...E IL SUO RESPIRO ANCORA AGITA LE ONDE?

Much more interesting than its forerunner - it has also a great cover of Meurglyss III of VDGG fame - they are much more together and tighter as a group and the compositions are more direct, energetic and better written. Germinale , along with Finisterre, are very representative of nowadays Italian symphonic prog and I consider this album the flagship of this era.

If you don't know of Germinale start with this album and then work out towards their debut.

Wonderful modern day Italian prog rock fitting very much into the 70's style with wonderful warmth and great expressive songs. GERMINALE do remind me very musch at times of PFM with their little interludes and frequent break out into some great progressive Jazz-like moments with classical keyboard and flute passages. Vocals are sung in Italian and are well done which seem to fit the music perfectly. This is another Mellow Record jem and for those searching out modern Italian prog should definitely give this a whirl. I love this album and consider GERMINALE to be one of the top modern day Italian greats. Essential and even a little "Psychy".

The second release from this fantastic band from Pisa, Italy. With the pure style of the 70's progressive rock at its best, this CD is a true wonder. The assertive interpretation of the instruments is in charge of Marco MASONI on bass guitar, acoustic guitars, mellotron and vocals; Andrea MORETTI on acoustic piano and keyboards; Alessandro TONIOLO executes marvelous flute, alto sax and vocals; David VECCHIONI on drums and percussions and last but not least important, Salvo LAZZARA on electric guitars and vocals.

It's quite difficult to precise which of the instruments stands up from the rest. The music sounds off fresh and there's a diversity of styles in every piece of this album that would bring satisfaction even to the most exigent prog fan. The combination of the flute with the acoustic piano is exquisitely performed in several pieces all along the recording, finding jazzy, classic, soft and even folkloric trails.

This disc is combined of ten sonatas with a very special own blend that in spite of their unique execution, I found intriguing influences from KING CRIMSON or VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, represented in a cover from this two bands included as a bonus track. Some fragments remind me of EZRA WINSTON as well. In addition to all this virtues, the vocals are extremely impressive and they entwine gracefully with the instruments. Pieces like "D' ombra, Vapori e Sabbia" with a very interesting musical combination of the instruments represented in three tempos at the shade, the vapor and the sand; "Le Onde, Respiro del Mare" and "1e Maggio" are specially recommended.

Although the front cover is not precisely very attractive, this is a first class album where the beauty of Italian symphonic progressive rock could be appreciated at its best.

Their first album was already amazingly good for a debut. So this was their second effort with an almost unmemorable title for anyone not familiar with the Italian language. In English it means And His Breathing Is Still Moving The Waves. Like the first one it's containing a couple of rather long songs having a more complex structure with several quite different sounding parts. But on this one it seams the amount of heavier sections has somewhat increased and overall it appears a bit less coherent, even "shattered" in some way compared to the previous one.

It opens with the short Il Gia Sentito E Il Non Ancora which is very mellow with acoustic guitar, vocals and some atmospheric keyboards. E Maggio starts with flute and rather heavy electric guitar, but soon slows down to the vocal part, only with piano and drums. Then quite suddenly it shifts to a rather aggressive mood and these shifts in rhythm and mood will be repeated several times during the rest of the song. Quite an interesting song and the first highlight of the album. D'ombra, Vapori E Sabbia is an uptempo instrumental, starting rather jazzy with keyboards and flute, a bit >FOCUS-reminiscent, then there is a nice solo with flute and drums followed by a shift to piano and electric guitars with great sound effects. It finishes quite suddenly with some distortion. Another highlight! Eleonora is an instrumental track as well, just with acoustic guitar and some sound of falling rain. Very atmospheric and nice. Le Onde, Respiro Del Mare has soft electric guitar and keyboards in the beginning, then it's breaking out to heavy guitars and spoken vocals. It's another long track with many shifts featuring quiet parts with piano, some sound samples and quite heavy sections with guitar, keyboards and mellotron. There are some sections with flute reminding as well to the band FOCUS. The next great highlight! Dioniso Inquieto is a very mellow song with acoustic guitar, piano,keyboards and vocals. A very nice one! Malcreanza starts with electric guitar and keyboards in an uptempo rhythm, then there is a part with bass and guitar interplay followed by a vocal part with piano. After there is a jazzy section with guitar/bass/drums and some flute interludes. Later the song is shifting back to the basic rhythm and vocals are setting in again. D'io has samples of spoken words in English in the beginning and later on in Italian by the singer accompanied by acoustic guitar. Avant - Grado is another great track of the album. It's starting very mellow with piano and features as well several shifts between more uptempo sections with keyboards and electric guitar, and ones in a more atmospheric mood. After a very short track again with acoustic guitar and spoken vocal samples there is the VDGG-cover Meurglys III (The Songwriters Guild), which is very well done and the singer's voice even resembles a bit to Peter Hammill's one.

