DORACOR

''Antiche impressioni'' is actually a long 3-part suite, reaching the 40-min. mark, and finding Sardella exploring the grounds of dreamy Symphonic Rock with emotional passages in instrumental and vocal lines and reducing a bit the virtuosic E.L.P./LE ORME tendencies, now focusing on the more melodic side of keyboard-drenched Prog Rock music.Of course that doesn't mean that Sardella has abandoned all these bombastic keyboard flashes and layers, but speaking of a 40-min. piece you will see the emphasis now being on piano interludes, Classical keyboard intros and outros, melodic guitar solos and sentimental voices with a more pronounced orchestral feel and less technical solos.As expected the music is very well-composed with the synthesizers and piano dominating the album and a few Mellotron samplers popping out, drum programming is bearable and the sporadic vocals are pretty romantic.On the other hand the sound of keyboards is not always convincing, having sometimes a pale color and weak acoustics.Nice little attempt on long, modern Sympho Rock by Sardella.At the end of the album ''Sorge il sol'' is placed, the farewell six minutes of music sound very Neo Prog-ish, a few excellent melodies, the Electronic-flavored keyboards and the distorted electric guitars combine for a very good outro.

Decent Neo/Symphonic Rock.Again some sampling methods are pretty average, but the centerpiece of the album is well-crafted, grandiose and fairly melodic.Recommended.

The music is mainly instrumental, keyboard-dominated Neo/Symphonic Prog with E.L.P. and ARENA vibes.Extremely bombastic with flashy solos, impressive pyrotechnics and decent melodies.Drum programming sounds again quite mediocre, but the compositions are rich, energetic and grandiose, full of nice twists, symphonic arrangements and Classical interludes.While most of the album runs over a powerful atmosphere, there are plenty of dreamy breaks around to calm things down and offer a more romantic atmosphere.The guitars are again a supporting instrument, but they are also the reason the album knocks on heavier terrotories quite often.All tracks are long, interesting and tightly arranged, if not only some plastic-sounding orchestrations could be delivered in a more natural way.Otherwise ''Segni premonitori'' has plenty to offer to the starving fan of Symphonic Rock.It contains a fair dose of virtuosity, there are surprising chant-like themes to be found and the changes between ethereal tunes and monster symphonic lines are more than welcome.Vocals give Doracor's style a new perspective and they should be present more frequently, even so this new entry in the music of Sardella makes this album even more interesting and accomplished.

Great follow-up to ''The long pathway''.Bombastic Symphonic Rock with both dramatic and dreamy atmospheres, built around Sardella's amazing keyboard flights.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

After listening to the album for the first time my initial thoughts were, "well it doesn't exactly change much does it." It's a shame because the musicianship is tight and the musicians (though mostly Sardella) sounds extremely well formed and complete. I really enjoy Toti's emotive vocals and the production is great. My issue with the album however is that it grows stale the more you listen to it, take the previously mentioned song and expand it into an hour long album and that's how this feels when listening to it.

Another major issue I have with this album is that it sounds exactly like the first album and I can't help but feel when listening to this that Sardella seems to be suffering from a lack of musical ideas, it reminds me of the Pink Floyd method of extending 5 minute songs in half hour tracks in order to fill gig time.

I don't hate the album, it works extremely well as background music and contains a pleasant sound that is sure to please any symphonic prog fan, but on the whole this album does not reward the listener for trying to focus in on and engage with the music.

2/5 stars, Doracor will release better albums in time.

The first album was keyboards drenched symph prog. And there is not much change here either. The same style as on the debut album. Although with some more electric guitars this time. And the last song has some good vocals too.

I understand that keyboards is a good instrument. And the debut album had a some good melodies. But it feels like Corrado Sardella has run a bit empty on this album. No real good melodies and not many interesting details either. The progression I expected from the debut album is actually a step backwards. Which is a pity, really. This album is much more muzak than symph prog. And this muzak album is nothing more than a decent album, I am sorry to report. I hope for a better third album.

2.5 stars

This album is entirely built on keyboards. Corrado Sardella's keyboards that is. But when listening a bit more careful, there are also some other instruments present. A guitar hook here and there. Both drums and bass is rumbling in the background. There are also some vocals here. But the keyboards is the dominant factor here. Doracor and this album has been compared to ELP. I disagree a lot with that comparison. This album is much more in the direction of instrumental RPI and Camel. There is also a lot of new-age and ambient fusion/jazz here.

The overall quality is surprisingly good in my view. Yes, some of the material is a bit too dull. But it is obvious Corrado Sardella is onto something good here. The opening track Scenes from elsewhere for example. This is an album between two and three stars. But I drag it up to three stars.

3 stars

STYLE: Being entirely instrumental,this effort follows the paths of grandiose Symphonic Rock with plenty of keyboards and additional support by the other instruments.Every song offers double keys attacks,partly in melodic lines,partly delivering complex and bombastic musicianship.The compositions are well-crafted ranging from impressive symph passages to darker and mellower moments.Guitars aren't used often and when they are,they are a bit low in the mix.The general style ends up to be in a Neo/Symphonic mood.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: The mass of twists and breaks are definitely of the E.L.P. school of prog,but the bands that come straight to mind are an instrumental version of IQ and ARENA,especially CLIVE NOLAN's influence is more than obvious throughout the listening.

PLUS: A musician with incredible talent,Sardella amazes with his compositional skills and great virtuosic playing.He also uses a variety of keys to give the songs some alternating possibilities.Most of the album is quite melodic and he manages to deliver a good memorable dose of them.A good first step in the fields of symphonic-oriented progressive music.

MINUS: Too-much keyboard-based ''The long pathway'' lacks in different moods and ends up to be quite monotonous after a few listenings,with the tracks being quite similar.The rhythm section seems to be a little buried in the mix,while the sound of drums is too plastic.The presence of a vocalist propably would save the album from falling down.

WILL APPEAL TO: Obviously fans of Symphonic Rock with a love to endless keyboard sounds and even fans of electronic prog...for all the others,I would recommend trying some samples first.

CONCLUSION/RATING: A solid 3 star rating for nice album overall by a very talented musician,which fails to impress due to the lack of different moods.A big disease for all the one-man bands.However still the album comes recommended by my side.