LA TRASFIGURAZIONE

Likely to be of great interest to RPI fans is this new and first release from Ornithos. I say likely to be of interest because Ornithos actually consists of half the members of one of the greatest Italian prog bands of the last decade, since those golden years of the seventies even, Il Bacio Della Medusa. We get BDM's versatile rhythm section of Diego Petrini and Federico Caprai on drums and bass respectively and Eva Morelli on flute and sax. They are joined by guitarists Antonello De Cesare and Simone Morelli and vocalist Maria Giulia Carnevalini.

As both bands have an album out this year comparisons are understandably going to be made. Whilst similarities are sometimes apparent, Ornithos whilst featuring some explosive and heavy playing dispense with any hint of metal which sometimes shows in BDM's sound. La Trasfigurazione is a more diverse record, more adventurous even with a looser sound which touches on jazz, heavy rock, prog, the occasional 60's psych flavour and mellower acoustic touches. It's an album more in favour of extended instrumental workouts than vocal led parts, effective though they are when present. You can imagine in a live setting these songs going on indefinitely as the band jam away. As expected the musicianship is excellent and the diverse and constantly shifting nature of the thirteen compositions make for a captivating listen, the sum of the whole better than individual pieces.

Overall La Trasfigurazione is a strong album and I certainly hope this doesn't turn out to be a one off. Is it as good as Deus lo Vult, the Il Bacio Della Medusa album also released this year? Some may think so but for me I prefer the harder hitting and visceral nature of BDM. Nevertheless, essential listening for Italian prog lovers.