LUCA DI GENNARO

Album: The 2nd Coming

Genre: Instrumental Prog

Release Date: January 14th, 2022

Country: Italy

Label: Lion Music

Band-Links: WEBSITE / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

I have to admit I feel a bit like a happy, little broken record right now ;-) as I want to talk about an "instrumental solo debut album". Regular readers might think: “wait, we got that before here”, and indeed there have been several of this kind over the past few months. All different, all absolutely worth the shout-out, and so is this representative: “The 2nd Coming” by Italian composer and multi-instrumentalist Luca di Gennaro (who is also keyboard player and mastermind for the progband SOUL SECRET) came out on January 14th, 2022 via Lion Music. Besides a little help from some friends, who contributed different drum, sax and guitar parts, it’s a solo effort with him having composed, played and produced the whole thing. I stumbled across this randomly, pressed play without any idea what to expect, but it caught me immediately.

“Chasing Next” is the song that takes the listener on the journey, starting with a mixture of electronic sounds. Over the next six minutes, we get to hear xylophone, techno beats, mesmerizing piano and keyboard runs… all melted together by creative song-writing and a well-balanced production. Luca continues with “The Spiteful Lair”, an orchestral interlude that comes along with such an amazing lightness it’s a real listening pleasure. “Shannon Tree” changes mood and tempo completely, starting with a light keyboard melody, only accompanied by piano and acoustic guitar chords. In the middle things get heavier, just to switch to an up-tempo, funky part, then he makes the circle round by returning to the opening theme.

“Into the Rainfall” gives us some time to rest with a melancholic piano / saxophone performance, before “Route 24” lifts up tempo, offering plenty of synth magic with a strong 80s vibe, so does “Climb”, but getting a more modern touch in the second half. During “A Rose in the Sand”, Luca mesmerizes again with his key wizardry, this time more jazzy in style.

With the title track we reach the great finale, which is an 18minutes prog journey. Starting slightly with piano and various keyboard harmonies, it grows with many twists and turns, and gets more and more heavy towards the second half. “The 2nd Coming” also features three, great guest guitar solos by Maria Barbieri, Stefano Festinese and Frank Cavezza, all different, and sometimes dueling with the keyboards.

Luca di Gennaro created an incredible piece of instrumental music: overwhelming in its creativity, but musically always in a great flow, as he wanders between the styles with an easiness that feels totally natural. So much happens during the songs, it’s difficult to find the right, describing words. He skillfully melts electronic soundscapes with classical music, alternates between trance, latin, rock and many more. To sum it up? "The 2nd Coming" is a prog gem worth to dive in and explore.

Written by Katha