Castello Di Atlante, Il - Capitolo 7-Tra Le Antiche Mura

Year of Release: 2009
Label: Electromantic
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

Italian progressive rock has not changed through the years. Like its culture, which is steeped in history, the music is steeped in the classic tradition of prog-rock, which, more so than any other country, borrowed from classical and cultural folk traditions in the first place.

In the case of the fabulous Il Castello Di Atlante, they've been around for decades. Starting during the Classic Prog era, through all the decades of "Neo-Prog" and to the current day, they have continued to record, tour and make waves in the scene.

Their new album, Capitolo 7 - Tra Le Antiche Mura is - to put it simply - their best!

Using the advantage of modern recording technology for a full, clean sound, yet layering their songs with lyrical, harmonic and textural beauty, they have crafted an album worthy of any generation. With each listen, one is rewarded with a growing palette of traditional prog-rock, in all its symphonic, pompous glory.

While, like most Italian bands, keyboards dominate here (swirling analog synthesizers in particular), there are huge dynamics that allow for almost every traditional rock/folk instrument to surface and dominate from time to time. In particular, Il Castello Di Atlante constantly uses the violin as a lead instrument to great effect.

It's almost pointless to talk about the songs because they are all great. Fully developed, rich with dense symphonic landscapes, they absorb the listener like progressive rock should.

Perhaps Il Castello's only flaw as a band in the past has been in the vocals department, though they are superior to most of their counterparts in Italy, and in fact, to a lot of other modern bands who don't seem to place importance on getting good vocalists. Here, the vocals are improved and never noticeably weaker than the rest of the performances. There's also plenty of harmonics and back up vocals to keep things rich and lively.

I'm am not kidding when I stand tall and say that Tra Le Antiche Mura is one of the finest releases in symphonic progressive rock in the last few years. Tracks are generally clocking from short instrumentals to 20 minute epics and the CD's playing time is well over an hour.

As I mentioned, the sound and production is excellent, and this particular CD's packaging is also wonderful, with nice artwork and an extensive booklet. If you like classic prog bands like Genesis, Camel, Le Orme, PFM and others who borrowed heavily from the Classical Music canon, this album is a necessary purchase. You can buy the CD directly from the artist's website.

Tracklisting:
Prefazione / Tra Le Antiche Mura / Malebolge / Ancora Sunonare Ancora Insieme / Leggi E Escolta / L'uomo Solo / Epilogo

Musicians:
Aldo Bergamini - acoustic guitar & vocals
Massimo Di Lauro - violin
Roberto Giordano - keyboards, acoustic guitar, vocals
Dino Fiore - bass
Paolo Ferrarotti - drums

Discography:
Sono Io Il Signore Delle Terre A Nord (1992)
Passo Dopo Passo (1994)
L'Ippogrifo (1994)
Come Il Seguitare Delle Stagioni (2001)
Quintessenza (2003)
Concerto Acustico (2006)
Capitolo 7 - Tra Le Antiche Mura (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: January 11th 2009
Reviewer: Richard Zywotkiewicz

Artist website: www.ilcastellodiatlante.com
Hits: 6240
Language: english