MERGING CLUSTER

Merging Cluster took form in Florence in 2010 on the initiative of two former members of Biofonia, Gabriele Marconcini and Emiliano Galli, both in love with modern prog and psychedelia. In 2014 the band managed to release a self produced demo EP with a line up featuring Gabriele Marconcini (vocals), Emiliano Galli (keyboards), Marco Casalini (drums), Gianfilippo Innocenti (guitars) and Roberto Manzani (bass). Then the project went through a long period of hibernation. Ten years after, with the same line up, Merging Cluster woke up and finally released their first official studio album, entitled Peak Of ephemeral Light, on the independent Lizard Records label. It contains the four tracks of the demo EP remixed and remastered and four brand new pieces. According to an interview with the band, "it is not a concept album in which a story is told but there are some recurring themes in the various pieces. All of them, in one way or another, tell of the moments of transition that make a person different from what he was before, or from what he believed or hoped he could be"...

The opener "Dysrationalia" every now and again could recall Marillion and is a long piece about the difficulty of thinking and behaving rationally when faced with even the most banal facts of life. The music and lyrics invite you to keep your eyes and mind open and vigil so as not to become prisoners of your emotions or victims of the conformism...

The title track, "Peak Of Ephemeral Light", comes from the old EP. It's a nice spacey piece that tells about the awareness that a man is nothing if compared to the immensity of the universe. The course of the galaxies in their race to the unknown can't be reversed and a human being is not immortal, he's just a kind of peak of energy soon destined to vanish into the void...

"Subjective Doubles Syndrome" is another old track from the 2014 EP. The atmosphere is disquieting and tense as the lyrics describe the feelings of a man on the brim of madness who believes that there's someone going around with his body and face, someone who is speaking with his voice. In fact, the title refers to a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which the patient experiences the delusion that he has a double with the same appearance, but usually with different character traits, that is leading a life of its own...

From the 2014 EP is also the introspective, visionary "Gift Undeserved" that begins softly with guitar and bass that could recall Pink Floyd as the music and lyrics take you through fantastic landscapes. According to an interview with Gabriele Marconcini in the magazine Prog Italia, this piece describes "states of consciousness suspended between dream and reality and how we do not feel adequate or deserving of what is given to us by chance or by superior forces"...

The last track from the 2014 Ep is the beautiful "The Shadow Line". It was inspired by a novella of the same name by Joseph Conrad that depicts a young man becoming an adult, in particular a young man who boards a ship for the voyage of his life. He will become a captain and the shadow line of the title represents the threshold of this development. The tide is turning, the sea and the sky are changing while the protagonist approaches the line, his eyes are burning. Will his heart keep on pounding when he'll cross that line? Here the lyrics tell of the moment of transition between two phases of life...

"Planning The Renaissance" is a piece full of positive energy that kicks off with a hard electric guitar riff supported by the hammering rhythm section. It is an urgent request for change in individual and collective consciousness. The vocals express anger and indignation screaming the vital need for a new resolution. How can we plan a rebirth? We should find a way to learn how to create a new light, a new heart and find a new way of living in harmony with mother nature...

"Land Of The Wait" opens by a delicate piano intro, then the vocals evoke blind days that pass, one the same as the other, leaving behind empty promises and regrets. The atmosphere is melancholic, but then the perspective changes and old memories of seasons full of expectations come to the surface. In fact, this piece tells of the reality that clashes with expectations destined to never materialize and was inspired by another seminal novel, "The Tartar Steppe" by Dino Buzzati. The novel tells the story of a young officer, Giovanni Drogo, who spent all his life guarding the Bastiani Fortress, a remote stronghold overlooking a desolate desert. He waits for a war in which to obtain power and glory, but the enemy hordes never arrive...

The final track, "Over (You)", is dark and hypnotic. According to the band the lyrics are hermetic and esoteric but always focused on the experience of the passage. Sometimes we feel a strong sense of loss. Sometimes we lose our battles, sometimes our wars, sometimes we lose our body, sometimes our mind and identity. Then there comes a time when we feel that our future is over and we need a serpent kiss...

On the whole, a good work that deserves a try.

MERGING CLUSTER or the fusion of the cluster in the language of MOLIERE.MERGING CLUSTER is also the "side project" of Gabriele MARCONCINI, vocalist of RAVEN SAD, a formation that I particularly appreciate and whose 2021 album had made the subject of a review and an interview on profilprog.

MERGING CLUSTER is a progressive and alternative music entity that has been dormant since 2014 and ten years is a long time if you haven't heard from the musicians, the title of the album is therefore more telling than a long speech. 'Ephemeral peak of light'. The origin of the project dates back to the winter of 2010 and the meeting of two former members of BIOFONIA (author of an album in 2005 "La Stanza - Anno 1"), Gabriele MARCONCINI (vocals) and Emiliano GALLI (keyboards) joined first by Gianfilippo INNOCENTI (guitars) and Roberto MANZANI (bass), the line up being completed a little later by Marco CASALINI (drums).

