AltRock/Fading Records release from 2013. Excellent prog/fusion/eclectic rock as only the Italians can do it.
The new AltrOck/Fading Records collaboration NOT A GOOD SIGN was
conceived three years ago by producer Marcello MARINONE together with
keyboardist Paolo BOTTA (
SKE , YUGEN) and guitarist Francesco ZAGO (
YUGEN
). The idea behind the project was to produce a seventies-inspired
style of rock music, something more accessible than the avant-garde
chamber prog that characterises the two parent bands. Their music is
also more songs-based than the largely instrumental work of YUGEN
therefore singer Alessio CALANDRIELLO was recruited from stablemates LA
COSCIENZA DI ZENO to fulfil the vocal duties. Bass-player Gabriele G.
COLOMBI joined from the same band and the line-up was completed in 2012
with the addition of young drummer Martino MALACRIDA.
The band
takes their name from one of their own songs but the expression also
alludes to their take on the present economic climate across the globe, a
situation that in turn mirrors the dark mood on the recently released
debut album. At the forefront of their sound is a wide array of vintage
keyboards that includes Hammond organ and Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos,
but it is a dynamic twinning of synthesizers and string ensembles that
overlays much of the album in great glacial sheets of sound and reflects
the despair and loneliness of the lyrics. The close connections among
the band members help to maximise their strength as a unit and this
results in the production of a powerful blend of heavy and symphonic
prog that is clearly fashioned on KING CRIMSON although it also has
reminiscences of ÄNGLAGÅRD and ANEKDOTEN.