Assenzio
'Avon

2005 has now passed, even though it was a year of intense emotions, not least of which was the reunion of Pink Floyd. But 2005 was also a flourishing year for Italian music of a prog-psychedelic nature, rich in new propositions and ambitious projects, such that one can no longer claim that Italian music is barren and devoid of ideas. Several works caught my attention, in particular: "tesa musica marginale" by the excellent Anatrofobia, "hybla act 1" by Randone, "Aries" by Aries led by Zuffanti, and so on. But today, I would like to talk to you about a small masterpiece available at a truly convenient price: basically FREE! Yes, because the work I am about to present is covered by a Creative Commons license which, here at DeBaser, we know well and which allows us to download the entire album comfortably from home. Assenzio was born in 2004 as a Dream Theater cover band, but soon the desire to write original music emerged. Contrary to what one might imagine, however, Assenzio's music distances itself from metal and DT to focus on a high-quality progressive sound. Choosing a concept album as a debut is never easy, even though when listening, the individual tracks can be comfortably extracted from the context (the album does not offer a solution of musical continuity). The album, self-produced but decidedly well-recorded, is composed of an intro and seven tracks... yes, seven, like the deadly sins, and it is precisely about them that it speaks.

But let's go in order. The intro welcomes us into an atmosphere between the baroque and medieval among clean guitars, didgeridoo, flute, and well-balanced synth without epic excesses (typical of prog). It continues with typical prog sounds reminiscent of PFM, passages between folk and jazz, funk with countertempos all characterized by excellent guitar and piano inserts. The rhythm section is very well interlocked (bass and drums), and the singing never exceeds in the excessive, often unfortunate lyricism of progressive. Not a note out of place, clean sounds, and incisive dynamics make this CD a little gem, absolutely pleasant and with a personality all its own. The lyrics, not at all banal, review the world of sin which is an intimate and inseparable part of the human being ("...I dare to imagine a world inside me/filled with innocent perversity..." and again... "I create with my mind a place without age/a permanent refuge in captivity/but is it just madness or a gray utopia/antithesis of opposite egos/the iniquitous has an allure that attracts to itself"...), from which we are taught to escape, but in which we often take refuge to find the most unique and true part of our nature. This is 'Avon, a little gem open to everyone, a creative prog well played with passion to spare and the desire to be discovered.

Great music without a price... listening to it costs you nothing. You can download it directly from their site at this link