ATTOSECONDO

The one and only album, until now (not including the unfinished Dietro U'Ragano) from Italian's Alphataurus, released in 1973 is one of the classics of the RPI genre. At the heavier end of the RPI spectrum it held a captivating amalgamation of bluesy heavy rock and trippy prog. Now almost 40 years later, after releasing earlier this year the excellent Live in Bloom, they are back with a new studio album, AttosecondO. Not surprisingly, it's not the complete original line-up but Pietro Pellegrini (keyboard's) and Guido Wassermann (guitar) are here from the seventies incarnation. Reformation's of old bands often fall flat and disappoint but bolstered by the standard of playing on Live In Bloom I had high hopes for this.

Despite being a new studio album, a large proportion of AttosecondO comprises of reworking's of the unfinished Dietro U'Ragano, now presented presumably how they were intended to sound in the first place. I'm pleased to say it's an unmitigated success. The sound of AttosecondO is not surprisingly slicker than their 40 year old debut, better played too. They still retain a few of the hard rock edges in places but in truth AttosecondO could be the work of an entirely different band. This is not meant in any way as a criticism - it would be ridiculous to expect a band to return after such a length and sound the same. It's much more symphonic in sound than the original band, more complex too. Those who've enjoyed the comeback album's over recent years by Delirium and Latte E Miele are certainly advised to check this out but Alphataurus rock harder than either and despite my fondness for the former two bands better for it. There's the obligatory nod to the classic seventies band's here but in truth the new Alphataurus have more in common with, though not necessarily sounding like the new breed of RPI such as Il Tempio Delle Clessidre, La Coscienza Di Zeno and Ubi Maior to name a few.

This is a great album from start to finish - only five tracks with only one under eight minutes giving them plenty of opportunity to stretch out, the powerful rhythm section laying the foundation's for some impressive instrumental work, including some great organ which shifts through many changes as this sort of prog should. Always put off by the fact that Dietro U'Ragano was unfinished I never got it or heard it but would have welcomed the chance to compare these songs.

While AttosecondO may not have the originality of their eponymous debut and lacks its quirky warts and all charm, it is nevertheless one of the better RPI albums of this and even recent years. A great success.