Review Summary: The debut of this amazing project. What a great surprise.
“Rituale Alieno” is the debut studio album of Universal Totem Orchestra that was released in 1999. The line up on the album is Ana Torres Fraile, Marco Zanfei, Dauno Giuseppe Buttiglione and Uto Giorgio Golin. The album also had the participation of a large number of guest artists, singers and musicians.
Italy isn’t necessarily a country that comes to your mind when you think of Zeuhl bands. Universal Totem Orchestra was founded by drummer Uto Giorgio Golin, bassist Dauno Giuseppe Buttiglione and the Spanish opera singer Ana Torres Fraile. The intention was to give life to a particular project in the field of prog music, but very different in style.
The band is connected to their compatriots Runaway Totem not only by their name, but also by the fact that some of their members make part of both bands. Universal Totem Orchestra composed and recorded their debut studio album “Rituale Alieno” in 1999. The album involves various musicians from very different influences that go from jazz, rock, fusion and classical music, including Opera. The band immediately met with great success in both the Italian and the worldwide prog scene, so much so that Universal Totem Orchestra performed in important festivals, theaters and clubs.
“Rituale Alieno” has one of the most bizarre mixes of styles that I have heard in a long time. Universal Totem Orchestra performs a highly original, complex, and very intriguing music, which, moreover, changes on each of the album’s six tracks. “Rituale Alieno” is incredibly complex and diverse stylistically, where only the elements of Opera, created by the wonderful vocals of Fraile, remain unshakable throughout it. All tracks differ from each other by many stylistic aspects.
The basis is the already mentioned Zeuh style with its guitar heavy Zeuhl with the typical Magma-esque, with hypnotic choirs in Italo-Kobaïan, primed with symphonic keyboards and booming bass. On the other hand, the music is based on space rock, a harder rocking version of the same, with wobbling electronic sounds and flying electric guitar lines. In addition there is the wonderful voice of Fraile, which is perfectly suitable for operas, sometimes is supported by some great coral work, short ambient sculptures, chamber strings, Far Eastern and Western percussion, various sound and sound snippets up to quasi-industrial noise, a bit of Italian folklore and a kind of Italian Renaissance like atmosphere.
“Pane Astrale” is the shortest, but also the most beautiful piece on the album. It consists of constantly developing interplay between passages of acoustic piano and violoncello with Fraile’s vocals soaring over it and represents nothing else but contemporary classical music with elements of opera. It represents a beautiful intro to the album. “Saturno” is the lengthiest track. Being musically as complex and intriguing as all other compositions it’s also the most diverse stylistically. It has a strong pastoral feeling with the superb church organ and the Gregorian chant, whilst the integration of saxophone makes the subtle link towards free-jazz. It keeps the dramatic tension throughout its 21 minutes. “Il Viaggio Di Elric” is another impressive suite, more into the Magma style than the former. It’s almost weaved from symphonic textures. We can think of the classic symphonic prog, art-rock, classical music and acoustic medieval music which, though doesn’t make it at least a bit less eventful and more predictable than the others. “Ipernatura Del Tempo Centrale” is a track in pure classic jazz style with contrabass, very rhythmic drums and a great piano work with all kinds of playing. By the middle of the track, the powerful guitars and hypnotic rhythm sections come back, as the background for the vocals, sometimes whispering, sometimes powerful in the style of Magma. “Antichi Occhi Ciechi” is a blend of Runaway Totem with Magma. It starts industrial sounding with a male voice speaking. Some computer altered voices, then male chanting as female vocals sing over top. Fraile’s voice arises among the rest of the vocals while the instruments gradually change textures. “Meccanica Superiore” begins with a deep bass synth sound. After some male chanting and female vocals, it keeps a cadence with a vocal dialogue between Fraile and the choir. Then a guitar establishes the background for a succession of rhythmic changes till the final moments. It’s epic and accessible.
Conclusion: Universal Totem Orchestra is the most astonishing music source I’ve checked in the last few years. My first contact was with their third studio album “Mathematical Mother” that smashed me. And their “Rituale Alieno” became a confirmation to me. Universal Totem Orchestra is a very risky proposal, full of quality, details and technique, whose originality and concept are impressive. This is progressive rock in a constant search for new ways of musical expression. This is just magnificent and is one of the most profound and interesting albums released at the end of the last millennium. The more contemporary Italian bands I hear the more I’m inclined to think that Italy is today in the vanguard of the progressive rock movement. It’s heartily recommended. This is a future classic if it’s not already.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
