01	Allegro Con Brio						06:00
	02	Phoebus						09:12
	03	Melodia Di Fine Autunno						08:40
	04	Aria E Vento						12:59
	05	5/5/1555						11:47

Band Members:

Fabrizio Pellicciaro - Voice, Guitars (6/12 string electric/acoustic), Flute
Fabiano Cudazzo - Keyboards
Marco Angelone - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Maurizio Di Tollo - Drums, Percussion, Voice
Salvatore Marchesani - Bass
with:
Luca Latini - Flute



Distillerie di Malto [Italy]

Discography
Live in Temple Bar (99, Live)
Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi (01)


Reviews
Distillerie di Malto - Fabiano Cudazzo (keyboards), Giuliano Torelli (bass), Fabrizio Pellicciaro (vocals, guitar, recorder), Maurizio Di Tollo (drums, vocals) and Marco Angelone (electric & acoustic guitars). Not pictured - Luca Latini (flute).

DdM's first album, Live in Temple Bar is (obviously) a live CD containing covers of Genesis, King Crimson and Jethro Tull besides their own songs. I haven't heard this album, but I've certainly heard these influences on their studio release, Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi.

Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi isn't a particularly lengthy CD at 49 mins long, but it contains 5 long cuts ... the shortest one is almost 6 minutes long, and the longest is 13:24. The first influence you hear is in the opening cut of the album, namely a Crimson-like dark guitar and bass pattern that reminds of "Fracture", but this soon gives way to a more melodic rock feel. As the album moves along, there are moments of Jethro Tull at their most martial with flutes, Steve Hackett-school languid sustained electric leads, spacey atmospheric meanderings, and even some vocal barking that reminds me of After the Fire's "Der Kommisar". But the influence you'll hear most frequently is that of Genesis. There are some vocals in most of the cuts, both English (I think) and Italian, but the music is heavy on instrumentals.

"Melodia di fine autunno" starts off very pastoral, almost Camel's Snow Goose-ish in its beauty, before segueing into a heavier section. The guitar/organ interplay of "Aria e vento" brings Nursery Cryme-era Genesis to mind, only to have the illusion shattered by an ELPish clarion call from a heavily portamentoed synth lead. Of course the illusion wasn't that strong in the first place, given the Italian vocals in this song.

Distillerie di Malto may wear their influences on their sleeves, but they're darned good influences, and they have more than enough of their own originality in this release to make this an excellent listen. I highly recommend Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi, and look forward to hearing more from these gents. -- Fred Trafton




Artist: Distillerie di Malto
Title: il manuale dei piccoli discorsi
Label/ Date: self release 2001

Tracks:

1. Allegro con brio [5:56]
2. Phoebus [9:24]
3. Melodia di fine autunno [8:42]
4. Aria e vento [13:24]
5. 5/5/1555 [11:32]


The Review:

DdM is a new band from Italy who's raw complex symphonic brand of progressive rock is a welcome addition to the somewhat over produced sounds that most newer bands exhibit.
Their sound harkens back mainly to early 70's ala Genesis, Camel, King Crimson and VdGG but done in an original way, as if they were a part of that scene rather than recreating it.

The debut CD has five songs sung in both english and italian, ranging from the almost 6 minute to over 13 minute mark, with the total time under 49 minutes (which is a perfect amount of time for a CD *IMHO*).

The first song, "Allegro con brio", is mainly a building primal raw instrumental piece which has some very haunting english sung lyrics in the conclusion.

The two epics, "Aria e vento" and "5/5/1555" are symphonic sounding similar to Camel (Mirage), especially "5/5/1555" in the guitar playing and intro.

"Phoebus" is another haunting (the second english sung track) sometimes disturbing track by way of the vocalist's drone-like gloomy style which has a Man-erg feel to it. Might be an interesting track to listen to on the headphones in the dark late at night?!?

The center piece of the CD is a beautifully done instrumental, "Melodia di fine autunno". The guitar playing here is magnificently done, some of the best I've heard in recent times.

I highly recommend this CD to prog lovers especially those who like to hear melodies done from the heart rather than for recreation sake.

~Ron for ProgNaut.com [October 14th, 2001]





Distillene di Malto: Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi


Release Date: 2001
Label: Independent

Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi

I am not sure what I expected when I received the Il Manuale Dei piccolo Discora from Distillene di Malto. Then again, I am never sure what to expect from imports. The rest of the world doesn't have to deal with certain unnamed Mega-Corporations doling out all of the music we are exposed to here in the states. Needless to say, whatever it is they dole out to us unsuspecting Plebes is not very good music, and it's certainly not progressive! All of which means there is a far greater variety of music to be had from most of the rest of the world. Even the CD itself was unmarked, giving me no clue as to what to expect.

Upon first listen, my initial impression of this band was that they reminded me of a mix between Supertramp and Deep Purple. Odd, yes, but I don't mean to say they sounded like either of those two bands. It was more the style of writing. These songs are long and flowing. Well written and well played. It's not the kind of music - progressive music - that you hear around the states. This is more symphonic in nature.

Although there are only five tracks on this CD, my favorite would have to be track three; Melodia di fine autumno. This is a very cool piece that starts out spacey and moody and evolves into a harder driving song that still remains ethereal at the same time.

The production on this CD is excellent. Each instrument stands out clearly. Maybe this seems silly to some but, for me, clarity in the instrumentation is a must. I want to hear what every musician is doing in the song. My only complaint here would be that I think, in Mastering, they could have added just a touch more sparkle to the overall mixes. However, this is purely a minor point.

Who would enjoy this disc? Fans of good, symphonic progressive rock. This isn't the flashy kind of musician showmanship of some prog bands. It's just good prog rock worth repeated listens, especially for those who enjoy the meandering, ethereal vein of prog.
Reviewer: Rowen Poole

Rating: seven keyboards
Review Date: 7-24-2002

Visit the artist website
Distillene di Malto

Additional Information
Recorded at Miciomaos Studio
Mixed by Domenico Pulsinelli
Arrangement and production
Distillerie di Malto

Discography:
Live in Temple Pub: 1999
Il manuale dei piccoli discorsi: 2001