THE TREE OF LIFE

Are 4 stars too much for a doom-metal band outspring? I'd certainly have said so before listening to this record. I wouldn't say so now. "The Tree of Life" is a deeply athmospheric album, strongly based on early '70s progressive rock or even proto-progressive music. There is also a scent of Italian prog here, well mixed with early PInk Floyd and Trespass era Genesis.

But the strongest reason why you should buy this album is the large amount of good melodies you'll find in it. Too much athmospheric records loose themselves in long and alas boring chords, and while you wonder when the real song will begin, the track is ended. This is not the case of "The Tree of Life", where solid compositions rise up from the musical mist of keyboards and guitars. I especially liked the early prog oriented "The Return of The Sorcerer", a slow ballad between Cressida and Le Orme, the slightly acid "Don't Look Now" you could have dated back to the Summer of Love, the gentle "Beloved Dead", something like David Gilmour meets Gary Brooker, with a heavier finale.

A well structured album, a worthy addiction to a prog fan's collection.