gentle Floydian expanse , whimsical and raspy vocals, whistling synth background and a demonstrative guitar solo that is drenched in woos and wahs, the bass acting up with stubborn contempt, then suddenly exploding into some kind of interstellar overdrive with insane electronics, as if the bike had a turbocharger on it. Smile, bambina, smile.. "Cliff of Moher" is more mid-tempo, even I daresay accessible, the vocals stretching into more expressive surroundings with a sudden Santana influenced lead that is deviously effective, coupled with a whooping synth solo that drives the theme home. The recipe is repeated a second time with a gentler solo, flirting with Camel until the end. "Senza di Me" is another peak performance, with clear focus on the fluid and melancholic lead guitar (yeah, the spirit of Gilmour/Latimer is obvious) , with a typically moody vocal performance loaded with affected pain , highlighted by crackling acoustic guitar, thick electronic keys of various ilk , simple bass and an effortless beat. The final 2 minutes is a blues-laden extravaganza that shreds, howls, cries and suffers in growing expression. The seven minute + "Ricordi" is in the same league, a superbly sorrowful guitar driven piece that has flow and feel, with slide effects and a main melody that really hits home. The ensuing lead solo is achingly majestic, almost evoking classic bluesy Robin Trower with later dabs of Gilmour, a dual (a la Wishbone Ash) outro that will make you stand up and applaud, especially when the slow slide kicks in, pffffff!!!!!. Certainly my fave cut here, unrelenting magic! The short "Torno a Casa" is a jollier romp, a slight jazz-pop feel that is a welcome interlude from all the heavier stuff here. In true prog fashion, the band resorts to some history as inspiration for the next epic, recalling the somewhat brutal conquest of Mexico by the red- bearded Cortés, bluesy fretwork introducing the invasion of one empire by another, bassist/vocalist Pietro Saviano singing his heartfelt rage, grandiose keyboards reliving the splendor of a soon to be destroyed civilization (even with its contradicting inhuman traditions), the guitars launch into a lush series of fiery solos that accent the deepest emotions , slowly building towards the inevitable finale "Tenochtitlan" (the Aztec name for the Mexican capital) . "Eterno Ritorno" is return to the rollicking, somewhat harsher delivery (closer to Mary Newsletter or Foglie di Vetro than PFM, Banco or CAP), though the flute makes a brief appearance that only highlights the passion behind their artistry but then the boys gently swerve the piece into more peaceful surroundings. Why, you ask? Because the disc closes off with a 13 minute "coup de maitre", the delicious "Il Dolce Canto della Terra" (the sweet earth song), a simply outstanding vocal, marshaled by a Hammond organ tapestry, here more remindful of La Maschera di Cera or even Le Orme. With birds chirping in the trees, the acoustic guitar escorts the flute in the most pastoral horizons before diving into bombastic symphonics, synthesizers painting music in the air, emulator strings adding to the grandeur, patiently preparing the way for the guitars to enter the arena. They don't exactly smash the door down, weaving slowly but forcefully to the forefront, all about restraint and anticipation. A return to the vocal theme and then, pow! The illuminated guitars finally arrive to rip the solo to shreds, caressing the neck, scratching the strings and bending them into submission. An impressive debut that deserves a future career, another new ISP band to follow closely . 4 palermos

Coral Caves is a young italian band but less 'italian' than necessary. In this album they mixed a neo progressive with italian melodic symphonic moments and something else. Forgetting about the vocals and the drums, you will find good guitars and keyboards minutes.

After a while listening to this album I really started to think in the future they can deliver a good instrumental progressive. It seems they need to visit the old bands like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and P.F.M in order to find a REAL italian inspiration and lose the english neo progressive. When the vocalist is singing we realize they are italian, but once the vocal stops we forget which album we are playing. Some moments are too british, Floyd, Camel or Marillion. The guitars sounds like Latimer or Gilmour, very beautiful and melodic, but as I said they need more italianism. They also need to improve their experimentalism.

Mitopoiesi remembered me the middle records of Le Orme like Smogmagica mixed with something close - and worst - to Nuova Era. It's a good effort. Probably a four stars album for neo progressive fans, but not for the old italian ones. It's better than some other young bands like Notabene, but in the future they can do better if they forget there is a country called England.

Very vital and novel Italian rock style...without old flavour.

Beggining. The first track Mitopoiesi can always knock and push me down. I don't think their song and melody style has old Italian flavour but Pietro's non-clear and full-of-rock'n'roll-flavoured voice with their strict but enjoyable play should boil my blood. This song is always strongly impressing for me. I guess CORAL CAVES can receive and shoot older progressive rock way well. And the style is English one rather than Italian one, maybe. One of the reason is, we can listen to Pink-Floyd-like melody and play (Animals I felt) in this album. As everyone feels, they has so little influences of Italian progressive rock and then I consider their style is neo-progressive rather than old Italian symphonic. However, in spite of my love for old Italian progressive rock, their melody and play have self-confidence and it's completely OK I'm sure. All songs (except the last track) are short, catchy, and powerful. Sadly the last track is a bit verbose I feel, but the album itself has an aura.

