Album Recommendation: 20,000 Leghe sotto i mari by Nuova Era (2025)

Italian longform prog-rock that very much puts me in mind of work from legendary Spanish folk-metal rockers Mago de Oz. Nuova Era has releases that stretch back to the mid 80’s and this new record from earlier this year is their first in almost a decade. It’s also nearly an hour long and is split across two tracks. The first is the longer of the two and the main show here. It features rollicking riffs, chugging long-winded rhythmic jams, pipe organs galore, frantic, near operatic wailing in Italian and Spanish (with lots of lyrics alluding to internal torment, guilt and the dark depths of the mind…and the sea; so, you know, the album is riffing on the classic Jules Verne book from which it takes its name), gentle burbles of oceanic field recordings, horn sections, mournful turned-tirumphant chrome-gleaned guitar solos and just unabashed levels of confidence as it careens in tone between the dead serious and profoundly silly. One glance at the cover art shows that Nuova Era have their tongues planted firmly in cheek in regards to the themes but one listen also demonstrates the profound level of craft and love for the act of musical storytelling that Nuova Era pushes forward with this project. A fantastically fun listen.