ALPHATAURUS

As far as I'm concerned, the comparison with "Museo Rodenbach" is quite daring. This band released an excellent (even a masterpiece for many) album with "Zarathustra" and I can't agree that this "Alphataurus" debut is on par.

The overall mood is dark, somewhat jazzy and frankly heavy-prog / psychedelic oriented like during the long opener "Peccato D' Orgoglio". But these borrowed sounds dated from the late sixties and doesn't sound so "creative" any longer some five years later.

ELP fans should be pleased with some bombastic passages, that's for sure but I can't be as overwhelmed than the majority of my colleagues about this work. I believe that this album deserves your investigation: it is a good heavy-prog album sung in Italian.

At times, the Italian fantasy is more present which provides a good feeling to my ears. The symphonic (but alas) very short "Croma" is one of these subtle and magical moments.

As I have said, most of this album leans toward the heavy genre, so if ever you happen to like "Ibis", there are no reason why this album shouldn't be of your liking. Just be aware that the glorious Italian symph is next door. The long closing "Ombra Muta" is another highlight.

My rating is more on the side of Opethguitarist. A good album. Three stars.