LA FINE NON ESISTE

Even in the modern era where we can expect to see artists who have been long considered down and out to make a comeback some decades after their initial run in all honesty, the Rome based SEMIRAMIS which was a crucial part of the initial progressive rock scene in Italy wasn't exactly a band that i ever expected to hear from again. After all, the five members were all teenagers when they unleashed their classic prog rock masterpiece "Dedicato a Frazz" in 1973 and like many other now classic albums was a complete flop at the time of release. Add to that, none of the members really continued on in the music world and seemed to just disappear into the ethers as quickly as they emerged. 
But the 2020s is all about curveballs and proves that even an act like SEMIRAMIS can be resurrected from the dead but is it really SEMIRAMIS? We all know that one member often held legal rights to the moniker and often continues the band with a completely new cast of characters animated their vision. Well just as i suspected, this is not the classic lineup of FRAZZ (the word referred to band members' surnames: Faenza, Raddavide, Artegiani, Zarrillo, Zarillo and if we were to extract which letters remain from the classic lineup then i'm afraid to tell you that it would only be the F for Faenza. Yes, it's drummer / vibraphonist Paolo Faenza who has resurrected the SEMIRAMIS band name and assembled a completely new younger team of eager beavers to unleash his retro sounds of the 70s.

Coming a staggering 51 years after the band's one and only album, "Dedicato a Frazz," the sophomore unit LA FINE NON ESISTE (The End Doesn't Exist) perfectly symbolizes a band once considered a mere anomaly in history to a brand new resurrected musical entity. Truth is stranger than fiction, that's for damn sure. The new band consists of Giovanni Barco as the new vocalist, Emanuele Barco on electric guitars, Marco Palma on acoustic guitars, Ivo Mileto on bass and Daniele Sorrenti on keys, organs, synth and flute. Paolo Faenza is back on percussive duties and LA FINE NON ESISTE comes across as a 70s album revisited with six tracks at about 38 minutes of playing time. Needless to say, this sounds nothing like the first SEMIRAMIS album but what i wasn't expecting is that it's actually pretty good!

There actually are some similarities to the classic SEMIRAMIS sound. This is after all classic RPI from the early 70s timeline in style and it wouldn't even surprise me if many if not all of theses tracks were originally designated for a sophomore album that was to emerge after the debut but for commercial reasons was completely scrapped. The music is a bit heavier than the average RPI album with feisty guitars but still rocks all those classical piano runs and of course features the romantic operatic vocal style however this is no group of teenagers and all the excesses that made the debut so phenomenally good are nowhere to be heard. This sounds like a seasoned RPI band that has grown comfortable in its skin and simply set to autopilot. The tracks are all melodic and memorable and the musicians are quite competent in tackling this classic style of 70s RPI. Of course lyrics are in Italian and the tracks all stand on their own because this is not a concept album the way "Dedicato a Frazz" was. Chock filled with lots of rhythmic shifts and dramatic deliveries, LA FINE NON ESISTE is a classic progressive rock in every aspect and focuses more on faster tempos and heavier guitar heft than many Italian proggers did in the past or implement in the present. The guitar often takes the lead with heavy power chords, feisty licks and the occasional solo. Of course the keys and organ give it that period piece retro sound.

"Dedicato a Frazz" is one of my absolute favorite releases of the original Italian prog scene and even when i got wind of this second album emerging in 2024 i had no expectations that it would even come close to the sheer magnum opus nature that the album has exuded over the ensuing decades. These half century later comebacks rarely amount to anything other than a good publicity stunt but in this case i'm surprised that i like this album as much as i do. The compositions are well thought out, extremely beautiful in their performances and Giovanni Barco has the perfect classic RPI vocal style! Yes this is retro but this is retro done right and while these types of bands are a dime a dozen in the modern world, there's something about the quality of this album that actually makes it feel like a legit 70s album in the modern day. This is actually more than a novelty, this is music i actually enjoy! Those feisty guitar parts really put it over the top so all i can say is bring it on Paolo!