La Maschera de Cera was formed in Genoa, Italy, in 2001. It is one of the multiple projects of inventive musician, composer and producer Fabio Zuffanti. The concept of this band is to recreate the classic sound of 1970s Italian progressive rock featuring Mellotron, vintage keyboards, flutes and other elements.
Although all albums are highly recommended, the most famous La Maschera de Cera album was 2013’s “Le Porte Del Domani.” This album looked and sounded like a Le Orme recording made in the “Felona e sorona era.” It even features the artwork by Lanfranco, the same designer that made Le Orme’s covers. Notably, La Maschera de Cera released two versions, “Le Porte Del Domani” in Italian and “The Gates Of Tomorrow” in English with a different front cover color tone.
The “S.E.I.” album continued in the direction of imaginative keyboards, ever-changing rhythmic patterns, a full-bodied wind instruments section, a powerful distorted bass that made up for the absence of the electric guitar (one of the band’s signature features) and Alessandro Corvaglia’s voice, one of the most versatile and exciting Italian singers of the past twenty years.
The core band was still there, Alessandro Corvaglia on vocals; Agostino Macor on keyboards; and Fabio Zuffanti on bass. Guests included Martin Grice (Delirium) on flute and saxophone; and Paolo Tixi (former Il Tempio Delle Clessidre) on drums).
“S.E.I.” is the acronym for “Separazione / Egolatria / Inganno” (Separation / Self-worship / Deception). The album consists of a 20-minute suite that occupies the first part of the album, followed by two other mini-suites on its second half. The artwork was made by American artist Eric Adrian Lee.
(headline image: La Maschera di Cera – Photo by Gianfilippo Masserano)
Discography:
La Maschera Di Cera (2002)
Il Grande Labirinto (2003)
LuxAde (2006)
Petali Di Fuoco (2009)
Le Porte Del Domani (2013)
The Gates Of Tomorrow (2013)
S.E.I. (2020)