N.T. ATOMIC SYSTEM [AKA: UNA NOTTE SUL MONTE CALVO]

After "Searching For A Land", a double album from 1972, an internal struggle broke out in the New Trolls which led Vittorio De Scalzi and Nico di Palo to split up. "Ut", released in the same 1972, sees Vittorio De Scalzi present in only one track ("I cavalieri del lago dell'Ontario") however without having any importance for the final result. "Ut" could therefore be classified as the debut album of "Nico, Gianni, Frank, Maurizio"/ Ibis. Vittorio De Scalzi, sole custodian of the name new Trolls at SIAE, decides to form N.T. Atomic System recalling Giorgio D'Adamo (bass) former New Trollsand adding new musicians (Tullio De Piscopo, Renato Rosset, Giorgio Balocco, Ramasandiran Somusundaram and Anna & Giulietta). While Ibis create a sort of Proto Prog Metal, N. T. Atomic System give themselves to a symphonic Progressive Rock in the most classic Italian tradition complete with Jazz and Blues parts with Heavy sound merged in the symphonic system that Banco Mutuo Soccorso, PFM or Le Orme do so much.

I've basically already described the album. In retrospect, describing the various compositions individually doesn't make much sense because, in the end, there is always the usual mix between VDGG, Jethro Tull, Genesis and Gentle Giant and, for better or worse, here they are reinterpreted very much in Anglo-Saxon style and little in an Italian version (like PFM did, for example). I like to note that in certain moments there are insertions of reinterpretations of Atomic Rooster more Hard Rock in some keyboard scores. Conversely, " Quando l'erba vestiva la terra " is a classic song that can be inserted into the more symphonic Italian melodic POP genre and is, in practice, a Power Ballad which, however, has a baroque insertion (in which a translation by Gentle Giant is heard which then turns into Jazz Rock) which ruins the atmosphere that the band wanted to create. Naturally, "A Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky (released as a single) is included in the reissues, knowing that he wants to make people understand that N.T. Atomic System are Italian (since it was the fashion for Italian groups to do these Rock versions of classical music classics).

Honestly "N.T. Atomic System" is a beautiful album. Not a masterpiece, OK. However, not knowing him is truly something to be condemned. Especially because it has aged really well and is still an album that could be released today, the same in every way... Even in the production.