Italian ProgressiveXperience started out as a trio in 2003 is later joined by a pianist, and in the spring of 2005 the first guitarist is replaced and a singer enters too. Then the first demo CD is recorded in 2005. After this they have some live jobs and takes part in various contests. In the spring of 2006, the guitarist leaves the group, and two new replaces him (among them a music master at an academy).
They go from being very Progressive Metal with distorted riffs, over “fresh” walking pieces to “extreme melodic beauty” with strings (that sound very genuine) and all…very varied in musical expression – nice!
It’s obvious in many places that a great source of inspiration is the kings of Prog Dream Theater, but at the same time PX has a more straight rocking approach to composing and playing than DT, without being the least bit primitive. There’s a lot of good playing (in both meanings of the word) on this album, what I maybe miss is a great hook to remember (sort of “hit potential” or what you’d call it).
The voice sounds to me to be very inspired by James LaBrie, all though not quite with the same range and power. Vocalist Giovanni Valente sings very well, and there’s only a slight Italian accent in the English, unlike some Italian bands.
One thing is a bit too bad though: I miss some “space” in the sound on this album, it seems a bit compressed, though the instrument stand out clear, and the mixing of levels is okay too.
Normally I don’t write about the bands homepage, but no rule without exceptions: the home page is very varied, and has lots of information on many subjects around the band and the album, such as interpretation of the lyrics. Try going there, and you’ll see what I mean.
There’s really cool graphics on the cover and the homepage as well, done by Tinebra, only problem for me is that I miss some people or action in the pictures, they stand very still.
If you’re into progressive rock and metal (a bit on the softer side), you really should check this out - a safe buy for genre fans.
Originally I rated this for 89, but after some more listening I must say, that maybe it's a bit too close to Dream Theater, without really being it, and that the "flat" sound really annoys me in the long run, so that I think the present rating is more appropriate.
