SUN SUPREME

The name of Ibis was decided by the readers of Ciao 2001 after a poll organized by the magazine, however drummer Gianni Belleno had already left the group to continue his career with Tritons.He was replaced by English drummer Ric Parnell, formerly of Atomic Rooster.In the meanitime the band had signed a good contract with Polydor and was ready for a brand new start, as taped on their sophomore effort ''Sun Supreme'', released in 1974.

Ibis abandoned totally any links to the Hard Rock-orented New Trolls sound of the previous release and, more importantly, they even sacrificed the Italian language to sing in English.The new album was composed of only two multi-part sidelong tracks, each around 17 minutes long, where the YES influence is more than apparent.The first was entitled ''Divine Mountain / Journey of Life'', divided into four parts, and opens with a lovely acoustic crescendo by Nico Di Palo, before turning into a Progressive Rock orgasm with dramatic keyboards, including some great synth and harsichord parts with a fully orchestral approach, STEVE HOWE-influenced electric guitars and very deep bass work by Frank Laugelli.There are also plenty of multi-vocal arrangements and what sets Ibis and Yes apart are actually some harder guitar themes, the rougher lead vocals and the smoother, more romantic passages, which remind more of PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI.The three-part ''Divinity'' suite of the flipside marks no significant changes.The opening movement is superb, full-blown Progressive Rock with atmospheric synthesizers and organ, a frenetic rhythm section, magnificent guitar solos and melodramatic vocals, all in a Classic Symphonic Rock tradition.The second part though is ruined by the dull and very long drum solo of Parnell, hurting the track's consistency and that's because the closing theme is another beautiful offering by the band.Mellow Orchestral Prog built around a growing texture with lovely vocals and a unique atmosphere, exactly as an outro of a Prog album should be,

This second work by Ibis is a bit stronger than their more Hard Prog-based debut.The extreme resemblances to YES and a couple of dead moments are obvious flaws, but overall the album is tightly constructed with plenty of dynamic material.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.