This "Peak of Ephemeral Light" includes the four tracks from the 2014 EP remixed and remastered, augmented by four new pieces for a work that exceeds sixty-eight minutes; note that the four original tracks were placed consecutively on the album (2/3/4/5) and in the same order as at the time. Let's start with the four rearranged pieces, the eponymous "Peak of Ephemeral Light" more rock than really progressive, with a rhythmic pair who brilliantly lead the affair (the sound recording of the bass and drums is remarkable), the guitar by Gianfilippo INNOCENTI being aggressive (in the good sense of the word), the keyboards of Emiliano GALLI more in the background except in the finale on the organ (8/10). Conversely "Subjective Doubles Syndrome", the longest piece on the record (by just a little) puts Emiliano in the spotlight in its introductory part, the six strings are very present but softer than in the previous track until 3:00 minutes, then more nervous while remaining melodic thereafter, the powerful singing of Gabriele MARCONCINI (with perfect English diction for an Italian vocalist) ensuring the necessary foundation for a great piece of progressive heavy music (10/10) ultimately quite close to metal.

The following title "Gift Undeserved", all restrained (music as vocals) until 4:00, reminded me of the heyday of the British airship, a piece at the crossroads again, alternative progressive in a way which turns out to be oh so brilliant and pleasant (10/10) with a sparkling six string players, certainly my favorite track of the entire work. "The Shadow Line", the last rearranged piece from 2014, plows the same furrows of progressive alterno rock with a more metal touch after the middle of the piece, although Emiliano GALLI's keyboards are on an equal footing with the guitar in fusion (like the name of the group!) by Gianfilippo INNOCENTI (9/10), it's seriously mind-blowing.

Let's move on to the four new titles with first of all "Dysrationalia" the introductory track, the keyboards first, the guitar then, the almost possessed singing of Gabriele MARCONCINI, very energetic reaching 3:16 (remarkable use of keyboards by Emiliano GALLI ), a melodic imprint which remains to be determined, hard rocking scents at times (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW see DEF LEPPARD), it pulses strongly in the speakers (8/10), a listen far from obvious which therefore generates a judgment complex that we find ourselves humming after several listens. Then "Planning The Renaissance" too ''gloubi boulga'' for my taste, I looked in vain for the musical score, that's all to say, I didn't like that Gabriele forced his voice there (which was otherwise excellent) , not at all progressive at all, disappointment and even more (5/10).

The penultimate piece "Land of the Wait" digs the same streaks as the previous ones, more rock than progressive, progressive alterno as I indicated above, in my opinion the most pleasant of the four new tracks (9 /10), the hushed singing of Gabriele combined with the ramblings of the two soloists and above all an interesting lyrical framework, a musical line to explore further in the future. Let's end with the relatively short "Over" more than six minutes all the same, one of the most rock (n'roll) pieces on the record, the ZEPPELIN mode is engaged here too, easily broadcast on the radio (we start typing the sole says it all), certainly a good track to warm up an audience in a concert (8/10), not my favorite but easy to listen to.

Conclusion since the vocalist is common to both groups, you should not look in MERGING CLUSTER, RAVEN SAD because you will not find any, beyond the vocal intonations of GABRIELE MARCONCINI it goes without saying.

With dozens, if not hundreds, of new prog bands emerging each year, it can be difficult to make a mark: to be noticed. Some opt to pander to the prog of old, while some seemingly get lost in trying new things that render their music nearly un- listenable. Italian proggers Merging Cluster are a band that falls somewhere in the middle. Trying new things, they still bring the nostalgia factor. Interestingly, being Italian, I excepted some RPI influence within their music, but that is not the case at all.

Merging Factor's first EP is self-titled, and for good reason. It merges two types of prog rather well: classic prog and psychedelic. With groovy twists, atmospheric vocals, airy keys, and raging guitars, the band gives us the best of the old and the new. Incredible guitar solos and deliciously bassy moments abound along with an overall sense that the band knows how to compose tight, meaningful passages. "Peak of Ephemeral Light" is a perfect example of all this. Yet, then the track "The Shadow Line" takes a different approach. Searing edges and a psychological factor make this track very different, but somehow also a natural progression: a kind of journey from light into darkness.

The EP does have one weakness. While the vocalist, Gabriele Marconcini, has a tasteful voice and he delivers a wonderful performance, I do feel that the vocal lines feel a bit squeezed into the music. Yes, the vocals and music are very tightly composed separately, but sometimes they feel a bit smashed together, or as if they don't mix well. Of course, the lyrics themselves are written with complexity and meaning, which is how I like them.

That being said, "Merging Cluster" is a strong debut for the band. I see big things for Merging Cluster as they bring groove and modernity to classic prog. There is an immediate "wow" factor to hearing their music, and I hope they can continue that with a full length release.