IBIS

Ibis' career was short but full of shakes, so Maurizio Salvi and Ric Parnell abandoned the group in 1975 and they were replaced by guitarist Renzo Tortora and drummer Pasquale Venditto, both members of Forum Livii.The third album of Ibis was recorded mainly at Studio J.S. Bach in Milan, except for ''Passa Il Tempo'', which was recorded at the Phonogram Studios.This work carried the name of the group as a title and was released again on Polydor in 1975.

With no keyboardist in the line-up, Ibis' style became again very much Hard Rock-oriented, closing to the path of their debut, it was also mostly sung in Italian except for a couple of tracks.This was definitely Ibis' most uneven album, containing some very good guitar-based Hard Prog pieces but also some very dull and cheesy moments.Despite the lack of a keyboard player, some synthesizer lines can be heard in a few cuts, although no member has been credited to play them.The music is heavily relying on the fiery, dual guitar workouts of Di Palo and Tortora, characterized by intense lead parts, punchy rhythmic tunes and angular solos, along with the very good Italian vocals.The progressive aura is still evident throughout this effort, like on the very P.F.M.-influenced ''Passa Il Tempo'', the bombastic guitar/synth trip of ''Narratio'' or the big symphonic sound of ''Ritrovarci Qui'', featuring a majestic combination of orchestral keyboards with Proto-Metal dual guitar leads.Tracks like ''Dedicated to Janis Joplin'' or ''Keep On Movin'' are not representative of the band's talent, showcasing Ibis had run a bit out of ideas.Fortunately the majority of the album offers a charming combination of good guitar-driven passages with acoustic lines and a decent dose of keyboards, delivering eventually a mix of atmospheric and heavy, pounding textures.

The story of Ibis has been finalized the same year with the return of Nico Di Palo along with Gianni Belleno to the reformed New Trolls.An attempt to revive the band as Ibis Prog Machine by Maurizio Salvi in 2007 was only brief and unsuccesful, despite bringing onboard Renato Rosset (ex-Nova and New Trolls Atomic System), Corrado Rustici (ex-Nova and Cervello), Claudio Cinquegrana (later with New Trolls) and Roberto Tiranti (bassist and singer of several Italian Metal bands and future singer of Mangala Vallis).

Last and uneven album by this short-lived but definitely prolific Italian band.An excellent find for fans of Hard Prog and Proto-Metal, with glimpses of talent and impressive songwriting, but also a couple of dead holes.Recommended.