“And out of left field, love came rushing in, out of the sky came the sun” is maybe a famous Roxy Music quote (Out of the Blue) but it seemed appropriate after the torture of waiting 30 years for a follow up to this band’s debut back in 1995. I admit I had given up hope quite a while ago, and filing away ‘De La Tempesta …L’Oscuro Piacere” as one of those patented Italian prog one-shot wonders.
Clocking in nearly 14 minute, the acoustic guitar of returnee Michele Martello and Doriana De Luca’s flute driven “Respiro N.1” resumes where the band left off thirty years ago, as if time sped by like flash, with Michele de Luca soft voice expressing perfectly honed notes, with fellow longtime keyboardist Marco Mancarella splurging on his ivories. A new revamped rhythm section keeps the pace packed tightly, bassist Dante di Giorgio and Riccardo D’Errico on the kit are solid as can be. The narration and vocals are all in Italian , much to our collective joy. The organ, lead guitar and synth spots stand out as exemplary, the arrangement yearning to create a typical theatrical/cinematographic mood that stamps all the crimson wax seals of RPI glory. Excellent opening salvo, well worth the wait.
Rustling up some fiery gusto on “Urlo”, Martello swoons mightily in unison with the wide mellotron and organ swaths that Mancarella masters with apparent ease. The tone is complexity raging, the polyrhythmic impulses in full flight, leaving the singer to glide over the top with theatrical expressiveness. Very much old school RPI with a typical Renaissance flavoringthat is most noticeable, harking back to the glory days of 1970s when fantasy reigned supreme. The acoustic guitar and flute collaboration is rarely anything other than progressive genius and it certainly hits the mark here. The contrast between busy bombast and romantic serenity is entirely appealing.
Catching one’s breath is not always an easy task, even in a musical context, as “Apnea” chooses for some dissonance to confuse matters, a whirlwind of playfully dramatic sound. A shift into a simpler melodic adornment should come as no surprise, the organ and vocals adopting a more neo-prog style, the extended synthesizer flurry openly bright and sunny , the bass and drums acting like companions holding hands. There is enough sonic transitions to keep the anticipation alive and kicking, the Martello lead axe solo strictly intense as it should, playing ball with a terrific organ rampage. The stormy mellotron returns to obscure the clouds. Excellent track once again.
Another 13 minute + finale “Ansia” closes off the proceedings with impeccable form, a heartfelt vocal (Michele Di Luca is a revelation, with a clean, nicely modulated voice) , a robust bass undertow, and enough jazzy piano dramatics to keep the focus on the atmosphere, which unsurprisingly drips with emotion. Martello’s expert acoustic work confirms the attention to detail this band aspires to maintain, showcasing diversity with a long series of oblique piano runs, feedback sound effects, chaotic percussive adjuncts and a sense of psychedelic pause, a welcome trait that certainly aspires to more than just meeting expectations. The passion and the pain in the desolate voice is crushingly gorgeous, amid the fluctuating orchestrations that verge on classicism, a prefect set-up for a colossal guitar excursion, deeply emotive and loaded with a kaleidoscope of sensations , very much the glittering prize at the end of the rainbow. The Mancarella -led outro is majesty incarnate, fluid like a flowing river of constant change .
The debut was a very good opening release with all kinds of overt Genesis influences; this is a magnificent upgrade that stamps a new personal style. One must recognize that this is quite a return to form, an album from a long-lost lover that ultimately conveys the message that they were there, waiting all along.
That alone is worth the 4.5 rebirths