LIVE IN SEOUL

Awesome! In this new century we have been lucky enough to witness a wave of new and great classic-inspired modern Italian progressive rock bands; the names of Il Bacio della Medusa, Egonon, La Conscienza di Zeno and of course Il Tempio delle Clessidre have been knocking hard in our ear-doors and have entered with solid offerings to this unique musical realm. Me, as an RPI lover am truly enthusiastic regarding these (and others) bands which have released excellent albums and now in this case, DVDs.

Il Tempio delle Clessidre released their first live DVD in 2014 through Black Widow Records, the title is "Live in Seoul" and is a 2-DVD set that shows amazing performances. This band was born thanks to keyboard player Elisa Montaldo whose love for Museo Rosenbach's Zarathustra made her start a band in which "Lupo" Galiffi (from Museo) was the main vocalist. Fabio Gremo on bass, Paolo Tixi on drums and Giulio Canepa on guitars complement this 5-piece outstanding band.

Well, though I must be honest, the video quality is not what I would call the best, but after all, it is not that important because the music and the performances are the main elements. The first DVD contains a two-hour concert from Seoul, recorded on October 8th, 2011. It is divided in two acts. The first one is called "Il Museo" and as you can imagine, a full performance of Zarathustra is given, and though the voice is from the original singer and that is a relevant point, the music and the performance are not the same, I mean, it is not a copycat, because Il Tempio introduces different arrangements, figures and performances, they also add some instrumental passages that made the version of their own, so it is Il Tempio's Zarathustra.

It is evident that this new band loves vintage prog and they really enjoy playing it, we can watch how passionate they perform, how they live the music and how they transmit it to the audience, in spite Japanese people do not show their emotions so easily. I remember when I see Museo Rosenbach at Baja Prog 2014, me and other friends were so excited singing, moving our bodies and becoming crazy, because how won't you go crazy with such a powerful music and performance? Elisa Montaldo is a terrific keyboard player, her dress, voice and sensuality adds even more cadence to the already exquisite music, while the other guys are equally important, each one doing their best with their instrument and acting like gods.

The second act is entitled "Il Tempio", and it shows a full performance of their first and self-titled album. So now the vintage becomes new, because they offer first class RPI with an amazing fresh sound that makes us feel alive and kicking. It excites me a lot because I really love Italian prog, so to know there are bands like this one doing extraordinary music is worth getting excited. In this second set there are moments where Lupo does not sing, there are amazing instrumental passages and curious symphonic, dark atmospheres that are wonderfully complemented by some performance details like in "Danza Esoterica di Datura", when Montaldo spread datura (like a perfume) to the audience. Later the musicians go out with masks, so it produces a drama scenario, like being in a literary play. There is an encore at the end, a bit repetitive, but enjoyable anyways, it is called Zarathustra Medley, so go figure.

That concert is just an example of how great this band is and how I would love to see them live sometime soon. The first DVD is enough to spend great time and to buy this release. However, there is also a second DVD! It might be repetitive, but I think it is a great additional feature, because we can see the band in different concerts, from their very first live show in 2009, to the one at NEARFest Apocalypse in 2012. I repeat, talking strictly about video recording, it is not superb, but when you listen to the music and see them performing, wow, you just have to love it.

Highly recommendable! Enjoy it!

Share this IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to memowakeman
• Report this review (#1423909)
• Buy IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE music online with PA partners
• Show all IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE MP3/Stream
• Go to IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Live in Seoul page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for IL TEMPIO DELLE CLESSIDRE related discussions