In 2014, Italy's prog legends
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso hadn't recorded a studio album in two decades. They were planning one when founding vocalist and songwriter Francesco di Giacomo was killed in a car accident. Given the impact of the tragedy, there was no reason to think that they'd ever release another. But that was before fans found out about Di Giacomo's instructions to keyboardist/composer
Vittorio Nocenzi after seeing Tony D'Alessio sing with Scenario: "Before I die, mark him as a hypothetical substitute for the band."
Nocenzi did exactly that. The loosely conceptual
Transiberiana is the first studio offering of new material from
Banco in 25 years.
Nocenzi penned it with his son Michelangelo and explains in the liner notes that the recording is the band's "autobiographical journey." D'Alessio may not possess the sheer charisma that Di Giacomo did, but he acquits himself beautifully. He was a lifelong fan of the band, and Italian prog in general, before joining.
Nocenzi hired a slew of new players to fill out the lineup, with
Filippo Marcheggiani and
Nicola Di Già on guitars, Marco Capozi on bass, and Fabio Moresco on drums.
Nocenzi continues to hold down the keyboard chair and sings backup.
Musically, this is wildly ambitious. The group's sound has naturally evolved, but it pays no heed to modern production values. The album's sound is analog. The number of styles the band move through on
Transiberiana is quite astonishing -- they take deep dives into modern prog, avant-garde, atmospheric and experimental rock, classical, jazz, and even have an AOR moment or two. Opener "Stelle Sulla Terra" is almost suite-like in construction. It commences with a three-note circular keyboard vamp with jagged synths coming in to add a pulse, then alternates between quickly shifting time signatures, pastoral passages, and finally, D'Alessio's balladic vocals. As the music turns itself inside-out, colliding and dove-tailing through metallic futurism, Zappa-esque arpeggios, and riff-enhanced rock, he responds with recitative shouting and crooning. "La Discesa Dal Treno" offers dreamy piano and powerful guitar riffs before fierce lead guitar runs that underscore passionate vocals, while a tender jazz piano melody adds tension and later, balance. The synth in "Lo Sciamano" sounds like
Vangelis and
Keith Emerson struggling to inhabit the same body before
King Crimson-esque guitars and thrumming drums add heft, and a rootsy acoustic piano delivers blues chords and post-bop arpeggios as D'Alessio croons. "Il Grande Bianco" begins with a guitar pattern reminiscent of '80s-era
King Crimson (think Discipline and Beat), with horn and string sounds emerging overture-like to introduce the first part of the melody. Over its six minutes, it travels through prog and classical music, harmonious cinematic tropes, and knotty, cascading prog. The set closes with two bonus cuts, live versions of two
Banco classics cut at 2018's Festival Prog Di Veruno -- "Metamorfosi" and "Il Ragno" -- which reveal this version of
Banco can hold their own on-stage.
Transiberiana is far better than almost any fan would expect from a band continuing their exploratory quest for musical discovery and expansion more than 25 years after their last effort. ~ Thom Jurek