PERPETUUM KARMA

For five years Nexus would be absent from studio discography and there were some serious reasons for the fact.First came the departure of Mariela Gonzales, who struggled working with a band with long, instrumental parts.She went to join fellow mates Atempo in 2002.Then Daniel Ianniruberto became pretty busy, producing the first album of a young band named Amagrama.Meanwhile the members were working on their new, own recording studio and had accepted the invitation for producing a true epic piece (''El regreso'') for Musea's 2005 compilation ''Odyssey: The greatest tale''.It was the first new piece recorded by Nexus for almost four years, soon to be followed by their third studio album ''Perpetuum Karma'' in 2006.The band had recruited Lito Marcello to take care of the album's vocal parts.

With each work Nexus become more and more ambitious, but this time they also sound more mature and balanced as a group of musicians.72 minutes of grandiose Symphonic Rock and containing only six tracks, you guessed right, three of them are 14 minutes or longer.The compositions are simply great, finally the band had transformed a full potential to reality and every single minute on this album has something interesting to offer.They are still grounded in the E.L.P./RICK WAKEMAN school of Symphonic Rock with an ARENA atmosphere at moments and the album is dominated by multi-layered synthesizers and powerful Hammond organ with limited contribution by Huber on piano and Mellotron.But after three studio albums they found the way to create monumental Progressive Rock, filtering the vintage influences and adding the right dose of modern stylings.So, the basic elements of these epics are Huber's tormenting organ showering, the ability to produce dramatic passages, the alternation between heavier and smoother climates and the good calibration on electric guitars.The result is now convinving, the pieces contain a fair amount of interesting melodies and some cool synth flights with an ethereal color, but the band never forgets the 70's and the big influence of KEITH EMERSON, fullfilling the dreams of all worldwide organ lovers.The music becomes often powerful, nervous and cinematic, but the new balance displays also some impressive downfalls into dreamy and atmospheric textures.Maybe the album is only a bit too long, while Marcello's vocals are rather colorless with no particular contribution to the upgraded sound of the band.

From good Symphonic Rock Nexus rise towards first-class priorities.Even if they do not sound personal or groundbreaking, ''Perpetuum Karma'' is a great addition for all fans of keyboard colors and symphonic-based listening experiences.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.