ETERNAL

S&L stands for a duo of musicians, seemingly coming from Napoli, Italy, who are guitarist Salvio Schiano and keyboardist Lino Esposito, who used the initial letters of their names to come up with the project's title.They set S&L at the fall of the 90's and a couple of years later they debuted on Musea with the album ''Eternal''.Two additional guest musicians, bassist Corrado Callignano and drummer Mariano Barba, appear also in this release.

The music on ''Eternal'' focuses on the lighter side of DREAM THEATER, but with a Heavy Prog approach than a metal one, combining also the catchy melodies of Neo Prog in a well-crafted, all instrumental effort.All parts of S&L's music are very tight, technically competent as well as memorable, offering a really enjoyable listening experience.Lots of dramatic solos, heavier grooves and impressive riffs belong to the menu of Schiano, while Esposito seems the best complementary piece of the puzzle.Dreamy and spacey keyboard preludes, soaring as well as more nervous synthesizers and dominant organ result some excellent ideas during the listening process.There is a certain ability by the duo to follow more virtuosic plays with nice, melodic textures, that give rise to the emotions of the listener.The last tracks have a rather lighter approach than the 2/3 of the album, having an even more apparent Neo Prog approach, somekind of JADIS and PENDRAGON cross with again very interesting ideas and solid musicianship.

For all fans of challenging yet memorable instrumental Progressive Rock ''Eternal'' should make for a fantastic listening.Passionate, dynamic and well-inspired.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.