It has been twelve years since Distillerie di Malto released their first self released CD and their sophomore effort "Suono!" certainly doesn't disappoint. Hailing from Ortona, Italy they got their start in 1998 as a progressive rock cover band playing songs by King Crimson, Genesis and Jethro Tull to name a few. In 2001 they released their debut CD entitled "Il Manuale dei Piccoli Discorsi" which was well received in the Prog community. PFM front man Franz Di Cioccio took interest in the band and invited them to play live in Vercelli in 2003.
The band has had a few lineup changes but currently consists of Marco Angelone (guitar), Fabiano Cudazzo (keyboards), Alessio Palizzi (drums), Fabrizio Pellicciaro (vocals, guitar)and Giuliano Torelli (bass guitar). Of the eight tracks on the album, three of them were recorded some years ago and include Maurizio Di Tollo on drums and Luca Latini on flute.
The disc starts off with the three older tracks. "Prefazione" which is a short instrumental piece that flows into the next track "Il Guardiano" both featuring some nice flute work. Next up is "Il Suono Seducente Del Sogno (Parte I)" which is a lovely throwback to the 70's Italian school of prog with some vintage keyboards and flute.
"Nemesi" is the next track and is inspired by Greek mythology. "Rovescia L'immaginazione E Scopri La Realtą" is the fifth track which is an instrumental and features some lovely Hammond organ giving it a retro sound.
"Il Suono Seducente Del Sogno (Parte II)" is next and kind of picks up where Parte I left off taking us back to the Italian glory days of the 70's. "Lorca E Dali" is a long complex track reminiscent of PFM.
All of the songs feature Italian vocals with the exception of the short acoustic closing track "The Sun" which is sung in English.
Although you might notice some influences from British bands such as Camel and King Crimson and Italian bands like PFM or Banco, Distillerie di Malto certainly have their own personal spin with a lovely Italian flavor all their own.
If you are a fan of Italian progressive rock, you will not be disappointed in "Suono!".
Reviewed by John Longo on July 8th, 2014
