Moongarden
A Vulgar Display Of Prog

The title of the album is one that makes you gasp, at least for those who can't help but think that this formula is inextricably linked to the famous album by Pantera from almost 20 years ago. The sixth album from the Italian prog band comes after the excellent "Songs from the Lighthouse", a diverse work but always revolving around the progressive core, firmly anchored to the band's established musical capabilities.

With "A Vulgar Display of prog," Moongarden definitely cross the boundary and find themselves on the experimental side of the moon. With not always positive results.

From a purely technical point of view, from the arrangements to the refinement of sounds, an additional step forward is taken, but the sonic-emotional result does not convince, or at least does not thrill. The energetic charge and genre contaminations push the band to the forefront, yes, but at the expense of the notable emotional and melodic inspiration that characterized their previous works.
The splendid voice of Baldini Tosi is sacrificed to adapt to new stylistic needs, and this is the first unforgivable sin.

The score of 3 is purely indicative. The correct score would be 3.75, because it is a good album, but well below the band's potential.

It starts with "Boromir", which already foreshadows anything but greatness. "Aesthetic Surgery" reveals the band's full capabilities: few frills, no pretensions, MG do what they know how to do. Ferocity, conviction, a mid-song riff that initially sounds challenging but then reveals all its effectiveness, a stunning finale with an excellent solo, unfortunately one of the few present and truly incisive.
"MDMA", simple and effective, communicates even before it tries to amaze: and it succeeds.
"Wordz and Badge", "Demetrio and Magdalen" and "Enter the modern Hero" fill the album without impressing, up to the concluding track (shall we call it a suite?) "Compression", over 16 minutes in which various experimental phases follow one another, without ever really leaving a mark. From the female voice (?) that ends up annoying, to the "dance" turn (the only truly enjoyable moment), to the finale with an unlikely additional rap-like voice ruining a musical plot that in itself wouldn't be bad.

The album leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, especially on an emotional level. The desire to experiment should not overpower and hide the band's natural ability to engage and enchant the listener, as has happened in several previous episodes. Otherwise, it becomes pretentiousness, or pure affectation.