IL TRONO DEI RICORDI

Another one-shot Italian band of the modern prog era,Il Trono dei Ricordi started in early-90's in Firenze led by keyboardist Alessandro Lamuraglia and featuring five more members on bass,guitars,drums,electronics and vocals.They recorded an Italian-sung EP in 1992 entitled ''MCCCXX: Milletrecentoventi'' as a four-piece band,released the next year,followed by their only full-length self-titled album in 1994 on the unknown US label The Labyrinth.

This is a fantastic Symphonic Rock release,entirely sung in English,but dominated by long and demanding instrumental parts.It features one short track and three very long suites,all of them approved seminars of how Progressive Rock music with a symphonic tendency should be played.The style comes like a cross between PAR LINDH PROJECT,EZRA WINSTON and GENESIS with lovely guitar work,Classical-influenced piano parts,bombastic synths and obscure electronics.The album is filled with a mass of shifting moods and tempos,all very tightly connected,dramatic atmospheres coming out of Lamuraglia's keys,intricate melodies where added and satisfying symphonic orchestrations.The vocals of singer Alberto Mugnaini are not exceptional,but this band could create some exciting vocal harmonies as well,overcoming the lack of a really gifted singer.The final result is a well-arranged journey into symphonic labyrinths with plenty of dreamy and often cinematic soundscapes.

The band was not meant to survive long after the release but ''Il Trono dei Ricordi'' is a great gift left for the progressive rock audience.While the album didn't break any new grounds,it certainly contains all the right elements to be categorized as essential for any fan of progressive music.