I Viaggi Di Madeleine is a band of Rock Progressivo Italiano formed in 2015 by 3 artists with a great musical background and an experience of a decade. The band’s sound imprinting is inspired by historical bands on the Italian scene such as Le Orme, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso and Biglietto Per L’Inferno. After a demo, numerous concerts and some digital singles in 2019 they release their first self-produced and self-titled full-length. The album, available on CD and Digital, is a concept that is divided into 10 tracks, 5 of which act as a narrated intro to the tracks themselves, all of long duration. After the first intro we have the first track “Kamaloka” which begins with hypnotic melodies of keyboards, to which is added a sharp distorted guitar. The mood is dark and this musical journey kicks off with a Heavy Prog structure tune, with massive guitar riffs, occult flavored lyrics and dark keyboard layers. The guitar intertwines well with the keyboards and the rhythm session is solid and well articulated, full of precise and elaborate tempo changes. Although there are reminiscences of the 70s, a band that I would approach with greater similarity are Abiogenesi, both for the sound and for the atmosphere created. Nevertheless, the band immediately shows that they have clear ideas and a personal character, developing Heavy Prog style guitar and keyboard solos with an intricate touch. A song that immediately immerses us in the atmosphere of the disc and involves us with this Prog atmosphere of clear Italian mold. After the second intro it is the turn of “Contrappunti D’autunno” which presents itself with more positive and less dark guitar and keyboard melodies than the previous one. As the track flows, the intensity increases, returning to heavier grounds and darker atmospheres with excellent intertwining in guitar and keyboard solos. The rhythmic session is solid and well articulated and never too tight, showing more technique than power, while the melodic vocal takes us back to the 70s Prog. If you close your eyes and do not think about the release date of the album, it seems to be in the early 70s to hear an album of the time. A merit of the band is to be able to recreate the atmosphere of the golden age of Prog, having its own personal sound at the same tepo. Between accelerations with more Heavy cues and Symphonic openings that alternate this piece is a concentrate of high-level technique. The third interlude/intro leads us to “Gods of Distant Worlds” which after a short intro gives way to keyboards with low tones and a sharp and heavy guitar. The melodies here are hypnotic and the English vocal adds a occult tone to the already dark atmosphere given by the music. The track with a particular rhythm is full of tempo changes and cues of a lead guitar at times tight, sharp as a blade, on layers of the keyboard, sometimes low and sometimes high, giving a sense of darkness. This long instrumental section accompanies us pleasantly until the end of the piece, with excellent phrasing of guitar and keyboards, the trademark of their sound. We have come to the track entitled “Il Viaggio” which begins with dreamy melodies of clean guitar and a soft organ, reminiscent of the beginning of a journey like the title say. We are in a softer and more symphonic ground with the keyboards protagonists that are stratified in a valuable virtuoso solo. Here too, with the passage of the song, the intensity increases with the electric guitar that interchanges in the solo, adding harder connotations to the sound. The sounds are as always sought after and well elaborated, attributable to the great school of Italian Prog of the 70s. A tempo change in the second part opens the way to the vocal, intense and powerful that guides us to the end of the song, which closes with a solo of electric guitar and keyboards. The album closes with the longest running track entitled “Mendicante” which opens with atmospheric layers of keyboards that leave room for an intricate drum. After this initial instrumental section with spatial and experimental features, a track begins with massive guitar and keyboard riffs and a melodic English vocal. In the central part, a sudden change brings us back to a more avant-garde and intricate section where the musicians’ technique manifests itself at high levels. Full of continuous tempo changes, this is the most articulated piece of the album, an excellent closing for an excellent album, which ends with intertwined and tight guitar and keyboard solos, lite motif of the entire production. A pleasant journey through time in the purest sounds of the Progressive Rock made in Italy, with some Heavy veins and that characteristic sound of the first half of the 70s. The duets between guitar and keyboards are valuable, the full-bodied singing that still leaves great space for instrumental parts and a solid and elaborate rhythmic session. A listening recommended to all lovers of Italian Progressive Rock, a pleasant discovery and a good debut for a band that will certainly still have a lot to say in the future music scene.
Tracklist:
| 01. | Kamaloka (intro) | (0:19) |
| 02. | Kamaloka | (12:05) |
| 03. | Contrappunti D’autunno (intro) | (0:27) |
| 04. | Contrappunti D’autunno | (8:43) |
| 05. | Gods of Distant Worlds (intro) | (0:17) |
| 06. | Gods of Distant Worlds | (9:45) |
| 07. | Il Viaggio (intro) | (0:18) |
| 08. | Il Viaggio | (8:17) |
| 09. | Mendicante (intro) | (0:24) |
| 10. | Mendicante | (12:49) |
Lineup:
| Francesco Carella | Voice, Keyboards |
| Giuseppe Quarta | Drums |
| Giuseppe Cascarano | Guitars |
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