This is the second album by Il Tempio Delle Clessidre, following on from their debut in 2010. Since then they have gained a new singer, but I haven’t heard the previous album so can’t comment as to what impact he has had to the sound. What I do know, is that I am going to have to go back and search out the debut as yet again this is a superb release from Black Widow. At just under an hour long, this brings together orchestration and harmony in a way this definitely reminiscent of the early Seventies Italian Prog Scene, along with early Genesis, but somehow brought up to date with some driving guitar although the mellotron is never too far away. As well as the main lead male vocal, their keyboard player Eliza also has a fine voice which allows the band to totally change the scene when they wish to.
The album commences with the sound of wind and gentle acoustic guitar and percussion before moving into a much more Oriental feel, which is actually at musical odds with what follows but somehow sets the scene very nicely indeed. ‘Alienatura’ is in itself a word that the band have invented themselves to describe the intersection of the words alien and nature. This is very much a complete piece of work, again hearkening back to the early Seventies, where the album art is very much part of the complete picture. Here Nature is depicted ripping a curtain and invading the homes and villages while the lyrics tell how we often forget our bond with nature.
So, a complete piece of work, and even though it is hard for the non-Italian speaker to understand the full concept without notes, there is so much going on that this is a sheer delight from start to end. If you enjoy classic prog, whatever the form or language, then this is something that you ought to seek out.
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