OXIAN

BARROCK is a family band from Italy. "Oxian" is a very delicated album, never bombastic, full of medieval feeling. Altough mostly instrumental (standing out the keyboards), there are two female singers with very nice and almost operatic voices. It seems to be influences from the most melodic Italian prog bands (elegance and sudden rythmical changes) and, sometimes, a little bit of RENAISSANCE.

The medieval atmosphere becames dense and even gloomy at some tracks ("Il Tempio" and "Il Mondo Di Oxian"), but sweetness and beauty are the main tunes along the whole album. "Il Vampiro" is my favorite and the last song, "Guerra!", the most energetic -but even melodic-. Very good album, indeed.

Italy as anybody intrested in prog rock knows is one of the piles of the genre for more then 40 years. Italian scene never stops to amaze me, in every decade since 1970 are tons of excellent bands, some of them remaining legends and still active, some were gone before releasing anything. Barrock is one of the inresting bands from the '90 this country had, I think they disbanded in 2001. So, with 3 albums issued Barrock didn't get to much recognition and their albums gone almost unnoticed. Oxian is the second offer from 1994 of this discrete band and is a apleasent one. Lots of symphonic passages combined with folk parts and pastoral even medieval arrangements makes from this album a decent listning. Duo female vocalists apear here - Graziella Vendramin and Paola Poles who makes some very intresting vocal passages here. Instrumentaly speaking Barrock palyes a very intriguing kind of symphonic prog, reminescent of Renaissance or The Enid in manner of composing with influences towards italian old school of prog. Some very beautiful parts , very delightful presented with nice almost operatic vocal passages, makes from Oxian a good album. Nice instrumental sections, quite complicated, I needed more then few spins to get inside their music. All in all 3 stars, good but nothing more.