L' ALBERO DEL VELENO

The first part of the album, "Act I - Hypnos", is divided into six parts. It starts with the short "Prelude - The poison tree", where a nice piano pattern is backed by a threatening rhythm section. In the booklet the image associated with this piece portrays a tree resembling to a Medusa head, with poisonous snakes as branches... It fades out in the first part of Act I, entitled "Morpheus" after the Greek god of dreams, son of Hypnos, god of sleep. Here the influence of Goblin is apparent from the very first bass lines that paint the musical canvas with strong deep red brush strokes...

The music goes on with the dark, threatening atmosphere of "Phobetor", the personification of nightmares that appeared in dreams in the form of animals or monsters and resided in a part of the underworld. Then the tension eases for a while during the short "Interlude I - Momus" where comes in the personification of satire and mockery. This little scherzo or trick of destiny leads to the disquieting "Phantasos", named after the God of surreal dreams where, quoting Alexandre Dumas, "the breath of death reacts violently against life and darkness kills the light".

The track entitled "Interval" is nothing but fifteen seconds of silence, just a little pause before "Act II - Thanatos", that is divided into five parts and describes the passage from sleep to death. The first section is entitled "Clotho", after the goddess responsible for spinning the thread of human life. The music has a solemn pace, an obscure mood and every now and again could conjure up strange phenomena... Next comes the nervous section entitled "Lachesis" and related to the goddess measurer of each thread of life. Here, after a nervous start the rhythm calms down as to indicate the acceptance of fate. Then it's the turn of the ethereal "Interlude II - Ananke" where we meet the personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity, the mother of the Fates and the only one to have control over their decisions...

The following section is entitled "Atropos" after the goddess who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of mortals by cutting their thread. The Grim Reaper enters the scene wielding her scythe with a surge of energy underlined by fiery organ waves and raging flute notes, then boldly marches towards the unknown... The final section is entitled "Postlude - Moros", after the god of impending doom, the one who drives mortals to their deadly fate. This delicate and evocative part with piano and violin in the forefront is a kind of elegy of intense beauty that ends the album with a nocturnal atmosphere and a sense of infinite peace...

On the whole, a very mature work where the band showcase great compositional skills and musicianship mixing classical music and rock with extraordinary freshness and gusto.

The good things about this are the vintage keyboards, the flute and the viola. The keyboards especially evoke a Gobin-like atmosphere without being too cheesy. The bass is quite prominent and worth a listen. I like the overall sound of the instruments.

On the other side, the album plots along rather politely for a "horror" release. The atmosphere is mellow, soft, relaxed and in parts even ambient. Of course, some listeners may like this. Just be warned that there is no suspension here. All tracks are pretty much one tempo, one volume and one level of excitement throughout. Maybe sometimes it could be called slighty eerie. (But to be honest it seems like a stretch to me.)

A thing that should be mentioned, is the very high level of repetition. I am an avid Zeuhl and (Post)Minimalism / Totalism fan and therefore not inherently against repetition. However, here, phrases are repeated to death. It seems pointless most of the time, as repetitions are not used for suspension or to get the songs somewhere. In my opinion, Clotho could have been made three minutes shorter by cutting out repeated phrases and it would still be pretty much the same song. The repetitions give this a post rock/post metal like feel - it is post horror, if you will and listeners might appreciate it for this. A post horror approach is quite unique, as far as I know.

Another thing on this album, is that the band seems to be keen on a " one instrument after the other" approach. It seems like an exercise in 'now the keyboards play, and now it is the viola's turn after that, now the keyboards play again, now the flute plays for one minute...". If we are very lucky, maybe the bass might be allowed in at the same time as one of those instruments. I am exaggerating a tiny bit, but the music here is definitely sparse. Of course, this might be a plus for listeners who like their music not to be very busy. (To better decide if this might be for you, you should know that I personally quite like the concept of every instrument soloing at the same time. The Mars Volta, Koenjihyakkei and a lot of Free Jazz are just the right level of busy for me. So might look at this from a slightly extreme standpoint.)

To summarise: They shaped post horror and the instruments sound great. It is a bit unique, but also a bit frustrating because of missing suspension, too many repetitions, compositional simplicity and general politeness. Still definitely a band to watch out for.

Favorite tracks: 9. "Interlude II - Ananke" (3:48) (8.5/10); 3. "Phobetor" (3:18) (8.5/10); 7. "Clotho" (7:10) (though it runs a little long) (8.5/10); 5. "Phantasos" (5:51) (8.5/10); 8. "Lachesis" (4:09) (the second half) (8.5/10); 10. "Atropos" (5:36) (8/10), 2. "Morpheus" (6:15) (8/10); and; 11. "Postlude - Moros" (4:56) (held back by the computer-generated piano) (7.5/10).

3.5 stars; a good album from an artist whose progress and growth I will eagerly watch. Listening to this album I am reminded of the first BATTLESTATIONS album I heard back in 2011. Great ideas, great sounds, great potential, room to grow!

The first act is a five part suite that conveys the story of Hypnos - the personification of sleep - and his three children Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos. After the opening prelude's spectral electric piano punctured by heavy staccato guitar blasts and bashing drum stop/starts, `Morpheus' (Shape) is a slinking Goblin-like theme of gurgling electronics, slithering bass and alluring violins. With snaking electric guitar soloing, infernal Mellotron choirs and elegant symphonic synth passages rising in dark majesty, there's an urgent and unexpected up-tempo sprint in the middle before a shadowy come-down in the climax. This sublime opening section sets much of the template for the rest of the disc, but there's still plenty of surprises to come.

