Distillerie di Malto, Italy

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Distillerie di Malto - Il Manuale dei Piccoli Discorsi. 2001 private (CD-R)
Distillerie di Malto - Suono! 2013 Musea (France)

About a dozen years ago, Distillerie di Malto released a fine classic Italian progressive album, and then disappeared without a trace. Unfortunately it was only a CD-R, and as such I never purchased it (though a friend had a copy so that's how I heard it) - and I'm still awaiting a factory pressed CD.

But the good news is Distillerie di Malto is back! And on Musea no less - a label that seems to have forgotten their past, and have amongst their midst a stable of mainly modern neo, alt-progressive, or prog metal acts. Distillerie di Malto is anything but - and once again have adorned us with a retro Italian progressive rock classic similar to their 2001 effort. As we look back on 2013, "Suono!" represents the final bookend for this most incredible year when talking Italian progressive rock.

There are a few distinct individual qualities that makes "Suono!" so special. 1) The stunning vocals (sung in Italian) from Fabrizio Pellicciaro; 2) The keyboards of Fabiano Cudazzo who, in addition to the usual flight of analog gear such as organ and Moog, makes great use of the good old-fashioned piano, just as his forefathers did 40 years ago; 3) the fine guitar accompaniment of Marco Angelone. He doesn't feel the need to dominate nor bludgeon the listener with metal tones. Everything is placed properly and the guitar (both acoustic and electric) is played in a soulful manner; And finally 4) the excellent flute work from Luca Latini. On the latter point, unfortunately Latini only adorns the first 3 tracks. Just at the point the flute is dropped, Cudazzo's keyboards emerge as the predominant instrument. Every song is of a high quality and, despite the constantly changing moods and tones, the consistency is astounding.

Distillerie di Malto have truly captured the spirit of the early 1970's Italian movement. The music is chock full of complex songwriting and counterpoint juxtaposed against beautiful melodies and impassioned singing. The type of music that keeps you guessing all the way through, but isn't exhausting in its attempt to impress. I found "Suono!" to be one of the best of all the 2013 Italian albums, which is quite an achievement given the competition.

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spacefreakJune 9, 2014 at 2:26 AM
I second every word Tom. Wonderful album!
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The Cosmic Dead, Scotland

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The Cosmic Dead - s/t. 2011 cassette; 2012 Paradigms (USA); 2013 Cardinal Fuzz (LP)
The Cosmic Dead - The Exalted King. 2012 cassette; 2013 Cosmic Eye (Greece) (LP)

The Cosmic Dead are a Scottish quartet who've been around a couple of years, and whose raison d'etre is improvised space rock. The Cosmic Dead are yet another one of these new bands who seem to be content to issue their albums via download, along with the archaic cassette format (which, to be fair, does allow for 90 and 120 minute albums). They have 6 albums to date but only two are on the more durable and desirable formats like the LP and CD. So those are the only two I have listed. I have heard the first album prior, but it didn't leave a mark.

"The Exalted King" is a sprawling 2 LP set of droning keys, echoed guitars, and pounding rhythms. Hawkwind and the more cosmic moments of Amon Duul II are the obvious comparisons. This is music to turn the lights off, sit back / lay down, a…

Klotet, Sweden

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Not much has been heard from Klotet since I first posted this actually (and as I update this in August 2016). As you will read in the comments, the band released a 3rd album in cassette form, which turned out to be in a massive 100 unit set. We don't count those LOL. In any case, the band appear to be on ice for the moment.

Klotet - En Rak Höger. 2008 Musea (France CD)
Klotet - Det Har Aldrig Hänt Och Kommer Aldrig Hända Igen. 2010 Musea (France CD)

----En Rak Höger

Klotet are a modern band who play in a very Swedish 1970's sort of way. Utilizing only analog keyboards, and a fuzzy electric guitar, Klotet conjures up classic Kebnekaise, Harald Hedning, Lotus, and Flasket Brinner. The foundation of the melodies can be found in Swedish folklore, whereas the music approach is pure early 1970s. An excellent combination.

----Det Har Aldrig Hänt Och Kommer Aldrig Hända Igen

As if to prove Det Har Aldrig Hänt Och Kommer Aldrig Hända Igen will be different from it…

Il Tempio delle Clessidre, Italy

News: According to a post from the group in January, mixing is done for their new 3rd album! No date has been given for release yet, though late April has been reported. Il Ludere is the working title.

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Location: Genoa

Overview: Il Tempio delle Clessidre's debut is one of the finer new retro Italian progressive rock in the landscape today. Lead by the beautiful keyboardist Elisa Montaldo, Il Tempio delle Clessidre is the classic five piece Italian band working their way through increasingly complex compositions, but with melody and passion.

Reviews (click on album covers)

Hills, Sweden

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Originally published on July 17, 2011 and updated on February 3, 2012. Moving post forward to highlight their new album Frid.

Hills are among the finest of the neo Krautrock bands one can hear today. They are still active as of August, 2016..

Hills - s/t. 2009 Intergalactic Tactic Records (LP); 2010 Sulatron (Austria CD)
Hills - Master Sleeps. 2011 Intergalactic Tactics Records (LP); 2011 Transubstans (CD); 2013 Rocket Recordings (UK CD; LP)
Hills - Live (EP). 2013 Cardinal Fuzz (UK LP)
Hills - Frid. 2015 Rocket Recordings (UK CD; LP)
Hills - Live At Daemonens Port. 2015 Kommun 2 / Svensk Psych Aften (2 LP)

Regarding the debut, this is one of those cases where I bought the LP (the pink vinyl edition no less), since I didn't figure it would be issued on CD. I probably would have waited otherwise, but what the hey, the LP is pretty cool looking. But owning it on CD with the bonus tracks was necessary too. I may one day part with the vinyl, but not in a hur…

Heru Avenger, USA

Heru Avenger - New Aeon. 1998 Initiates International.
Heru Avenger - Magique Mistress. 1999 Initiates International.

