Time for fans of Italian Symphonic Prog to sit up and take notice! Andrea Orlando is the drummer/percussionist of the bands La Coscienza Di Zeno, La Maschera di Cera and Finisterre, and La Scienza Delle Stagioni is his second solo album. This album is brilliant beginning to end - musically lush, vocally haunting, production-wise crisp and beautifully arranged. The album opens with Ancora Luce a wonderful journey of symphonic prog, if somewhat under-stated, but obviously influenced by the neo-prog. The beautiful voice of Meghi Moschino carries the first half of the track. Next up is another epic length track, titled Tracce - If there is a weak (or weaker) track on this disc, this would be it. The song tends to meander along without really going anywhere. Still a good performance. Il Sogno Di Anastasia (Parte Prima) is up next and which, particularly if taken with Il Sogno Di Anastasia (Parte Seconda), which appears later in the disc, makes a truly classic track reminiscent of the best of 70's Italian prog. City 40, a shorter (if 6 minutes can be called short) instrumental track, and Stagione Lontana which features some beautiful mellotron parts, a truly haunting guitar solo and fantastic vocals, split the two parts of Il Sogno Di Anastasia. The album concludes with another epic-length track, La Strada Del Ritorno. More mellotron and a truly inspired piano section and Moschino's vocals build until, seemingly out of nowhere, a distorted guitar rhythm, precise drum beat and a clean electric guitar lead take the track off in a completely different direction, or so it seems, until an orchestral swell brings us back down to earth for the piano and vocal driven conclusion. This is an excellent album, although one that may not stand out from the crowd. The performances are top-rate, but not flashy or something that forces you to pay attention - which is too bad because there is plenty to appreciate here. The supporting musicians, Luca Scherani on keyboards, Stefano Marelli on guitars, Matteo Nahum on guitars, and Pietro Martinelli on bass show themselves to be premium players. A HIGHLY recommended disc! **** David Carswell Where to buy? |
