(Progressive Rock) Il Giardino Onirico - Perigeo - 2012, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Il Giardino Onirico biography

IL GIARDINO ONIRICO (The Onirical Garden) are hailing from Civita Castellana, situated north of Rome. The band formed in September 2008 when keyboard player Emanuele 'Vastitas' Telli, guitarist Stefano Avigliana, Ettore Mazzarini (bass) and drummer Massimo Moscatelli combined their individual strength. The members' musical background is really wide and varied as each musician has preferences for different genres and experiences while playing in other bands.

This line up started to develop the first composition named 'Complesso K' which is a shifting suite filled with a variety of visions. In 2009 they were awarded as the winners of the Salefino Rock emerging band music contest. At the same time prog enthusiast Dario Hakim joined the band and inserted himself as the generator of sound effects and ambient textures.

After the release of 'Complesso K' IL GIARDINO ONIRICO started composing new material and Marco Marini, poet, painter and photographer joined the band contributing with his narrative voice. This completed line up then was ready to record the full length debut 'Perigeo', which saw the light of day in 2012, an ambitious heavy-edged progressive rock album which is suitable in order to reach for many fans worldwide.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7647

The speech which introduces the first song is about somebody affected by a "Bipolar Spectrum Disorder" (This is the meaning of B.S.D.) which is a mood disorder with tendency to depression and sometimes schizophrenia. It's characterized by frequent changes of mood and the way the hard guitar of the first minute fades into the soprano vocals then into a jazzy mood is probably a symptom of what the authors are trying to transmit. However, what first impressed me when I heard it for the first time was the floydian guitar at about minute 5 which is followed by a very heavy section of guitar, drums and keyboard. This track then goes into a melodic part and comes back to the operatic vocals which reprise the initial theme but on a more spacey base. The final fadeout doesn't sound like a cut. It's a proper final.
Speech again and we are on Mars! "Another change and will begin the journey which will lead me to the borders of reality" Spacey, isn't it? The first minutes of this track remind me of ELOY, in particular Ocean for the general mood of the song. I don't need many words to describe this excellent track. Think to ELOY of Oeans and the PINK FLOYD of the mid 70s with some modernity more so to remind also to PORCUPINE TREE....is the genre clear? well, this is a very good track in that genre. By the way, Utopia Planitia is where the Viking 2 Probe landed on Mars in the 70s.

This strange journey continues with a specific "time" instead of a "place". From Utopia Planitia to "Agosto"(August). This third speech is about "a life spent vomiting mediocre thoughts" and "trying to resist but attacking as a predator"...a keyboard layer and a melody played by a fretless bass. When the guitar enters we are between DAVID GILMOUR and VANGELIS. Unfortunately it doesn't proceed in this way as when the drums start it's a 90s kind of things, but if you like The Division Bell this track is surely not bad even if not my fav in the album. When it drastically change at minute 6 becoming heavier and rocking it's another story. OZRIC TENTACLES as reference.

"Amigdala" (Almond in Latin) is the site of the brain which seems to manage the emotions. Darkness, Death, Sadness, Revenge...this is what the speech is about. The music starts calm,like the beginning of a nightmare. ALso this track has a very Floydian incipi, but with some important differences: Keyboard sounds are closer to TANGERINE DREAM of the 80s/90s than to Floyds, the signature is odd and in some points it could be called "dark ambient". After minute 6, before an interesting signature change there's a moment of relative quietness on which I can imagine Fish singing, and effectively the unusual signature which follows has a GENESIS flavor, in particular the guitar sounds close to STEVE HACKETT (The Air Conditioned NIghtmare comes to my mind).

"It was due to happen:waking up and not recognizing myself anymore" On those words begins the closeing track, the album's best in my opinion which I could synthesize as a mixture of ELOY and TANGERINE DREAM of the 80s with a touch of early MARILLION. It's curious that I don't find words for the tracks that I prefer. Just a mention to the sopraco who on this track is back and I think fits perfectly with the music.

A lovely album that I have compared to Eloy's Oceans but not so "dated". It's not derivative. The bands that I have mentioned are only to give an idea of what I have heard.
No doubts about the rating. 4.5 stars

Review by octopus-4 (progarchives.com)

- Stefano Avigliana / guitars
- Emanuele Telli / synths, keyboards
- Dario Hakim / synths, effects
- Mazzarini Ettore / bass
- Moscatelli Massimo / drums
- Marco Marini / narrative voice
guest musician:
- Elisabetta Marchetti / soprano voice