LEMURES

Renowned as one of Italy's most innovative prog rock bands of the 1970s IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO may have started out as a pseudo-prog hard psych 60s hangover band when it hit the scene in 1970 with its debut release "Sirio 2222" but what the band delivered two years later with its groundbreaking sophomore album "Ys" is still sending shock waves into the ears of anyone who hears the band's masterful magnum opus for the first time.

This Naples based band pretty much dropped its groundbreaking bomb on the musical world and then disappeared like a stealth foo fighter of World War II. The aftermath some 50 years later still finds "Ys" to be not only one of the most innovative and daring prog rock albums that emerged from Italy in the wild unhinged 1970s but still remains one of the absolute pinnacles of creative prog from anywhere in the world of any time.

While the band would release a few sporadic singles in the 70s and 80s and an archival release in 1990, few would have predicted any true resurrection of the band especially after prog's popularity waned in the late 1970s however with the resurgence of the prog scene in the 1990s many bands once thought extinct slowly but surely emerged from the past and reinventing themselves in the modern world. IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO wasn't one of them at least until Lino Ajello and Marco Cecioni reformed the band in 2013 only this time dropping the IL (Italian masculine definite article meaning THE).

In 2016 the clumsy sounding "Cuma 2016 d.C" under the moniker IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO DI LINO AJELLO & MARCO CERCIONI was a complete dud with hardly anyone noticing that it came and went all the while rabid new fans of prog were discovering the band's masterpiece "Ys." It would have been safe to assume that this band was forever gone but never say never in the prog world as the new BALLETTO DI BRONZO has emerged once again in 2023 with a bonafide new studio album titled LEMURES.

One can immediately put aside any past glories on the level of "Ys" as this is solely the solo project of lead vocalist / keyboardist Gianni Leone with the assistance of two other musicians in the form of Ivano Salvatori (bass) and Riccardo Spilli (drums). LEMURES is a modern day album with a time length to match. Rather than sticking to a classic time run of around 40 minutes, LEMURES slinks in just past the 58-minute mark with nine tracks in all. While the album sounds like it's definitely connected to the 1970s rendition of IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO, this new album, unlike many Italian contemporaries, really takes liberties in experimenting and playing with modern recording techniques not available during the days of "Ys. The result is a somewhat retro sounding 70s Italian prog sound matched by modern reckless abandon.

Unlike some singers of the golden years of prog, Leone's vocal style has held up surprisingly well with that same distinct array of stylistic approaches displayed on "Ys." Unlike "Ys" there is a sparsely arrangement in instrumentation with seemingly no guitars to be heard. Instead the music is based around beefy bass grooves and wild, even frenetic keyboard performances. The helter skelter schitzo approach does bring "Ys" to mind at many moments but the keyboards are a bit more diverse and crazed than even on that album. For a 70s artist to retain such a passion to add his own weirdness stamp to the music is actually quite nice as many of the old Italian prog bands making a comeback revert to the safe traditionalisms.

In many ways LEMURES reminds of Goblin as the seductive and dark keyboard grooves and ambience evoke the horror soundtracks of that band so in many ways it sounds like the perfect marriage between albums like "Ys" and "Suspiria" along with the occasional bouts of normalcy that would bring PFM, Banco and other operatic bands of the golden era to mind. What really makes this album register high in the prog world is the brash boldness to incorporate deviant time signatures wherever and whenever the mood hits. Normally a characteristic forever lost in youth but Leone has nurtured his inner angst well.

I rarely expect to find a classic band releasing excellent material but "Ys" has long been a personal favorite (like many others) and i felt it obligatory to at least hear this album and i have to admit that i'm pleasantly surprised by its dedication to prog excesses, the kind that made "Ys" so ridiculously amazing. Sure it's not up to par with band's heyday but for an album that has been released 51 years after its peak, it's quite a treat to hear how Leone's approach still stands out from the crowd so many decades later. The entire album is appealing with a diverse array of clever arrangements, keyboard freak-outs and time signature attacks. A surprisingly comeback indeed.

As with many other bands in the early Seventies RPI scene, Il Balletto Di Bronzo burned very brightly for a short while before disappearing, leaving behind two albums ? the second of which is still highly regarded today, 'Ys'. Two of the founders finally delivered another album only 46 years on from the debut, using the name Il Balletto di Bronzo di Lino Ajello & Marco Cecioni to differentiate this band away from the version of Il Balletto di Bronzo being led by Gianni Leone who had appeared on the debut but came into his own on 'Ys', providing both lead vocals and keyboards. He also appeared on a couple of tracks on that album as well but come 2023 and we find him leading his own trio as he is accompanied here by Ivano Salvatori (bass) and Riccardo Spilli (drums).

