Deus Ex Machina -- quite honestly -- is one of the most forceful and legitimately expressive bands on the planet. Wielding forces of nature, humanity, and electricity, this group exhibits one of the most stunning displays of musicianship that cannot be harnessed, filtered, or told what to do. Mixing early prototype jazz-rock with head banging metal and the God-like Italian vocals of
Alberto Piras, they create an amalgam of sound and fury unlike any other band, and while that is a strong statement, you'd be hard pressed to find another group even remotely like them. Comparisons to the
Mahavishnu Orchestra are easy to hear, as the electrified violin of Buonez Bonetti lays claim to stylistic references via
Jerry Goodman,
Papa John Creach, and
Jean-Luc Ponty. Fabrizio Puglizi's amplified armada seems all at once a phalanx of his own, pushing the band through heavy terrain whether on vintage electric sounding modern keyboards, the Fender Rhodes, or organ. There's a staunch discipline to making unified music, as the absolute individualism of these artists is left behind for a new future of hopefulness breached from hopelessness. Somewhat angry, always outspoken,
Deus Ex Machina somehow mixes Roman or Greek renaissance with kickass bands like
Queen,
Kiss, or even
Alice Cooper, while ever mindful of their place as an in your face, complex, brilliant, instrumental fusion band.
Piras is an amazing singer, somehow able to combine the soul of a
Robert Plant or
Paul Rodgers with the high pitched scream control of
Slash or
Geddy Lee. The difference between him and those great rock icons is that his lyric content is based on sheer poetry, not visceral or sexual songs of love. "La Diversita Di Avere Un'Anima" ("The Diversity of Having a Soul") speaks to the precept that differences make us humane, as the band underscores the sentiment in a hip and heavy, jagged edge assault of mixed meters and metaphors -- part
King Crimson,
Yes, Krautrock and Canterbury jazz. "Giallo Oro" ("Yellow Gold") addresses the aspects of change, perhaps for the worse, as a dark 7/8 riff builds and swells into a repeat
Mahavishnu type theme, cooled and heated up again in an improvised base. Over nearly 15 minutes, "La Fine Del Mondo" ("The End of the World") signals impending doom instrumentally, as if it were a road song, as
Piras projects the plight of mankind ahead, the band utilizing more solo space and a muted rhythmic stance with retro organ and Rhodes piano. "Il Testamento Dell'Uomo Saggio" ("The Testament of the Wise Man") is more along the lines of
Focus meets
Led Zeppelin, with crazy synthesizer and guitar riffs from Maurino Collina merging, while "Cosmopolitsmo Centimetropolitano" is an ultra-dramatic depiction of life's abstract ups and down, with a dense, fat, and R&B-like foundation underneath a heavy metal jazz overview. There is one love song, "Cor Mio" that shows the completely toned down, acoustic side of the sextet. These in-concert sessions were recorded over a three-day span in Paris, with an accompanying DVD showcasing added and subtracted music tracks, a five-minute drum solo by Claudio Trotta, interview segments, backstage clips, extra material from a concert in Spain, Italian television, a 1996 appearance in Chapel Hill, NC, and a video clip from way back in 1993. Those of you who are already fans know the unique qualities of this powerhouse group, but those who are not would be wise to pick up on this item, made by one of the most extraordinary bands in the entire music universe.