CONNECTED

From Padova hails this Italian group, formed in 1999 and built around brothers Riccardo Loriggiola (bass) and Massimo Loriggiola (drums).In chronological order they were joined by singer Stefano Borga (with whom the brothers had worked together in a prog cover band), guitarist Giovanni Binato and keyboardist Dario Andreella.No time was lost, as Astralia entered the recording rooms to work on their debut with the support of Mellow Records, finally released after two months of sessions in late 2000 under the title ''Connected''.

Based on a semi-sci fi concept around a wise old man and his journey to the imaginery planet of Astralia, where dreams become the reality, the album explores the gounds of both contemporary and vintage Progressive Rock, passing through spacey themes, intense lyrical moments, instant melodies and heavier, modern-styled grooves.PORCUPINE TREE meet IQ?Maybe this description should do it, as Astralia's patterns contain constant changes between harder, slightly psychedelic parts with edgy guitars and modern sound distortions and old-fashioned Neo/Symphonic Progressive Rock with Borga's voice sounding extremely close to PETE NICHOLS' color, not to mention some lovely guitar melodies and the long, elaborate synth soundscapes of Andreella.Moreover the production and the rhythm section recalls strongly IQ's very early works and some songs contains bits of flute work.Inspirations do not step here.Heavy doses of organ along with more spacey movements remind clearly of monsters of the past like GENESIS and HAWKWIND and the blend by the group eventually works extremely well.A variety of climates should close the soundpicture.From ethereal and sensitive moods and more cosmic territories to powerful musicianship and contemporary stylings, ''Connected'' has a nice and diverse sound all the way.

This album should not be lost and forgotten as many other works that were not fairly promoted.A good example of Progressive Rock music, that scans many different music styles and ages of prog history.Warmly recommended.