As a summary I can say second album of this Italian band is an excellent one, featuring several great songs and if being a bit more coherent it could be regarded as a masterpiece. I'd give 4,5 stars for this one!

This second CD from the Italian progrock band is their best, what a wonderful and lush 24- carat symphonic rock sound!

1. Il "Gia Sentito" E Il "Non Ancora" (1:35) : The first track features a mellow climate with twanging guitar and dreamy vocals.

2. Maggio (9:29) : A pleasant and varied up-tempo song, nicely coloured with flute, organ and electric guitar.

3. D'ombra, Vapori E Sabbia (6:41) : A fluent rhythm with a wonderful harmony between the keyboards (Mellotron and organ) and flute and fine soli on guitar and flute. This composition contains lots of good musical ideas..

4. Eleonora (4:20) : A dreamy one with twanging electric guitar.

5. Le Onde, Respiro Del Mare (8:46) : A very good composition delivering a compelling atmoshpere and spectacular keyboard play. The moods shift from mellow with flute and twanging guitar to up-tempo with bombastic Hammond organ and fiery electric guitar, the interplay between these instruments sounds also great!

6. Dioniso Inquieto (4:22) : Beautiful 12-string acoustic guitar (I love that sound since early GENESIS!), the piano supports a subdued, very sensitive electric gutiar solo.

7. Malcreanza (6:59) : Lots of excitement here: a break with a flute solo, Fripperian guitar work, a synthesizer solo on the Moog Prodigy (the 'poor man's Moog..!) and many changing climates.

8. D'io (3:40) : This short and romantic piece features vocals, twanging guitar and wonderful Mellotron waves.

9. Avant - Grado (9:20) : Another great composition that starts with beautiful flute and sparkling classical piano, then an up-tempo with with bombastic organ.

10. In Aeternum Veritas (0:58) : Only a voice and twanging acoustic guitar.

11. Meurglys III (The Songwriters Guild) (7:42) : Here is a VDGG cover featuring an intro with soft Mellotron and flute, then emotional vocals and fiery Fripperian guitar, many changing climates and a wonderful final part with organ and piano.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD ITALIAN PROGROCK ALBUM !!

After having listened to the short opener "Il 'Gia Sentito' e Il 'Non Ancora" all the hopes for a great album are allowed. Examples of such a good and short intro are not frequent. To be able to captivate within hundred seconds is not an easy task.

The same nice feeling prevails during most of "Maggio", but bizarrely it will change from style a few times and it will be mixed with harder parts. These sounds are rather strange to me since they were not featured on their debut album. During these moments, vocals are almost distorted, too raw. Some production problem ? Maybe. It ends up in a jazzy party.

The band already showed some tendency towards the jazzy flavours in their first album and they will build on this for "E Il Suo Respiro". This is put evenmore into evidence during "D'Ombra, Vapori E Sabbia". This song is rather difficult to bear for me. Improvisation is the closest word to define it. A useless drum solo opens a more classic finale. The poorest song of the album.

The sound of their debut can be found again during the instrumental "Eleonora". Acoustic and fully early "Genesis" influenced. A pleasant break.before the powerful, scary and complex "Le Onde, Respiro Del Mare". Very much "Crimson" or even "VDGG" oriented. It is a combination of heavy riffs with a melodic and symphonic interlude as middle part. A very elaborated song and one of the best of this album.

The band will switch again to a very peaceful and fully symphonic track this time with "Dioniso Inquieto". A peaceful track and a pleasant way to break the hard and complex songs format available. The band will propose some diversified music on this album. The listener has again a rendez-vous with the jazzy side of their work ("Malcreanza"). Not bad but frankly it is not as such that I mostly like "Germinale".

The last two numbers are quite good as well. The personal "Avant-Grado" features some strong keys and heavy beats on the one hand but combined with melodic and pastoral passages on the other. All of "Germinale" in one song. It is also one of the highlight. Their cover of "Meurglys III" ("VDGG") is excellent as well. Shorter than the original and avoiding the reggae-ish, repetitive and long finale.

If you are a "Banco" fan, no doubt that you will like this album very much. To my ears it sounds as a good album. Three stars.

This album from the Italian band GERMINALE is great example of modern Italian progressive music. Released in 1995 this is their second recording. This is a very proggy album filled with lots of tempo and mood shifts. Flute, piano and acoustic guitar are prominant yet there are many aggressive passages as well. Vocals are in Italian by the way.