At last...I love this album very much, but my evaluation FOR ITALIAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK is not necessarily high...so I give 3 stars for it, but again I say, I love the album Mitopoiesi!

Coral Caves are an Italian prog band from Palermo, Sicily. They started their activity in 2001 as a tribute band dedicated to Pink Floyd. After some line up changes they managed to shape a more personal sound blending in an original way influences swinging from the Italian prog masters of the seventies to hard rock, psychedelia and neo prog. The present line up features Pietro Saviano (vocals, bass, flute), Dario Gallotta (guitars), Luciano Gallotta (guitars), Salvadores Arcoleo (keyboards) and Massimiliano Vacca (drums). After a demo in 2006, in 2008 the band released an excellent debut album, "Mitopoiesi", for the independent label Mellow Records.

The opener "Mitopoiesi" (Mythopoeia, the making of myths) set up the atmosphere of this work... Waves of keyboards, sharp guitars, a pulsating rhythm section and evocative vocals drawing interesting melodic lines... "I want to skate on the thin ice of life / To be astonished by the crack under my feet... I'm looking for a shell in a coral cave / With the symphony of the sea inside... I want many illusions / With risks and disappointments / I want a burning fire into my heart...".

"Sorridi" (Smile!) starts with drums and bass in the forefront and alternates quiet and dreamy atmospheres to faster parts... "Even the fastest car sooner o later stops / And if an usurer as the years go by wants to buy your gaze, your pride, your heart... Just smile and turn down that offer!".

In "Cliff Of Moher" the band blends symphonic prog with Latin rock. Strange journey to Ireland indeed. Romantic lyrics describe a beautiful landscape, the sea and the sky that you can see from the Cliff of Moher while you thoughts are flying away, towards someone that is difficult to forget...

On "Senza di me" (Without me) Pink Floyd influences are stronger while the band try to describe in music and words the melancholic feeling of being in a boat carried away by the currents, without oars. But then, someone calls you and gives you hope for a come back to reality... "What am I today? / I should look at mt past / What will be tomorrow? / I was hoping it would be better than me".

"Ricordi" (Souvenirs) is another introspective track. It starts with a flute solo, then the electric guitar comes in and leads the way... The song is about the souvenir of past friends loosing themselves between disappointments and broken dreams.

"Torno a casa" (I come back home) is a kind of celebration of the "backpacker way of life". It's about the need to travel, the taste of discovery, the charm of exploring new countries, meeting new people, learning new languages. Acoustic strummed guitar and keyboards bring here a positive and joyful feeling.

Then, a martial marching beat introduces "Tenochtitlan 1521", a reflection about the behaviour of the conquistadores of Mexico where the band compare the cruel rites of the Aztecs and the cruel rites of the Spanish that, the in name of God, used to put non believers and heretics on the stake. People don't learn from history and, "Despite the time elapsed / Despite civilization, progress and freedom / Every day a new Tenochtitlan falls". The final guitar solo reminds of Neil Young...

"Eterno ritorno" (Eternal come back) is a beautiful poetical track about the eternal circle of life, one of the best moments on the album, where acoustic folkloric suggestions are perfectly blended with prog. Calm passages featuring flute and acoustic guitars alternates with sparkling keyboards and a joyful rhythm section.

The long and complex final track "Il dolce canto della terra" (The sweet song of the Earth) is about the need to live in harmony with mother nature. Its calm, serene and solemn pace concludes an album that is really worth listen to...

3,5 stars, really. This symphonic band from Palermo started with an excellent debut CD, quite varied and full of promises. The first track, Mitopoiesi is pure 70´s prog rock, with powerful guitars and keyboards. Vocals are only average, but work well once you get used to it. The electrifying start does not sustain muck, thought. The second track, Sorridi, is much slower and probably the weakest in the whole CD, a bad sign. But - fortunaltly - the remaining songs are quite good, being very progressive and less aggressive than the first one.

The instrumentation is superb, those guys can really play just about anything. And that´s the album´s only real flaw: they lack a strong musical direction. it is not like those CDs that seem like each track was played by a different group, but it is close. The second part of the album has a more coherent collection of tracks than the first. And they really know how to write fine tunes. Their music is very italian, and yet they don´t really sound like any other itailian band I know. The resulting workc is quite melodic, full of passion, elaborated and very well done, with no fillers.Production is also top notch.

In all I found this CD to be very pleasant and surely those guys are talented enough to leave their mark on the italian prog scene. They just have to hone a little their obvious songwriting skills and ajust the vocal lines a bit more.. I´m looking forward to hear their next work. A band to watch for.