If someone had given me this album and asked me where it had come from and what label had released it, I am sure I would have got both answers correct as this is traditional RPI being given a new twist and is solid Black Widow all the way. I am not sure how long I have known Massimo, but certainly well over 25 years, and he continues to drive the label to be at the forefront of releasing great Italian music and this is no exception. This never sounds like a modern album, but instead is packed full of the layering of keyboards and styles one comes to expect with RPI, and there are plenty of nods to Emerson within this while also looking more closely to home and the likes of Goblin. Leone has a great voice and is also a very accomplished keyboard player who is not afraid to take classic Mellotron and Hammonds and then mix it up with sounds which are more recent to create an album packed full of depth. At just under an hour in length he has given himself plenty of time to show off all his skills, and there are times when it sounds as if he was performing in the studio, as opposed to just recording with the introduction to "Napoli Sotterranea" being very much a case in point.

This is an album which sounds aged and matured, containing plenty of depths and hidden secrets which only come to light when given repeated plays. Sheer class from beginning to end, let us hope that Leone delivers us another album soon and that this is not the last we have heard from Il Balletto Di Bronzo.

There are several Italian bands whose music is truly appreciated by prog rock lovers, and most of them come from the 70's, an era of creativity and experimentation. Of course, Il Balletto di Bronzo belong to that bunch of legendary bands who gifted us with a memorable album, which is why we remember them. However, and despite our love for those old releases (YS is my number one Italian album ever, by the way) , it is great to see these bands moving forward and release new albums, no matter the years or line-up changes they've had.

Now in this 2023 the band returned with 'Lemures', an album in which mastermind Gianni Leone managed to gather the talent of bassist Ivano Salvatori and drummer Riccardo Spilli in order to give the fans a positive experience. So don't judge before listening, because it is worth the try.

The album opens with 'Incubo e Succubo', which sounds like a soundtrack of a sci-fi film with some explosions and spacey textures, later the three musicians begin to build up a structure, with a heavy sound which has a kind of apocalyptical sound, in fact, if I had listened to this track without knowing the artist, I would have guessed they were Goblin. 'Oceani sconosciuti' continues with the tension delivered in the opener, however, here Leone's vocals appear for the first time and yeah, they are so unique and a signature of Il Balleto di Bronzo. Of course as expected, keyboard work is great and is what leads this record, creating a vast amount of textures and nuances. Gianni's voice is so powerful and theatrical, and I really thank he decided to sing in Italian once again.

'L'emofago' brings so much power and energy, you can tell it by the drumming and of course, by the emotional vocals. If you ask me to label it, I would say this track shares some hard rock roots with prog rock and even some spacey nuances. There is a great Hammond solo in the final minute. 'Napoli Soterranea' shares a spacey and sinister keyboard sound since the very first seconds, then it becomes quite proggy, and we can notice it by the time signature and the diversity of changes it has, also by the vocal game of Leone, who doesn't actually say a word, but his voice itself says a lot of things. Addictive bass lines, fast drums and loony keys and vocals, and even a Crimsonian feeling in the final minute. Strange but wonderful, and with this one, the "short" tracks of the album finish.

Now be prepared for the "long" ones, starting with 'L'ombra degli Dei' whose first two minutes might be slow, however, necessary. Then it changes, drums and strings appear and create a rhythm that is greatly accompanied by dark keyboards as background, creating once again a dark feeling which later becomes chaotic. Spilli's work here is quite impressive, by the way. Then we have 'Labyrinthus' which is an extraordinary prog rock song, one of the best of the album. First it has bombastic keyboards and a funeral march like drums, then vocals enter creating some tension but also putting a literary scenario, I mean, one can imagine several things, fictional passages while listening to it.

'Certezze fragili'is a pretty nice mid-tempo track, not as explosive as some others, at least for the first minutes, but equally interesting. I like the interplay between bass, drums and keyboards, very symphonic and creative. 'Deliquio Viola' has a majestic sound, strong; after an introductory minute, vocals enter in a theatrical way, so we can perceive like a tragedy act is happening, where Leone's sorrow is spread while the music keep sharing a sinister atmosphere. Great track.

The album closes with 'Il Vento Poi', and yeah, it actually sounds like a closer, like a farewell song. It is good, a bit softer than the previous ones, but with the intact RPI sound in its essence. I am really happy with this album, decades have passed since that legendary 'YS' and it is great to see how Gianni Leone and co. have delivered a great work full of quality. Of course, you should not compare this album with its ancestors, so it is better if you listen and enjoy it as it is, one new release.