Well since we're still on a (sushi?) roll with space rock albums, how about this little odd band that crept out of Orange County, California in the late 1990s? Even in 1998, no one was talking about Heru Avenger. If Greg Walker didn't send me a copy to check out, I probably would never have heard of them - even today. I listened to New Aeon a couple of times, liked it - filed it - forgot about it. An all too common problem when one is in constant accumulation mode, something I fortunately stopped doing a decade ago. And I never bothered to check out the second Heru Avenger until recently, and Greg still has copies - so I bought one!

Heru Avenger is the brainchild of one John Basil, an interesting cat who even managed to get a local article written about him. Sounds like my kind of introspective, intelligent recluse - honestly.

Both albums are remarkably simila…

Egonon, Italy

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Egonon - Risveglio. 2011 private

Here's one courtesy of our Gnosis friend Eddie - the same gentleman that brought us all those wonderful Romanian albums earlier in the year.

The 1970's Italian progressive rock greats are regarded as such because of their innate ability to compile and distill the influences of their day. Namely classical, jazz, rock, indigenous folk, avant-garde, and canto. And a big old scoop of youthful exuberance. Considering this, Egonon are true to the philosophy of their ancestors. Rather than recreate the sounds of the 70s, as many Italian bands are doing today (and wonderfully so I might add), Egonon are assimilating their own influences. In their case, the list might look like: Heavy Metal, Alt-Rock, World Music, funk, and... everything that was also included in the 1970s Italian progressive rock scene, including the end result of said scene, which they clearly respect and pay homage to. It may be a restaurant with too many ite…

Side Steps, Japan

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Like Gerard, Side Steps are a long running Japanese band, though this time coming from the jazz fusion genre. They received some attention in the Western world, mainly due to their association with Musea Records. As you will see in my notes below, not all is great. I even debated adding them here to UTR, but there's just enough good at the end of their career to at least consider. From a technical perspective, these guys are fantastic. But I tend to like a bit more grit and grime in my music. In giving full disclosure, I only kept the last two albums I featured here. The last activity on their website goes back to 2012, and their final release was 2007, so it does appear the band may be kaput.

Side Steps - Out and Out. 1997 Musea (France CD)
Side Steps - Alive. 1999 Musea (France CD)
Side Steps - Points of View. 2001 Musea (France CD)
Side Steps - Steps on Edge. 2003 Musea (France CD) 1993 recording. see write-up for more info regarding this release
Side Steps - Ve…

Tanger, Argentina

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Tanger - s/t. 1999 private
Tanger - La Otra Cara. 2002 Viejero Inmovil
Tanger - Ciudad. 2006 Viejero Inmovil
Tanger - Mundos Paralelos. 2008 Viejero Inmovil

It appears that Tanger's last activity was in 2015. Hopefully they continue on.

Since Tanger practically defines the objectif principal of this blog, I thought it would be a good place to experiment with a slight different format. Besides, I couldn't possibly come up 4 different reviews/sketches/musings... whatever. Why? Because in the 9 years between their first and last release, little has changed in their approach to music. If you like one, you are likely to enjoy them all.

As for the obcurity of the band, our website Gnosis has pretty decent representation. Gnosis is made up of mainly hardcore progressive and underground rock collectors, and Tanger hit the radar early with mail-order availability from Greg Walker along with coverage in the always excellent magazine Expose (a magazine I might add …

Ske - 1000 Autunni. 2011 Italy

Ske - 1000 Autunni. 2011 Fading.

Ske is the new project from Paolo "Ske" Botta, keyboardist for avant progressive rock band Yugen. It's interesting to note that Ske's album is on AltRock's "symphonic progressive" sub-label Fading. I say interesting, because to my ears, "1000 Autunni" fits the avant progressive definition better.

Like some modern groups, Ske seems to have compiled the best parts of what progressive rock has to offer, and reassembles them into a hodge podge of the entire genre. So, in effect, what you get with "1000 Autunni" is Progressive Rock Extract. Especially the Canterbury scene, Anglagard influenced Nordic symphonic rock, and angular avant progressive (similar to his other group Yugen).

Is there anything wrong with that? Well no, not in my opinion. It almost guarantees a pleasant listen, though I do find myself hoping for a more individual persona and style to emerge. At the time of this writing, Ske's album is…

Happy Family, Japan

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Happy Family - s/t. 1995 Cuneiform (USA)
Happy Family - Toscco. 1997 Cuneiform (USA); 1997 Arcangelo
Happy Family - Minimal Gods. 2014 Cuneiform (USA)

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Perhaps no band arrived with such an in-your-face sound as Happy Family did in 1995. Their fabled live shows were popular amongst the tape trading crowd of the early 1990s. So there was quite a bit of buzz on what their first CD would sound like. The band insisted their albums come out on the preeminent Avant Prog label Cuneiform, and were willing to wait until that label had room on their release schedule. By 1995, anticipation was high, and Happy Family not only delivered, but exceeded, most everyone's expectation.

Consider the first track 'Rock & Young'. Hard to imagine anyone delivering such a strong overpowering opening punch as Happy Family did here. If this track doesn't move your heart rate up a few beats, you're probably dead already, and no one told you (did Aunt Sally for…

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