In spite of the band's name and their beginnings as a Pink Floyd tribute, Coral Caves' debut album owes more to the time-honoured tradition of Italian melodic prog than to the legendary English outfit - though the Floyd can definitely be counted among the band's main sources of inspiration. Indeed, Coral Caves openly declare their debt towards some of the pillars of Sixties and Seventies Italian music (such as the late, great Lucio Battisti), as well as their love for all musical genres, even those (like swing) that seem to have no association at all with prog. Such eclectic tastes result in an album whose ten songs blend the inimitable Italian flair for melody with influences from prog and classic rock.

If compared with releases by other new Italian bands such as Yugen or Garamond (to name but two), Coral Caves' sound is definitely more accessible, even conservative. Their music avoids taking risks, and their songs are mostly of the soothing, relaxed mid-tempo variety, enhanced by Pietro Saviano's expressive vocals, Dario Gallotta's fluid, Gilmour-like guitar work, and Salvadores Arcoleo's rich keyboard textures. The songs may occasionally bring to mind a rockier version of the traditional singer-songwriter (cantautore) style, especially as regards Saviano's vocal delivery; while at times some harder-edged touches can be detected - as in the title-track, whose brisk, driving organ background can recall the likes of Deep Purple or Uriah Heep.

As already mentioned, the Pink Floyd influences are at their most evident in the slow-burning, majestic build-up of the guitar solos. The album's epic, the 13-minute "Il Dolce Canto Della Terra", ends with an extended solo much in the style of "Comfortably Numb". However, the strongest Floyd vibe surfaces in the intense "Tenochtitlan 1521", dedicated to the fall of the Aztec empire, featuring a slow, solemn opening and a truly commanding vocal performance, bolstered by guitar and organ. At the poppier end of the spectrum, "Cliffs of Moher" is a standard verse-chorus-verse offering enhanced by Saviano's impassioned vocals; while almost unexpected jazzy touches appear in the short "Torno A Casa". "Senza Di Me", on the other hand, is a typical, moody classic rock ballad, closed by a lengthy guitar-organ coda.

Though Coral Caves may not score very highly in terms of authentic progressive content, they do instead as regards melody and accessibility. Their music, never overly complex or demanding, has an easy flow that will appeal to those listeners who do not shun more mainstream genres. "Mitopoiesi", while clearly not breaking any new ground, it is nonetheless a well-crafted debut from a talented new band, which will please fans of both Italian music and classic rock. Prog fans will find enough progressive elements to please them, as well as solid musicianship and more than adequate singing. Coral Caves are definitely a band with potential, even if their output could definitely improve on the originality front.

Coral Caves started out as a Pink Floyd tribute band so I think it's fair to say that the English space rockers were a profound influence on these young Italians, and that impression certainly comes across in the music here. Anyway, there are already several detailed reviews of ''Mitopoiesi'' on the site therefore I'll just give a quick thumbnail sketch of it myself.

From the outset the signs aren't promising with some standard hard rock on the plodding title track. Actually, after hearing the first three tracks I was resigned to the possibility of this being a fairly run-of-the-mill release. However the gentle undulations of ''Senza Di Me'' then roll along and extend into a majestic conclusion of guitar and choirs, and this kicks off a rapid succession of songs that are anything but substanceless.

After a short flute intro on ''Ricordi'', the main song moves along swimmingly until a Santana- esque guitar solo emerges like rays of light through gaps in fine clouds, and is then swept away by a sharp storm of slide guitar and synthesizer. Likewise, the historical narrative of ''Tenochtitlan'' is enlivened with its meaty bass riffs and valedictory guitar solo. Then the scene-shifting opus ''Il Dolce Canto Della Terra'' concludes the album in a dreamlike, faraway manner with flute and acoustic guitar enhancing the pastoral mood.

''Mitopoiesi'' isn't one of the deepest or most original of RPI albums but it's sure to delight fans of melodic prog.

To my knowledge, this is the one and only album by this band from Sicily, Italy. Which is a pity.

Coral Caves follows the proud RPI tradition with a mix of Italian pop, a dash of folk rock, misty eyed power ballads and some more harder rock standards. Their sound is typical 1990s with in particular the 1990s guitar sound. The keyboard sound is the standard 1990s sound too.

The male vocals is very good. Thankfully, the vocals are in Italian. The guitar harmonies on the great Tenochtitlan is superb and by far the best part of this album. The rest of the album is good. My problem with this album is that the songs feels a bit locked up and not as unleashed as great songs really is. There is something missing and that has supressed this album a lot. This is a good album by all means, but I wished the band had pushed out the boat a lot more. Sorry.

