PARADISO

The sequel of ''Inferno'', this time entitled ''Paradiso'', was already prepared by Metamorfosi, but due to unknown reasons the band never entered the studio to record it and split around mid-70's.Davide Spitaleri released two solo albums at the end of the decade, the first one under the name of Thor.During the 90's Spitaleri and keyboardist Enrico Olivieri gave birth to a second round of Metamorfosi's history and after some concerts the long-awaited ''Paradiso'' was finally recorded around 2000 with new members Leonardo Gallucci (bass, classical guitar) and Fabio Moresco (drums).The album saw the light in 2004 on Progressivamente.

A pleasant comeback with an updated but still deeply symphonic sound, strong operatic elements and Spilateri's voice in excellent shape rewards the listener with a surprising good album by a band that sounds as much inspired as during their 70's stint.As with ''Inferno'', the third work of Metamorfosi is divided in short pieces, all tightly connected to each other to form a long, epic work of Symphonic Rock, based on Dante's writings.The sound is heavily driven by Olivieri's monumental work on keyboards with epic synthesizer flights and plenty of romantic piano preludes, while there are also lots of choir parts in the album to complete pieces of pure Classical Music influence in a rock vein.As a result, ''Paradiso'' passes from delicate and emotional moments (some with an acoustic vibe) to cinematic, highly symphonic textures with a decent space for instrumental themes and even some darker parts in the process.Spilateri's voice is flawless: very emotional, very clean and extremely theatrical.Maybe the band should have used the analog keyboards a bit more, but still it is should be mentioned that the album flows in an amazing coherence with hardly any ''dead'' minutes.

Metamorfosi continued their occasional live appearances every now and then and one of them, following the release of ''Paradiso'', marked the first live album of the group, captured on December 24th, 2004 at Chiesa di S. Galla in Rome, but only released in 2011 on Suono Records under the dreamy title ''La Chiesa delle stelle''.

One of the consistent groups of Italian Prog with a deep Classical-inclined style next to compatriots Le Orme and Latte E Mielle.A welcome return full of operatic, warm and atmospheric moments of elegance.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.