"Il Gia Sentito E Il Non Ancora" is a short intro track with the sounds of waves and seagulls. Acoustic guitar and synths are followed by vocals. Very tranquil and beautiful. "Maggio" opens with flute as drums then organ joins in. Guitar comes in as it settles before a minute. Vocals arrive with piano. This all sounds beautful. It kicks back in with aggressive vocals. It settles again as flute leads the way. Organ 4 1/2 minutes in followed by reserved vocals and a calm. The contrasts continues. Just a great track. "D'Ombra,Vapori E Sabbia" is uptempo with piano and some excellent drum work. Organ and bass standout as well. Ok the drummer is showing off again 3 minutes in. Check out the guitar before 4 minutes as the piano tinkles away. I like the way they just seem to jam right to the end. Another good one !

"Eleonora" is a beautiful song with the rain coming down as acoustic guitar melodies are played throughout. Nice. "Le Onde, Respiro Del Mare" begins ominously before strummed guitar and bass take over. Drums come in then some loud synths. Spoken vocals 1 1/2 minutes in as they "rock out" behind him. A sudden calm 3 minutes in as acoustic guitar is played. Piano, flute then organ follow as the sound builds. Drums come pounding in and the guitar is soloing. Another calm as waves and seagulls can be heard again with piano. The tempo and mood shifts continue in this song. It ends ominously just like it began. Imressive. "Dioniso Inquieto" is my favourite song on here. The gentle guitar and vocals are simply breathtaking. Piano 1 1/2 minutes in joined by some tasteful electric guitar. Gorgeous track. "Malcreanza" opens with some Fripp-like guitar melodies that are very intricate as drums pound away. Synths come in followed by chunky bass. Vocals 2 minutes in. We get a jazzy interlude after 4 minutes which is a nice touch. Flute before 5 minutes. "D'io" is interesting with this man telling a story in English about the bars in California as acoustic guitar plays along. Spoken vocals take over as mellotron rolls in before 2 minutes. Our Englishman is back before it ends.

"Avant-Grado" opens with piano and flute. Synths followed by drums and a fuller sound.Vocals then arrive. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes with some killer organ. The contrasts continue between bombasic and pastoral. "In Aeternum Veritas" made me laugh the first time I heard it because our English gentleman is back telling stories as acoustic guitar plays along in this 1 minute track. This song (and album) ends with waves and seagulls just like it began. The bonus song is a cover of VDGG's "Meurglys III (The Songwriter's Guild)". These guys nail it ! Mellotron to opens is a nice touch, but it's the powerful organ and Hammill-like vocals that make this work perfectly.

Easily 4 stars, and another great modern Italian release.

Germinale were formed in Pisa in 1991 and their name was inspired by an Emile Zola's novel. After an interesting but still immature eponymous debut album in 1994 and some line up changes, in 1996 they released on the independent label Mellow Records what is reputed their best work so far and one of the best Italian prog records of the nineties, "...e ancora il suo respiro agita le onde..." (And his breath is still moving the waves). The line up here features Salvo Lazzara (electric guitar, devices, vocals), Marco Masoni (vocals, bass, classical and acoustic guitars, mellotron), Andrea Moretti (piano, Hammond, moog, synthesizers), Alessandro Toniolo (flute, sax, vocals) and David Vecchioni (drums, percussion). The overall sound is rich and inspired, in the best tradition of Italian prog rock while the beautiful art cover by Marta Bibbiani tries to capture the explosion of colours coming out from the music...

The short opener "Il già sentito e il non ancora" (The already heard and the not yet) is introduced by the sound of sea waves and seagull calls. Then, from a delicate acoustic guitar pattern soars a peculiar invocation... "We forgive you, Euterpe, for bringing us up here / Goddess of music, lyric poetry and flute / We ask you now to let us use your regenerating pathos...".

Next comes the long and complex "1° maggio" (May Day), subtitled "dialogue between a worker and a warrior". It was inspired by an essay written in 1934 by the French philosopher Simone Weil about the reasons of freedom and social oppression, "Réflexions sur les causes de la liberté et de l'oppression sociale". Dreamy and reflexive passages alternate with aggressive and dynamic parts underlying the contrast between the dreams of freedom and equality of the worker and the angry and disdainful reaction of the warrior, symbol of the power... "My resistance compels you to think about equality / I've always had to work but I want to do it with dignity... I know the revolt of the oppressed / It explodes only at times but it's always bubbling / And it increases your pain if it forces me to use my power...". A wonderful track!

"D'ombra, vapori e sabbia" (About shadow, steams and sand) is an excellent instrumental in three parts. The first one is dominated by keyboards, the second one features swirling flute passages soaring from a drum solo pattern while the last one is driven by an ethereal guitar solo. It could be a perfect soundtrack for an adventure in the desert...

