DECODING THE EMPTINESS

DAvide and ALfio are back with not one but two albums (released at the same time) of which this is the studio album (the other is a live album), the duo's eighth and ninth, respectively.

1. "Decoding The Emptiness" (8:53) a long, two-minute two-chord bombastic power opening turns in the third minute into something more sedate for singer Joe Sal to sing over. Is it my imagination but does Joe struggle to stay on pitch? Mellotron and synths bring in a nice NeoProg sound but, sadly, it's still just a two-chord song--with the only development coming from the variety of instruments cycling through. The exceedingly poor vocal sound engineering really begins to stand out to a distracting degree around the 6:00 mark. Thank goodness for the stripped down atmospheric section starting in the eighth minute and carrying forward to the song's finish. (17.625/20)

2. "Attic Clouds" (7:56) this one opens as if something off of KING CRIMSON's Red (even to the point of Davide Guidoni crashing on a cymbal that sounds like the legendary broken cymbal that Bill Bruford used on "One More Red Nightmare") with long-held Frippertronic-like guitar/synth notes and crashing cymbals filling the first minute. After that a heavy two-chord motif is presented with organ, bass, and guitar chords carrying a Crimsonian melody along over Davide's excellent drumming. The fourth minute sees an Änglagård-like switch into "flute" synth instruments taking over the upper end of the musical spectrum. A switch back to the Crimsonian motif finds Ettore Salati soloing in a continued Frippian manner before a return to a softer, more spacious section that turns out to be the Anekdtoen "Hole"-like calm before the storm. The final 90 seconds display the cacophanous crescendo and post-coital fade in the final seconds. If you love King Crimson, you'll probably love this very well constructed and well-engineered song. Definitely a top three song for me. (14/15)

3. "Twilight" (7:02) discordant piano chords set the scene for "Alphabeard"'s sensitive vocal. The over all feel is something like that of a prog ballad from an early prog wannabe: employing very low standards for both complexity and performance polish. At the three-minute mark the vocal motif stops and a sparsely-populated instrumental passage begins that takes until the 4:20 mark to reveal that it is a continuation of the opening theme (using the same arpeggiated dissonant piano chord to gently prod the way). The musical palette builds, slowly thickening with keyboard, key-percussion, and muted guitar lead play until l6:30 when Alphabeard reappears to finish the song with the fretless bass notes and synth strings. (13.125/15)

4. "Horror Vacui" (7:40) "distant" piano arpeggio and synth strings chords slowly moves forward, establishing themselves in the listener's lap with fretless bass and sensitive acoustic drums joining the fray to provide a nice melancholy motif. At 2:10 everyone but the arpeggiating piano drop out to make room for a solo from what sounds like a muted cor anglais (produced by a guitar or synthesizer, of course). This lasts until 2:45 when the full band spring to life in yet another drawn out two-chord power motif in which the "muted cor anglais" continues playing in a Frippertronic way. This is not a long passage, is, in fact, alternated a few times with cleared-out spacey motifs that remind me of some of the softer sections of songs on PURE REASON REVOLUTION's The Dark Third. I especially like the one that starts in the sixth minute and continues flowing through the seventh. Were it not for the heavy parts and more electronic feel of the overall sonic palette, this could almost fit on one of Richard Wileman's old KARDA ESTRA albums--like Eve or Voivode Dracula. Nice tune! More thought and attention went into the construction and polishing of this song than I'm used to hearing from DAvide and ALfio. More like this, please! Another top three song. (14/15)

5. "Simulacra" (6:19) opening with some bombastic plodding that reminds me of ANEKDOTEN and some of the less-creative second tier NeoProg bands. The bass-heavy chord play (mirrored by some annoying high end synth strings) continues through the first 2:35 before a gentle KING CRIMSON-like "flute" and "'Tron" passage bridges the way into some delicate electric guitar strum-and-stroking. I like this part. Then the song slowly rebuilds into another heavier, thicker motif--all the while as DAvide beats away on his drum kit using his Bill Bruford snare hits. Interesting--and not bad; just not great. (8.875/10)

6. "Mademoiselle X" (5:41) synthesizer-produced "off world" animal sounds open this one before an electric piano arpeggio emerges and convinces the fretless bass and STEVE JANSEN-like drums to join in. The ensuing motif is slow, gentle, but interesting. I particularly like the freedom bassist Bobo Aiolfi has to express himself as well as the wonderful melodies played within the weave by Alfio on his saw-bassoon-synth. A stop at 2:56 allows us to return to trying to listen to the otherworldly voices from the beginning, but then the band jumps back into full action with guitarist Ettore Salati entering with some excellent solo electric guitar play. Another very interesting, very enjoyable. even memorable song. Kudos team DAAL! My other top three song. (9.3333/10)

7. "D.o.o.m. (Mortuarii Octavarii Obscuri Declamatio)" (13:00) a true suite-like prog epic with a PINK FLOYD-feeling sound palette that actually is made up of several disparate motifs, cleverly glued together. Unfortunately, the minor keys and plodding pace of the second and third (solo piano) motifs d.o.o.m. this to my "do not repeat" bin. The fourth motif (in the seventh through ninth minutes) is quite good as it brings to mind some of PORCUPINE TREE's finer heavy prog jams. And then the fifth motive with its THE FLOWER KINGS feel is just too bombastic--and then it's followed by a sudden opening into some industrial machine sounds for some seconds before emptying out into the sixth and final motif, which bounces on a quirky clavinet syncopation. My favorite feature throughout the suite is DAvide's excellent drumming: and it's recorded and engineered so perfectly--and finishes the song! (22/25)

8. "Return From The Spiral Mind" (Bonus Track) (9:25) another track that opens with before breaking out with a heavy MYRATH-like motif that is led by a Middle Eastern melody. A song that was probably better left off the album--slated for "further development." (17.375/20)

Total Time 65:56

I have to admit that DAvide and ALfio's composition, engineering, and production skills have all grown measurably: Never has the sound been so good (especially of DAvide's drums); never have the compositions been as sophisticated and polished; never has ALfio's sound choices infatuated me as much.

B+/4.5 stars; an album of inconsistent levels of appeal, it is clearly one of DAAL's finest efforts: the band of four works much better (in my opinion) than the duo.

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