QUINTESSENZA

"...deceived by ancient bard, punished by enchanted firtree, clutched by furious wind, now here you are in the chilly northern land..."

The more recent work from this north-western italy band. Behind their shoulders many albums (since 1992, I think). Their music, as I said previously in another review, is not very complex but emotionally well played. To be noticed the collaboration of Beppe Crovella (Arti e Mestieri) as the producer and the multi-skilled-man Nicola Randone (Randone) as the cover painter.

Quintessenza contains two long tracks: the opener "Non Puoi Fingere" (You Can't Pretend, 12,19 mns) and "Questo Destino" (This Destiny, 14,59). Both good, even if not memorable. The rythm is mainly slow with some accelerations. The second one is more symphonic oriented.

The whole album seems to me less symphonic than their previous works and more influenced by Jethro Tull. Just listen for example to the track titled "Il Marinen Forgia il Sampo" (I don't know what the title is on about). In the middle part you can hear a clear reference (or quote) to Tull's "Velvet Green" (from the 1977's album Songs From the Wood).

"Il Tempo a Venire" (Time To Come) is a short soft song with mellow keyboards, acoustic guitar and whispered vocals.

"Cavalcando Tra le Nuvole" (Riding Through the Clouds, 7,06 mns) is the second favourite of mine. An instrumental track with very nice arrangements and great role of the violin of Massimo di Lauro. It is not a violin a la Quella Vecchia Locanda, though. It is more conventionally played. The general mood of the track is rather happier than the other songs of the album. A sort of "farewell" track, even if it is not he closer.

In conclusion: the album is generally good. Sometimes very good. It is better than the other one I've listened from them (L'Ippogrifo). The correct evaluation should be around 3.5 stars. Not completely a four stars opus, but very close to it.

This may not be the most complex music around, but it is very detailed. CAMEL came to mind quite often, as well as QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA.This is a record that I enjoy a lot.

Things get started with "Non Puoi Fingere" and it's a great way to start the record.The guitar melodies are incredible, and they come and go throughout the song. Drums, keyboards and violin make up a large part of the first half of this song, and again the guitar is so good. At 4 minutes in we have vocals for the first time, as piano, acoustic guitar and violin provide a pastoral back drop. "Il Marinen Forgia il Sampo" is another highlight for me, with the keyboards, violin, synths and acoustic guitar providing a beautiful soundscape.The vocals with piano in the beginning of the song are good, while the guitar melody is once again my favourite part of the song.

"Il Tempo A Venire" is a mellow song with gentle piano, acoustic guitar and fragile vocals. "Cavalcando Tra La Nuovole" features a lot of violin that takes the lead for most of this uptempo tune. "Questo Destino" is a 13 plus minute song that opens with acoustic guitar and synths.The drumming is very good as are the violin melodies. I'm really reminded of CAMEL in the first part of this song. Vocals come in at 4 minutes and more great guitar, as tempo shifts continue. The final song is a reprise of "Il Tempo A Venire" with some orchestration, clocking in at just over a minute.

This is highly recommended modern Italian prog.

By the time of ''Come il seguitare delle stagioni'' bassist Dino Fiore had already left the band and was replaced for a short time by a new member named Walter.Walter's bass work was going along the lines of Il Castello di Atlante but, not fond of the style, he quit soon to be replaced by Franco Fava.The new line-up recorded a track for the 3CD compilation ''Kalevala'' (2003) of the Finnish magazine Colossus and begun to work on new material.As with the previous album, Crovella of Electromantic Records issued the album in both vinyl and CD formats.The title was ''Quintessenza'' (the fifth album of the band, cinque, and essenza for the band's essence on music).

As Il Castello di Atlante never parted ways with their roots, they could not do else than deliver once more excellent Symphonic Rock with an Italian flavor around.Actually the new album finds them even more mature musically speaking and the listener will soon find himself completely hooked by the two grand epics of the album, the opening 12-min. ''Non Puoi Fingere'' and the closing 15-min. ''Il Tempo a Venire''.Both feature romantic Italian vocals, beautiful symphonic arrangements, great interplays and emotional atmospheres, where guitars, piano, violins and keyboards offer dreamy and ethereal soundscapes, no matter having a relaxing or more dynamic approach.For these tracks alone the album deserves to be purchased.But the shorter compositions are not bad either, never escaping the borders of Classic Italian Prog, maybe the violin work is a bit more on the forefront, along the lines of P.F.M. or QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA.The only flaw of the album is detected on the limited use of synthesizers, which sound a bit pale in comparison to the other instruments.

The best work of the band so far and the title of the album could not be more appropriate.This is trully essential Italian Symphonic Rock, filled with emotion and professional musicianship at the highest level.Il Castello di Atlante cannot escape from their 70's roots but this is no problem since the music is so challenging.Highly recommended.

This quintessential symphonic RPI band returns somewhat to the folk oriented orientation of the debut for their 2004 offering, but they continue to have problems with the longer tracks. The two epics kick off with the sort of Squonk like noodling best reserved for the filling of the sandwich, once we have already appreciated the pane fresco. In addition, the splendiferous CAMEL styled melodies are repeated once or twice too often, reinforcing the sense that the band continues to artificially elongate excellent material beyond its elastic capacity.

Still, it's impossible to be creeped out by profusion in a genre that gave supererogation   a musical identity, and IL CASTELLO DI ATLANTE remains an eloquent delegate for symphonic splendour. "Il Marinen Forgia Il Sampo" is a symphonic jewel, with some surprisingly timely vocal harmonies and gutsy organ, reminiscent of MEN OF LAKE, blended with the fiddle themes we have grown to love. "Cavalcando Tra Le Nuvol" is the biggest surprise, as much Afro-Caribbean as RPI influenced, a lively and carefree picker upper with more violin, organ, and show-stealing lead guitar to boot. The theme of the two "Il Tempo A Venire" bridges the longer cuts well and lends dignity to the whole. The spoken parts of the first of these seems to achieve what ANYONE's DAUGHTER could not quite manage on "Piktors Verwandlungen" by providing equal opportunity for the music to match the import of the words.

Another eminently listenable album with a few clear flaws, "Quintessenza" can't quite live up to the hype inherent in its name. 3.5 stars, rounded down for some questionable choices on the tracks meant to be centerpieces.