3 stars

I just read in the bio here that they used to be a PINK FLOYD tribute band and while the music here isn't in the same style as FLOYD's, the guitar work brought Gilmour to mind many times. This is a pretty good debut from these young Italians. Funny when I first listened to it I went in thinking they were a Psychedelic band just because of their band name. Boy was I wrong. This is good music though with Italian vocals.

"Mitopoiesi" gets things started with lots of synths as the vocals join in then the guitar replaces the vocals after 1 1/2 minutes. The guitar continues until before 4 1/2 minutes. More synths in there though after 3 minutes. Good start. "Sorridi" opens with the sound of a motorcycle starting and taking off. Bass and drums take over then it gets fuller. A psychedelic calm after 1 1/2 minutes is brief then it changes as vocals and piano come in. Not a fan of the latter sound. Guitar 4 1/2 minutes in then it speeds up a minute later. It becomes spacey after 6 minutes to the end. "Cliff Of Moher" is strummed guitar as the keyboards and vocals join in. It picks up with synths. Not a fan of this one. "Senza Di Me" opens with gentle guitar as electric guitar solos over top. Reserved vocals join in. A melancholic track and I really like this. It does pick up though with guitar 4 minutes in. Organ too. My favourite right there.

"Ricordi" sounds like Gilmour as far as the guitar work goes. "Torno A Casa" is one I can't get into until it settles down without the vocals. "Tenochtitlan" features prominant drums as the guitar solos over top. Reserved vocals replace the guitar. More passion 2 minutes in. I like when the guitar goes on and on. "Eterno Ritornon" opens with atmosphere and rain. Vocals after a minute as it changes. Nice guitar follows. Vocals are back before 5 minutes. "Il Dolce Canto Della Terra" is the over 13 minute closer. It has this nice laid back sound with organ and more as reserved vocals join in. A calm with acoustic guitar and flute 4 minutes. The opening theme is back after 9 1/2 minutes.

I really enjoyed certain sections but overall 3 stars is the most I can give.

Coral Caves from Palerma-Italy and their only album released untill now in 2008 at Mellow records Mitopoesi is a fairly decent towards great prog rock album from recent italian school. Melodic parts with symphonic touches where the guitars and keyboards have an important role but also combined with some more edge moments here and there. They are surely influenced by old italian school like Le Orme among others but with some Floydian passages that make thme so enjoyble in the end. Instrumental arrangements are pretty great , the keyboards specilly are quite solid on some pieces like on Cliff Of Moher and aswell guitar works very well on Ricordi for example with a Floydian influence. The voice fits perfectly into this kind of music and offers some good moments. So overall a good album that desearve attention from prog listners, has plenty of more then ok moments even is not something groundbreaking in terms of origianlity. 3 stars easy meybe rounded to 3.5 for some pieces. Nice cover art btw.

Palermo-based Italian act Coral Caves started in 2001 by flutist/bassist/singer Pietro Saviano and drummer Stefano Bartolomei, initially as a Pink Floyd cover band.Guitarist Dario Gallotta was the next to join Coral Caves and brought onboard his brother Luciano, also on guitars, and keyboardist Salvadores Arcoleo.At some point original drummer Stefano Bartolomei was replaced by Massimiliano Vacca and in 2005 the band entered the Pentagramma Studio in thei hometown with original material in hands.Around the middle of the process several promos were sent to labels and the band decided to move on with Mellow Records.In 2007 the album was eventually finished and the following year ''Mitopoiesi'' was shelved.

The style of Coral Caves is a mixed bag of diverse influences, scanning every possible fashion having appeared in Italy over the years, but the delivery is always under a progressive matrix.Energetic, groovy and passionate music with lots of punchy guitars, angular synthesizers and vintage-styled organ waves, but there are also lots of pop sensibilities among the textures.Influences come from a varied spectrum: Classic Italian Prog, Italian Pop with a singer/songwriter approach, Fusion and Heavy Rock, elements which are often combined even in the same track.Thus the music becomes a bit misleading along the way, however it's hard to pass by some of the good melodies, powerful performances and nice Italian vocals of the band.The guitars are either delivered in a hard, edgy mode or offer series of interesting solos, while keyboards are always there to add more color in the arrangements.Jazzy interludes are also apparent in a few cuts, close to the style of IL VOLO or SALIS, while another pair of pieces moves fairly along the lines of a clearer symphonic direction.Overall the production and style is very modern and fresh with nice instrumental diversity, coming from different sources, resulting an intricate but also a bit unconvcincing album.

Hopefully this wasn't the sole musical affair of the group, as they were in search for economic sources in order to finance their next release.

''Mitopoiesi'' contains music that can be rockin'/angular and lyrical/poetic at the same time.The arrangements are based on both accesible and more bombastic themes, while the vocals are excellent.The result is a good but not extrairdinary album by a band with potential.Recommended.