ZARATHUSTRA

When it comes to the 'Rock Progressivo Italiano' movement, i tend to prefer the more aggressive bands to the subtle pastoral ones... and this album is among the most aggressive and heavy albums from the early 70's Italian scene. A lot of the material here could fit into the 'Heavy Prog' genre, thanks mainly to the wicked distorted guitar sound of Enzo Merogno. The riffs have an early Metal quality at times, not too far removed from Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep... and i love how they blend that sound with a beautiful, melodic, and English-influenced Symphonic Prog approach. The rhythm section is very tight: they effortlessly bounce between fast frenetic sections and more sedate reflective parts... they even bust out a convincing Funk rhythm on 'Della Natura' that doesn't sound out of place at all. The keyboardist is very talented... he tends to stick to the hammond organ most of the time (which compliments the heavy guitar parts extremely well) but he also wields a mellotron, Moog synth, and plays a lulling and emotional piano part on the Zarathustra Suite. His playing is impeccable, fluid, and never tries to hog the spotlight. My only complaint is that i would have liked more use of the analog synths. Stefano Lupo Galifi is possibly my favorite Italian Prog vocalist. His voice is very powerful and has a nice rasp to it. His singing is bold and passionate and elevates the rest of the music to a higher level. 'Zarathustra' is easily one of my favorite releases in all of ISP... how sad that this band didn't record more. A tremendous album! 4.5 stars.