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No doubt the many talents which rule the mind of Fabio Zuffanti are so
diverse many different projects have been launched in order to team up
with his speed of working. Maybe the debut album by La Maschera di Cera
didn’t get the worldwide recognition it truly deserves but this hasn’t
resulted in Fabio quitting this particular project, thank god. Instead
this second album continues where the first one left off although more
experimental textures have been added. Obviously there are still hints
of Finisterre and Hostsonaten to be found but also the pure escence of
true Italian prog by means of hints of Il Baletto di Bronzo, Museo
Rosenbach, Osanna, Locanda Delle Fate, Biglietto per l’Inferno, Rovescio
della Medaglia, are woven throughout the compositions. That authentic
seventies feel comes floating by by means of flute and mellotron
creating a contrast between the fragile and the bombastic. Then organ
and guitar lay down some bluesy licks whilst piano and mellotron
re-introduce the symphonic path. The voice of Alessandro Corvaglia
perfectly embodies the theatrical Italian school, the harsch parts
nicely contrasting with the fine flute.
The album begins with ‘Il viaggio
nell’oceano capovolto parte 1’ which illustrates Fabio’s perfect studio
knowledge from the very beginning. Again wonderful mellotron delivers
the needed dramatic effect whilst the flute (played here by Andrea
Monetti once member of German band Embryo), introduces a musical change
towards spooky interludes and studio trickery. The cristalclear
production enables the band to go from heavy parts right down to very
silent passages enabling Corvaglia to fit his voice accordingly. Certain
changes in the music also go back to the early days of King Crimson
where melodic parts would entertwine with heavy outbursts. During the
titletrack the guitar sounds distorted delivering kind of an atonal
sound when blended with the eery sounding mellotron as if thick, dark
clouds are gathering over an unsuspecting town. Meanwhile the piano
plays some weird licks and through tons of different changes the song
ends in true experimental fashion. That same avantgarde feeling
continues with the short keyboardsolo ‘Il canto dell’inverno’ which
sounds pitchblack as if all the leaves fell of a tree in two seconds
flat !
Imagine Wakeman’s funky clavinet from his
‘Merlin’ period mixed with Ian Anderson’s flute and you get the spine
for what is called ‘Ai confini del mondo’. That’s before the song
changes to a more straightforward structure enabling Alessandro
Corvaglia to once again shine. Towards the end the rhythm speeds up
similar to ‘Los endos’ with piano, synths and flute creating one big
melting pot of influences. Those who are familiar with the band’s debut
album certainly know that this CD only sported two long tracks.
Delivered in true vinyl tradition they each filled an imaginary A-side
and B-side. To be honest this second album contains a similar situation
as ‘Il viaggio nell’oceano capovolto’ comes spread in two parts. The
second, final part however is the longest containing every possible prog
element you can imagine. Again the solitary voice of Corvaglia clearly
rubs shoulders with artists such as Fabrizio De André getting close to a
folky approach at times. But as said before the music changes constantly
as if you were sailing on a flat surface one moment and the wildest seas
the next. To make things even more spooky Zuffanti uses a repetitive
bass pattern which becomes addictive yet which virtually overrules all
other instruments. The music swells leaving behind all possible melodies
in order to become one big cacophony before it all explodes and the calm
is introduced once again bringing piano in it’s slipstream. Then a
solitary oboe kind of repeats the major theme definitely leading towards
a grand finale as time after time extra instruments are added.
Right at the very end of this album the band has added a
bonustrack called ‘La consunzione’ which with it’s 3’35” length probably
is the song most suited for radio airplay. Although the fact that this
is indeed a rather short track it nevertheless gives a clear idea about
what La Maschera di Cera is all about. For sure you don’t get the long
improvisations but it perfectly illustrates the quality of the
individual members. Maybe the band’s debut album could be seen as a
one-off but with this second album and some tourdates coming up, La
Maschera di Cera (the wax mask) proves to be a band to be reckoned with.
For all of you who have never witnessed the splendour of the many
outstanding Italian prog icons in the seventies, La Maschera di Cera
delivers a similar feeling yet with the technical advantages of today.
All you can do is benefit from it !
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