Ma.ra.cash

Third album for the band with a renewed line-up, as is the tradition of the group. An album that returns to the first Malaavia where the symphonic prog joins the sound more typical of the Mediterranean and Arabian. The warm sound of the keyboards of Michael Carobbio are consistent with a very varied album but that will complement the most ardent fans of this genre of music with the fans of the typical 70's sound more than the Neapolitan tradition than late a trademark ever since. The existential and philosophical themes developed in music and lyrics have always been the trademark of this training that has invented the genre of new-prog esoteric and reinvent themselves at each exit…

This is another fine example of Italian proficiency in progressive rock field, combining local and foreign influences to create memorable music and exemplary playing. RPI is akin to Italian cuisine, there are a lot of combinations, flavors and aromas that can go into the pan, while still keeping to long held traditions. The main cooks are Pas Scarpato and Oderigi Lusi with an army of guest musicians on violin, viola, trombone, sax, flutes, synths, mandolin and percussion. This is one colossal suite composed of 22 pieces that all intertwine brilliantly, some snippets and others, full blown pieces. This is pretty original RPI stuff with hints of opera, jazz, Italian folk, Middle Eastern spices (including Arabic and Hebrew), some disco, lighter barroom piano fare, classical orchestrations and the cucina's sink!

After their debut CD Istinto (2003) and the successor Storie Fuori Dal Tempo (2005), the Italian five piece band Conqueror has released its third studio album entitled 74 Giorni in 2007. Again the band has made notable progress, melodic, tasteful and varied compositions (some instrumental) delivering a wide range of instruments: a wonderful blend of soaring keyboards, powerful bass runs, a tight drum beat and sensitive electric guitar in Il Viaggio, lots of shifting moods with pleasant work on guitar and flute in Orca, a Sixties-like organ sound (The Animals/The Doors), wah-wah guitar, a flute solo and fluent synthesizer flights in teh alternating Non Maturi per l'Adilà , romantic piano play in the short Cormonrani…

Madame Zelle tells the story of Mrs. Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, better known as the Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari (1876-1917). The Italian band Conqueror takes on its fourth album ample time to tell the story of her life. Nine tracks in 66 minutes mean that the story gets enough room to develop. Singer Simone Rigano sounds exactly like Emila Derkowska, the former singer of Quidam, although Simone sings in Italian and not in Polish naturally. Also the often used flute by Sabrina Rigano makes the similarity with the old Quidam all the more striking. Nice flowing songs with flute and occasionally saxophone and frequently a civilized guitar solo in the long instrumental passages makes Madame Zelle not only a delight to look at, but also to listen to. This makes the final judgment much more pleasant for Conqueror than it was for Mata Hari!

OCTOBER EQUUS is definitely one of Spain's most pleasant in the world of prog and avant-garde rock nowadays. Formed in 2003, its well-catalyzed mixture of KING CRIMSON-inspired vibe and PRESENT-inspired ballsy RIO recreates the oppressive moods and sinister atmospheres of avant-garde prof's primal sources with amazing vitality and freshness, not unlike other contemporary acts such as DR. NERVE and HAPPY FAMILY, to mention just a couple of examples…

'Silver Key' is a Neo Prog band from Milan, Italy that started out as a cover band for Marillion and Fish. Even though they officially formed in 1992, it wasn't until 2012 before they released their first album. Their new album, called 'Third', is their third album strangely enough, but, except for Davide Manara (keyboards and synths), none of the members that recorded the first album are still in the band's line up. Currently, the rest of the band consists of Dino Procopio on vocals, Roberto Buchicchio on guitar, Ivano Tognetti on bass and Mr Drummer on drums and percussion. 'Third' was released in April of 2019. The album consists of 10 tracks spanning a total time of 51 minutes. The first three tracks exceed 7 minutes…

The original idea for LE PORTE NON APERTE came about in 2007 although it wasn't until 2010 that the project finally materialised and the band played its first major gig as the support act for IL BACIO DELLA MEDUSA. Fast-forward to 2012 and a year of mixed fortunes for the band.The turn of the year also saw the release of the ''Golem'' debut album, a conceptual work inspired by a group of pro-anarchist intellectuals active in Tuscany during the 1960s-70s. These anarchists were open to spontaneous, unpredictable organic growth in their aim to regain control over their future; similarly, the idea behind ''Golem'' is to reconcile the demands of the protagonist's condition with the random element of chance, or unpredictability. The mythological golem was a semi-conscious shadow being and appropriately enough the tracks here are set in the dark world of dreams.