2084: VIAGGIO NEL NULLA

1. Track 6 typical voices, choirs, it's pompous, good in 80 or 20 years ago, but here just reheated; yes everything is there to show the mastery of the musicians but using the concept can also slow down; it's hard because there are heavy riffs at times that change from the RPIesque range 2. Viaggio nel Nulla a radio edit from the time of the 70-80s when we liked organs, keyboards with fleshy voices, yes but we are in 2024! 3. Flashback (Apocalisse) on an ersatz side on all floors, and a jazzy variation; it goes better on it since the voice is absent, yes the famous paradigm that the Italian voice is the best suited for prog is only valid for RPI fans; a break to change things up on a solemnly phrased vocal and we go back to the original tune without the little drop of prog blood that makes you dream; the finale sounds like the tune of Inspector Gadget, those who like it will like it even more, the others will find it a bit mawkish

4. Wormhole for its piano variation is worth the trip; after that it's RPI again and again, good but a bit saturated to see a movement draw and draw again from their own creations; the guitar arpeggio break catches my ear, well yes a whiff of GENESIS has something to do with it; chorus on 'Your Own Special Way'; good 8 minutes and the drum beat of 'The Knife', too much is too much anyway; I'm going to be told that 2 chords in rock promote similarities but still; a hell of an impression the heavy jazzy prog finale with this keyboard that reminds me too much of... okay I'll shut up 5. Meta e Metà for the most common title, soft, progressive without overdoing it, that is to say basic RPI with energetic vocals, like on a pop song; a riff all at once, the keyboards provided; break and reprise of the dated keyboard solo, yes I insist the fans of the first hour will like it, it's a fact, the others will be a bit disoriented in front of this sound from another era; the final guitar solo is worth the trip with its long tirade 6. E=mc2 for the bucolic, solemn RPI piece, finally a beautiful melody without an aggressive break between the vocals and the instrumentation; the finale on a Christmas tune surprises and makes you want to listen again.

In my life time, I never thought I would see these guys release another album, but here we are. After 12 years of waiting, Alphataurus has finally released their fourth studio album by the name of 2084: Viaggio Nel Nulla. And wow, they sound just as fresh as they did 50 years ago. The music on this album has a sublime sound mixed with pure progressive power as good as their third album Attoscendo. It has a mostly keyboard-dominated sound, bringing a whole new level to the symphonic prog side of their sound, with the last song, E=mc2, being a good example of it. Out of all the amazing Italian albums of 2024, Alphataurus has easily made this one my favorite of the bunch. Moving onto the personal, two of the band's original members make an appearance on this album, with the two being guitarist Guido Wasserman and keyboardist Pietro Pellegrini. The other members include the second keyboardist Andrea Guizzetti, bassist Tony Alemanno, drummer Diego Mariani, and lead vocalist Franco Giaffreda. Overall, the member with the best performance has to be the two keyboardists, Pietro Pellegrini and Andrea Guizzetti. These guys manage to add so much more to a great album and create this melodic orchestral sound throughout the whole.  

The album starts with Pista 6, and this was the one that immediately sold me on the album. The song opens with some keyboard ambience and echoing guitar parts, while Franco Giaffreda provides some great vocals accompanied by some background percussion. Before in the distance, a bass line begins to play, and the rest of the band joins in a little after that. They start with a more jazz influenced section, from what I heard, before delving into the RPI sound. Some of the sections of this song sound more like you're in an orchestra pit rather than a rock song. You can also hear music similar to Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in some parts. Overall, a fantastic start to the album and my personal favorite song on the album. Next on the album is another great song titled Viaggio Nel Nulla. It begins with a nice keyboard opening before going into a passage that has more of a rocking sound, with something close to AOR, but not exactly. I also really just love the keyboard parts in this song; they have such an emotion behind them and add a lot more to the song in general. Other than that, not a whole lot to say here. It's just a nice, classic prog sounding song. The next song on the album, Flashback (Apocalisse), takes a much different approach. It kicks off with a futuristic sounding section on the keyboards once again, before the band plays a much more gloomy and complex piece of music. I would argue that this song is the most progressive on the album, with rhythm changes, complete stops, and overall uncommon structures. The song also sounds very serious, with a high level of musicianship made obvious within it. The song has dynamics between heavy prog and softer prog in multiple areas and is all throughout incredible.

  The second half of the album starts with the ten minute long suite, Wormhole. It begins with a generally happy sounding synth part, and the rest of the band turns that happiness into an almost dreadful sounding part. The progressive force these guys had all those years back in 1973 is obvious here, with an extreme technical performance in most of the song. When the band finishes though, they play a gorgeous acoustic section and come close to a crescendo, but immediately stop and return to the beginning playing. The song ends with a refrain of the synths at the beginning. This is probably my second favorite song on the album, being strong in terms of prog and beauty. Similar to Viaggio Nel Nulla, the next song, Meta e Meta, is more inspired through classic rock and AOR. This song feels a lot more upbeat, with normal music compared to other progressive rock music, and more classic rock edge can still resonate with me, but I would consider this to be the weakest song on the album. So, there's not much I can add to the song right now; it's just a great song. The last song on the album has got to be one of the most fitting closings to an album. It's titled E=mc2 and sounds almost entirely orchestral. The vocals are absolutely beautiful, and they are accompanied by an acoustic guitar in the background for most of the song. The way they reach these high points and how the band creates this almost tearjerking experience through this song blows my mind, and the fact that even though only two original members are here, they're all old and yet they manage to pull off. This was definitely the best option they could've taken to end off this fantastic album.  

In conclusion, 2084: Viaggio Nel Nulla is my personal favorite album of 2024. Yes, the band strives away from a normal progressive style of complicated structures and technical musicianship and goes for an elegant mix of RPI and symphonic prog. It achieved such a charming and magical sound that few bands could capture this late in their careers. However, they still managed to capture a highly progressive sound. As for the best songs, Pista 6 and Wormhole have got to be some of the greatest things Alphataurus has made. Even though I've been talking about how great this album is, I have to give it a 4/5 because, as I've mentioned, it doesn't have that progressive punch other albums bring to the table. I'm fine with this divine sound they have with this album (as I love this sound if you couldn't tell throughout the review), but it could be more progressive and probably not an absolute essential or masterpiece of the genre.