ENTRE AS ESTRELAS

High-caliber, full on instrumental symphonic prog from Brazillian veterans; bombastic without being overly so; great guitar work and perfectly subtle keyboard support and the pleasurable inputs of a talented, often-inspired flute player. The sound is quite nice--nearly replicating that of 1990s COLLAGE on their monster Moonshine, only, truly, better: warmer and clearer. The instrument sounds, melodies, and shifts in tempos and movements are excellent-- timed perfectly well (never overblown or drawn out for too long): true signs of intelligent prog veterans.

1. "Pétala de Sangue" ( 6:49 ) nice mid-tempo Neo-Prog with Nexus (organ) and Mike Oldfield sound and feel (lead guitar & tubular bells) to it. (8.5/10)

2. "Entre as Estrelas" ( 52:22 ) a truly epic song that the band has worked on in live situations for over a year--and it shows: this is a highly thought-out, well-constructed song with little or no fluff. Reminds me of some of the nicer, more melody-oriented NeoProg coming out of RPI or the Netherlands. Not quite as sophisticated or bombastic as the music of Arjen Lucassen or Roine Stolt but much more easy on the ears. I'm actually reminded a lot of some of the music that PFM or NEXUS did in the previous decade as well as some of the English folk-melody-tinged music of early BIG BIG TRAIN (minus the vocals, of course). The flute, of course, is such a wonderful addition to the tapestry. Plus, the keyboards are never over-the-top showy or attention grabbing, always tasteful and perfectly supportive to the whole and to the other instruments, which is quite extraordinary, in my opinion. (9.5/10)

3. "Vitral" ( 5:12 ) opens with Baroque sound with "harpsichord," celeste, wooden flute, and organ sounds playing in a classical time construct. Quite lovely. Becomes more bombastic with Arp synth taking the lead at 2:10 in a Chip Davis/MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER kind of way. Then back to Baroque instrumental sounds--with some modern synths and electric bass and, later, electric guitar mixed in. Baroque and modern seemlessly melded together! (9.5/10)

Five stars; a masterpiece of symphonic NeoProg.