Deus Ex Machina
De Republica

The assumption that Italy is the third world of rock music is definitely misleading. While it is undoubtedly agreeable regarding the plastic '80s and the Ligabuesque '90s, which were still characterized by an underground always in motion, the same cannot be said for the '70s, where Italian progressive rock could compete fearlessly with the Anglo-Saxon rock of bands like Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Yes.

Bands like Premiata Forneria Marconi, Le Orme, and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso received abundant praise both from the aforementioned groups and foreign audiences, though they could not rely on Italy for the ideal environment to develop their musical message and were forced, in a certain sense, to scale down their success expectations. Most of that fantastic movement, which also included Area, Biglietto Per L'Inferno, Rovescio della Medaglia, Picchio Dal Pozzo, Osanna, is now mostly extinct, kept alive only through sporadic live performances or production and session work of the talented musicians.

The Emilians Deus Ex Machina are perhaps the worthiest heirs of that musical movement. Formed in Bologna more than twenty years ago, they have attracted attention only abroad, especially in the USA, while being almost ignored in the old boot, not only by the public but also by the specialized press. To be fair, their musical proposal is quite challenging as the band's love for progressive is mostly related to Area's clear jazz/rock matrix, emphasized by the theatrical singing, as if that were not enough, in Latin, of singer Alberto Piras who, differences duly noted, reminds one of the late Demetrio Stratos.

Authors of five studio albums, a couple of live ones, and various compilation appearances, it is with their third work, "De Republica," that they achieve their personal masterpiece. Assisting Piras are Maurizio Collina on guitar, Fabrizio Pugliesi on keyboards, Alessandro Sonetti on violin, Alessandro Porreca on bass, and Claudio Trotta on drums. It's needless to highlight that those who engage in this type of composition must have decidedly high technical skills, and Deus Ex Machina possesses all the attributes of the most virtuosic prog bands: powerful, precise, and intricate rhythm section; interwoven solos between keyboards, violin and guitar never self-indulgent; complex and never repetitive song structures.
Reviewing each individual track would be absolutely useless because, for albums like this, the whole is what matters: relaxed, hypnotic, delirious, and theatrical atmospheres will accompany you through these sixty-plus minutes of sublime music where jazz, rock, and folk blend perfectly, leaving the listener with the impression that a difference between the three genres cannot exist and where the dominating element is the unreachable voice of Piras reciting verses by Cicero.

This is one of those albums where words would be of little use. It is challenging, I warn you, but it will open up unimaginable horizons.