EDERA - SETTINGS FOR A DRAMA - 2002

Edera is an interesting combination of Italian symphonic prog and neo prog where the musical focus is on pianos and guitars. Their sound is similar to Arena (but with much less emphasis on synthesizers) and Tale Cue (but with much shorter songs and better recording). Singer Valerio Valentini sounds similar to Arena's second vocalist, Paul Wrightson, but with more tremolo, not quite as clear, and having a slight accent (vocals are in English) with the occasional mispronunciation. The mix and production are very well done, though not perfect.

Most of the songs fit this description and for the most part I found them good, but average for this style. The piano playing is exceptional and beautiful on most songs and somewhat subdued on others. Occasionally the guitar work is heavy and somewhat gothic. The ending of Walls has an excellent guitar solo. The best song on the whole disc is Lain on Wet Grass, having a strong symphonic prog feel, and similar to Arena, but with the piano replacing the keyboards.

Overall, this is a great debut for Edera and I hope they continue releasing new music in the future as I expect they will improve with time. For me, they're between good and excellent and although I would love to rate this with four stars, the "averageness" of much of the material has me leaning to three stars (3.5 would be nice). Good, but not quite essential. Still, an enjoyable listen.
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