Analysis.
Much of growth and refinement has taken place on Disc 2 since :-) the first one, which sort of hinted at what these musicians could do, as if it was recorded a few years earlier than this one when the band wasn’t mature yet. It still didn’t manage to do so without monologs and dialogs, but those appear infrequently. On four of the disc’s eleven tracks, namely
La Festa dell'Overlook, La Neve Copre Ormai Tutte le Piane Aride, In Fuga nel Labirinto and
Il Tempo Labile, much of the music is full-blown, at times pretty heavy, symphonic Art-Rock with a clear allegiance to the English classics of the ‘70s. While some aspects of these compositions remind me still of Pink Floyd, others evoke
Van Der Graaf Generator, and even
King Crimson’s “Red” comes to mind on some occasions while listening to the former two, the first of them featuring an original countermelody ‘courtesy’ of trumpet and organ. Only the latter piece reveals quasi-electronic landscapes in the style of Tangerine Dream, spreading all over its last third, but I accept them, especially considering that its previous contents are really eventful. There is improvement in the vocals as well, since they have become more expressive, emotionally dramatic in most cases. Besides, they’re used less often overall, and never overwhelm the elegant and lush arrangements, so I can clearly hear what is going on in the background when Daniele sings. This allows the musicians to work through more shifts in theme and dynamics (plus in style: find out about the matter below) than anywhere on the first disc. The guitar playing is more diverse too, varying from Pink Floyd-style lead lines to some clearly original soloing to the riffing of the darker prog-metal variety, such as on
Redrum. Much of the music on this track (and some of vocals as well) bears a strong resemblance to
King Diamond, and while otherwise the musicians develop sympho-prog arrangements, those are pretty dark as well, reminiscent of classic Van Der Graaf Generator. Surely an exception to the band’s sound, this is its very best composition to date, a masterwork with a capital “M”. Let’s move further. Impressive in its own way,
Ora Nessun Nemico Passer consists for the most part of what comes across as symphonic ambience.
Fammi Usire contains no vocals with lyrics – only a few vocalizations. It would have likely been viewed along with the above four tracks if a Moog solo that runs almost all through it had been more varied, whilst it’s almost as cyclic as a sequenced one. The all-instrumental
Vittima di se Stesso is considerably more diverse, abound in pace changes, but should be listed separately as well, because it’s mostly influenced by Pink Floyd, as also is
Il Mattino ha l'Oro in Bocca (a good, complicated art-rock ballad), as well as both of the remaining tracks,
L'Intervento di Grady and
Oltre Tutto. Here is one important detail. Unlike those from the first disc, all of the transitional pieces here, such as the last-named three, create a smooth shift into the more elaborate ones that follow or precede them rather than appearing as ballad-like sketches.
Conclusion.
If the first item of this “Shining” might equally appeal to folks inside the progressive rock circle and those outside the prog camp (the Pink Floyd phenomenon rules), the second one, sounding a lot more ambitious, is destined mainly for the latter category of music lovers. Anyway, as it is the album is at once a too long and uneven musical journey to start on it once again. I’d been happier if the band had released it as a single CD on the basis of its second half.
VM=Vitaly Menshikov: November 20 & 21, 2012
The Rating Room
