RINGS OF EARTHLY LIGHT

This is easily one of the most beautiful sounding, melodic and romantic (in every sense) albums ever made. So many passages ache with an epiphany of wonder and awe, a drawing of inspiration as a deep breath.

Rings of Earthly Light is hard to place stylistically, as it came at the dawn of the prog revival of the 1990s. While the group is Italian, the sound doesn't harken that much to the classic prog period of that country. While there are neo prog elements, there is also more of an ancient sound to it, medieval almost, enhanced by flutes, recorders, great sax, and acoustic guitars, and it is all so unhurried, which pretty much negates the neo comparison. In fact, what Alessandro Serri manages to convey so well from an emotional perspective in a mere half minute near the end of the best cut, "The Way Home", can take an entire album for most bands to say poorly.

Nothing is weak here, and although the album is overwhelmingly gentle, it has some very upbeat and loud moments, chiefly in segments of the masterful title suite and in the short but potent "The Broken Path". These moments blend artistically into the pastoral nature of "in the Rising Mist", "You'll Become Rain" and "Pushing Together".

Rings of Earthly Light represents a fortuitous union between progressive folk and symphonic progressive rock, resulting in a transcendent work of unmatched beauty,