SONO IO IL SIGNORE DELLE TERRE A NORD

If you look into their history you'll see that Il Castello di Atlante's roots lie in the early seventies although it wasn't until 1992 that they released their debut album. This particular work might be made a little less alluring by cover artwork that's suggestive of a Heavy Metal release, but in reality the album takes the Italian melodic tradition as its starting point and enriches it with marvellous folk and classical detail. The reliance on violin is a key element in this respect and Il Castello di Atlante really hit on a winning formula with their pairing of violin and romantic melodies.

'La Foresta Dietro Il Mulino Di Johan' is typical of the band's best work with the plaintive airs of Massimo Di Laura's violin profiled against a meshwork of backdrops. On a couple of other tracks they proudly unfurl the colours of their musical inspiration, with fragments of 'Tubular Bells' in the finely shaded violin of 'Il Saggio' and with the influence of 'A Salty Dog' that ambles into 'Estate'. The latter features a wonderful piano intro to boot.

RPI and Symphonic fans can't really go too far wrong with any of Il Castello di Atlante's albums although I wouldn't say this is one of their strongest. This one's methodical rather than inspired and it's almost as if the sixteen years they had to develop these songs had in fact atrophied the originality and excitement in them, as if they lost something in the past. It's less like the decorous landscapes of the countryside and more the bland magnolia-land of the suburbs. It's good but not essential.