Oh yeah. This is exactly what a symphonic prog head wants. I honestly don’t know why this band does not have more exposure in the prog world. This band does it all. I usually do not gush – so forgive me as I am about to. Randone is the brainchild of Nicola Randone – who handles most writing and vocals, guitar, piano. But don’t think this is a one man project – it is a full band effort. This is their 4th full length – and also their best so far. I have their previous 2 albums before this – and both are definitely great and worth tracking down – but this one is the masterwork. You will find everything you want from symphonic prog here – mellotron, moog, all the vintage keyboards you can think of. Acoustic, 12 string, electric (great sound) – all the guitar sounds you want. Vocals are outstanding and in Italian. Female vocals pop up from time to time also. This entire album is actually one huge track with no breaks the entire time. All of it is incredible!
The sound is classic Italian but more melodic and sometimes harder-edged. Bombastic melodies that sometimes re-surface, wonderful (real) vintage keyboards that serve in both the back and foreground, and what writing!! Once the song starts – it never lets up. Don’t expect any dissonance or ambient filler here either. Admittedly – the writing style is focused on a particular type of symphonic prog – so you will not find overly complex structures to make your head spin, but the band has not set out with that as a goal. Rather, the band dwells on bombast and melody. By the way – the recording is also phenomenal – it is mixed perfectly and sounds fantastic.
Just think – this is only part one – hopefully we will all be blessed with a similar effort for part 2! This is my favorite album from Italy since Locanda Delle Fate in 1977! (that was and still is my favorite album ever) I cannot say enough about how good this album is. Drop what you are doing and order this now.
Rating: An easy 5 stars
