NOTABENE

This one has a taken a bit of time to appreciate. This is not particularly complex Italian prog (not that it needs to be), and the first two songs seemed overly simplistic to me on the first few listens. But, like most Italian symphonic, this has show itself to be emotionally resonant, with that romantic flair that only Italian bands can really pull off well. Starting with the third track, we start to get into more typical Italprog territory, with dramatic vocals and beautiful symphonic passages highlighted by wonderful violin work. The whole album sound quite retro production and performance wise, but still manages to have its own character. This actually becomes a plus as the album progresses, giving it the kind of charm that the early 70's Italian recordings possess. The final, longest, track is the best for me containing as it does the most mood and dynamic shifts. The hidden track is also quite nice, with some piano and guitar. This band, on the whole, seems to have more of an Italian cultural sound than other Italprog bands I've heard (not really sure if I know what I'm talkign about here or even if this is accurate............just a general impression I get).

My only real complaint here is the trumpet, which often sounds harsh and out of key (though there are also places where it fits in well with the music). Since it seems the trumpet is absent on their following album, I will certainly be checking that one out.

Overall, a decent Italprog release from a country that seems to be quickly surpassing Sweden as the most prog nation on the planet (and as a firm lover of Italian symphonic I can only see this as a good thing). I'm going to give it a solid 3 stars, as I don't think it is as good as a lot of the Italian symph coming out of Italy these days. But well worth checking out if you are a fan of that countries music as I am.