"Eleonora" is a nice instrumental featuring delicate acoustic guitar patterns. It leads to "Le onde, il respiro del mare" (The waves, breathing of the sea), a complex and dramatic piece in two parts. Lyrics are freely taken from "Alkestis", a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke inspired by ancient Greek mythology. The atmosphere is dark, recitative vocals tell a gloomy story... A diabolic messenger appears as an uninvited guest to a nuptial banquet announcing that the groom has to die, on the spot!. The unlucky man implores, asks for mercy, asks for more time, a year, a day, even just one more night! No way, the task of the messenger is clear... Sometimes the music is powerful and flows like a raging river, every now and again it stops and gives way to unquiet dreams while the groom is carried away by the river of despair. Every effort to grip the rocks is vain, the poor man is swallowed by the obscure sea of predestination. Eventually... "The messenger got up and walked into the water / He sank himself in victory / And his breath is still moving the waves...".

"Diòniso inquieto" (Restless Dionysus) is a melancholic track describing in words and music the way of spending the time in the youth. "Another exciting suicide to rejoice boring dusks...". Lyrics tell about nights wasted in fake happiness during parties and bike rides but also of nights spent in a more bucolic and pensive way, stretched out on a lawn watching the stars, tasting the pleasures of mother nature...

"Malcreanza" (Bad behaviour) is a nervous track featuring many influences (from Jethro Tull to jazz, from bossa nova to Jean Michel Jarre). Visionary lyrics depict a smoking heart thrown to the winds and a desperate wondering under the stars... "I'm still loosing me / I do not talk very much / I never ask for explanations / I discuss to understand / The sea around us where we have to swim towards cliffs of sand helps us to ride the tiger of life...".

"D'io" (Of me) begins softly, just a guitar arpeggio and a voice taken from a radio broadcast... Then recitative vocals begin to declaim a long list of useless things like heavy drugs, light words, football matches, obsequious waiters, complete scores, human flies, counted hours... All things that you can do without!

"Avànt ? grado" is an excellent long and complex track. The music begins calmly with a swirling flute and a dreamy atmosphere. Lyrics were inspired by the character of Peter I "The Great" Romanov. The title is a mix between the French word "avant-garde" and Leningrad, the Soviet name of Saint Petersburg. There is no judgement about the "modernist despotism" of Peter I but a reflection about "a revolution from above", directed by the Tsar of Russia... "It's the energy of desire for concreteness... The vanguard and the complete renovation of the costumes...".

"In Aeternam Veritas" (The truth in the eternal) is a short and dreamy guitar instrumental that concludes a beautiful album. The re-release on CD features also as a bonus track the cover of "Meurglys III (The songwriter's guild)", originally recorded for a tribute to Van Der Graaf Generator released by Mellow Records.

After the debut of Germinale drummer Matteo Amoroso abandoned the band for good.In the meantime Mellow Records asked the band to participate in two different tribute albums, one for Genesis and one for Van Der Graaf Generator, both of them were released in 1995.Between the two releases keyboardist Gabriele Guidi decided to move on with his metal act Athena and guitarist Saverio Barsali also quit to be replaced by Andrea Moretti and Salvo Lazzara respectively.In September 95' Germinale returned to the studio to record what was meant to become the band's sophomore work ''...E il suo respiro ancora agita le onde...'', released in early 1996.

The addition of the new members seems to have breezed some fresh air to Germinale's sound.While the style of the Italians hasn't changed significantly, the overall approach sounds more energetic and passionate, always supported by smoother symphonic moments but now displayed with also plenty of uptempo passages and a heavier dose of dynamics.The folkier PFM-like influences are still present, interpreted by instrumental textures based on the soft use of flutes, the sensitive voice of Alessandro Toniolo and the acoustic guitars, delivering calm and relaxing soundscapes.But there are also strong and emphatic Progressive Rock explosions in the best Italian tradition, like on ''1° Maggio'' with fantastic flute drives and great shifting moods aking to DALTON, DELIRIUM and OSANNA, while ''Le onde, respiro del mare'' contains some very nervous synth performances, heavy and crunchy guitars and tons of changing tempos and ''Avant - Grado'' combines the folky side of Germinale with the more energetic side of the group, flirting with DEUS EX MACHINA's style and featuring impressive guitar playing, rich Hammond organ and a furious rhythm section.The only track of the album featuring English lyrics is the closing ''Meurglys III (The Songwriters Guild)'', possibly the best piece included in this album.Atmospheric 70's-influenced Progressive Rock with a very dark atmosphere somewhere between VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, KING CRIMSON and GENESIS with outlandish work on organs, flutes and piano alternating between psychedelic and demanding instrumental themes to go along with a very expressive vocal performance.

Germinale's second offering is definitely an improvement over the nice debut of the group.More balanced and diverse, this work can please all fans of retro-sounding Progressive Rock with a strong Italian flavor...3.5 stars.