Biglietto Inferno

When the guys of Nuova Era debuted with 'L'Ultimo Viaggio', they were seeing themselves as mere heirs of a glorious prog time passed: what they couldn't foresee by then was that they were actually pioneering an era of, as some label it, prog revival in Europe. Since this is the starting point, Nuova Era has not managed yet to achieve its own voice, that is, they are still very dependant on the peculiar sounds that their old predecessors created. Nuova Era articulates a prog with a hard rock leaning, infused with a melodic sensibility (like Alphataurus, Biglietto per l'Inferno, and to a lesser degree, Museo Rosenbach) and a sombre romanticism (Apoteosi, E. A. Poe). Their repertoire comprises plenty of excellent musical ideas, such as catchy melodies, well crafted textures on keyboards (the main factor), a tight confident rhythm section, interesting guitar and synth solos…

From the prog loving folks over at MaRaCash comes Metafora di Un Viaggio, the album from Italian progressive rock veterans Sezione Frenante. These guys have been around in one form or another since the early '70s, and much of this latest album will instantly appeal to fans of acts such as PFM, Banco, Locanda delle Fate, Le Orme, and Biglietto per L'Inferno. That's right, gorgeous Italian symphonic prog, littered with soaring vocals, vintage styled keyboards, tasty guitar, fat bass lines, and tight rhythms. Just listen to Mirco de Marchi's commanding Hammond organ & Sandro Bellemo's beefy bass on the excellent "Attesa", or the heavy rock guitar riffs courtesy of Doriano Mestriner doing combat with those lovely keyboards on the engaging "La Quiete in un Attimo". Spectacular stuff…

Forming back in 2010 at Irpinia, Italy, and spending a couple of years touring and eventually recording, Locus Amoenus released their debut album `Clessidra' (Hourglass) on September 28th 2013, and it keeps up the strong tradition of dynamic Italian progressive releases from recent years. However, what sets them instantly apart is that band work at the darker, noisier and dirtier end of RPI, more influenced by the likes of Biglietto per L'Inferno and the dark jazz of Delirium due to the heavy attacking presence of sax and flute. The musicians contrast soft and heavy, electric and acoustic passages with plenty of building, brooding atmosphere.

The story of ASTROLABIO begins with ELETTROSMOG, an Italian prog band from Verona. ELETTROSMOG was formed in 2003 by Michele Antonelli (vocals, guitar, flute), Francesco Delli Paoli (bass), Alessandro Pontone (guitar), Massimo Babbi (keyboards), Cristian Maselli (drums) and Alessandro Savalli (bouzuky, banjio, mandolin, acoustic guitar). In 2004 they recorded their first demo EP, "Buona la prima" and started performing live. Later Francesco Delli Paoli and Alessandro Savelli left and were replaced by Michele Fiori (vocals) and Paolo Iemmi (bass). In 2006, after two years studio work, Elettrosmog released their first full length album, the self-produced "Monologando".