La Maschera di Cera
Le porte del domani

The fifth album of Maschera di Cera presents itself as ambitious right from the concept: "Le porte del Domani", according to Fabio Zuffanti's intentions, is the sequel to the famous "Felona e Sorona" by Orme, offering an alternative ending. The operation was met with inexplicable skepticism from some members of the old guard of Italian prog: unfortunately, this confirms the narrow-minded and self-referential mentality of a part of the environment, which proves to be very closed-minded. After "Petali di fuco", an album that approached the song form, I was curious to see what the evolution of the Genoese would be. The album follows in the footsteps of what Maschera di Cera has done over the years, namely recovering and re-proposing the glorious sounds of Italian prog from the '70s (an idea that first came to Segno del Comando): among the groups that have decided to take this path — among them I recall the excellent Il Tempio delle Clessidre and Il Bacio della Medusa — the group of Zuffanti has undoubtedly been among the most convincing and consistent.

"Le porte del Domani", while being a tribute to "Felona e Sorona" even in the splendid, surreal, and evocative cover designed by the painter Lanfranco (the same who did the artwork for Orme), is not actually a slavish reinterpretation of the original, although there are some citations. The musical references span mythical groups like Museo Rosenbach, Alphataurus, Balletto di Bronzo, Delirium, etc. The album opens with Ritorno dal nulla ("Felona e Sorona” ended with Ritorno al nulla), an intricate track with a dark mood introduced by Zuffanti's throbbing bass with prominent flute and keyboards. Spacey and cosmic keyboards (almost kraut-rock) introduce Ritratto di lui, another excellent track. The album (comprising 9 tracks) maintains a metaphysical breath both in the lyrics and the music, flowing smoothly like a suite, with the sax of the legendary Martin Grice from Delirium as a protagonist, as in L’enorme abisso, an agitated track à la Van Der Graaf Generator. In Luce sui due mondi, acoustic guitars and a à la Jethro Tull flute take center stage, with Corvaglia reaffirming himself as undoubtedly one of the best and most distinctive voices of Italian new prog. This journey in search of the secrets and mysteries of Italian prog concludes with the explosive Alle porte del domani.

Those who loved La Maschera di Cera cannot help but be thrilled and enjoy "Le porte del Domani". I believe the choice not to distort the project's coordinates has proven successful. The album is also released in an English version - "The Gates of Tomorrow" - with a different mix.