Definitely album of the year for me. I never thought that I would hear prog in short song format outside Rush and I never thought that I would hear prog that would have a distinct sound from all other prog acts. Then I heard this and exceeded my expectations.
I initially followed Icefish because of Donati. To my surprise, he did not dominate the album. Not because he did not play superbly. He did. It's just that his other bandmates were no slouches and delivered amazing performances as well.
Not really surprised by Sfogli, but I have to say that this is his best work yet. I love how he shifts to heavy riffing, to melodic solos, to shred, to funky rhythms with such ease.
Casali was unknown to me and when I saw the previews, I thought he would be overpowered by the music. He was not, and he sang beautifully with range and grit.
But the star for me here is Argento. It's his keys that really gave Icefish that distinct sound. He plays beautiful technical but melodic solos (Human Hardware is my favorite). He is involved in writing the songs that I really love (It Begins, Human Hardware, Paralyzed, The Pieces). And he mixed and mastered the album! He also did the artwork. What a talented guy.
Donati is fast rising up my list of favorite musicians. I think I finally found his place among the top 3 super-drummers of his generation. Mangini is the master of polyrhythms and orchestration. Marco is the master of feel and emotion. Donati is the master of creative rhythm combinations. 5 years is a drumming masterpiece.