`Phobetor' (Fear), the personification of nightmares, is a darkly reflective symphonic theme that grows in intensity and hair-tearing desperation, and `Interlude I - Momus' (a sharp-tongued spirit of unfair criticism and the embodiment of satire and mockery) is a creeping piano and viola/violin duet. The slowly unfolding spacey shimmering guitars of `Phantasos' (Imagination, Fantasy) and scratchy flute are laced with the lightest of dusty eastern flavours, but monolith-sized slab-like pounding primal drumming and grinding guitars in the second half remind of Antonio Bartoccetti's early Jacula albums (and yes, there really is a fourteen second `Interval' of silence on track 6 before the second act kicks in!).

The remaining five pieces that comprise `Act II - Thanatos' encompass the goddesses of fate and destiny, the Three Fates (or Moirai) who spin (Clotho), draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) the thread of Life. `Clotho', authority of major decisions and essentially controller of people's lives, rumbles with stalking relentless bass behind floating ambient synth washes before being thrashed with lively drums and gleefully malevolent piano stabbings, and the piece eventually reveals two ghostly swooning reprising themes and some restrained orchestration. `Lachesis', who determines destiny, is predominantly frantic, aggressive and full of momentum. `Interlude II - Ananke' opens with aching classical violin and a touch of reaching Post Rock-flavoured slivers straining in the background before lifting with pulsing bass and strangled guitars to convey the inevitability and fate that the title of the piece conjures up.

One for the older prog fans, `Atropos', who brings an end to life, is a delirious whirl of driving Hammond organ soloing, huffing flute, wild guitar tantrums and sauntering dirty grooves that call to mind so many proper RPI groups of old! The `Postlude' for `Moros', a being of impending doom who drives mortals to their ultimate fate, then closes the set on a starkly beautiful and confronting piano, violin and viola reflection that is quite a daring and sobering way to end the disc. It's perhaps a shame that the piece was emulated on an electric piano instead of using the real thing, but the unexpected off note at the very end leaves quite an unnerving unease in the air...

`Tale of a Dark Fate' runs a welcome vinyl length that makes it easy to replay, retains a strong melodicism in its instrumental themes, and proves to be exactly the kind of richly detailed and grand work that benefits from further study and reading into the inspirations and backgrounds to the music presented. If a mix of the darker bands from Italy like the Goblin-related families, Three Monks, Il Segno del Comando and Antonius Rex (as well as similarly influenced worldwide acts such as Zombi and Zoltan) crossed with the most glorious classical-laced Italian progressive music sounds intriguing, this lavish and wildly ambitious spectral pantomime is one of the Italian progressive music highlights of 2017 for those who like to walk in the darkness, and is ample proof of L'albero del Valeno stepping up in a big way.

Five stars.

There's a brief prelude that somehow makes me think of the instrumental openers on The Alan Parsons Project's albums. The tracks follow each other seamlessly, which is nice (though the 14-second 'Interval' of silence is quite unnecessary. Didn't the band know there are operas in one act too?). Right away 'Morpheus', the second longest track (6:14) on the album, shows the band's strength in full steam. The highly democratic band sound is powerful and clear, just like in the case of Goblin. The compositions are dynamic and especially taken as one entity this work is full-blown progressive rock. Another good reference would be the instrumental concept album Halloween (1977) by the French classic band PULSAR.

It goes without saying that the atmosphere in this music is full of dark suspense. It indeed would suit perfectly to a horror film by someone like Dario Argento. I'm very glad that the music avoids stepping clearly into the heavy/metal territory. However, if I was to choose, there would be some more serene sections amidst all the intensity. Also I'd prefer to hear more of flute, since the flautist is one of the core quintet. A little more CAMEL-like softness here and there would have made this a masterpiece. But the whole is an excellent prog rock product anyway. Definitely I give my strong recommendation for listeners of instrumental prog with a dense atmosphere. Let's see... 4½ stars, why not round it up for the fine layout.

lalbero

Next to the two founders, the band is formed by Lorenzo Picchi (guitar), Andrea Andreucetti (bass), Franseco Catoni (violin) and Marco Brenzini (flute). Not a typical rock ensemble, but one that fits the music of this band - movie soundtracks with an occasional hint of classical music. This 6-piece is responsible for the contenst of Le Radici del Male.

Dove Danzano le Streghe (Where the witches dance) is the opening track of the album. It starts with dark synthesizer sounds accompanied by a flute. They are joined briefly by the violin, leading into a wild witches dance. The support of heavy guitar, pumping bass and pounding drums makes the witches swirl. When things calms down, the keyboards and drums lead us out of the forest, with the violin singing softly.

After this comes ?e Resta il Respire (The breath remains). This starts with a keyboard piece in 6/8 accompanied by the flute and violin. A soon as the drums and guitar join, the beat changes and the music becomes dark and haunting. After a slower part in the middle (keys and drums only) it speeds up again into a piece that is equally dark as the witches dance, but very different in nature.

In contrast, Prezenze dal Passato, the third track on the album, is almost a sweet song. Almost classical piece, with only melancholic keyboards and violin.

After this come two much heavier and far from melancholic tracks. Un Altro Giorno die Terrore is nearly metal, with the guitar in charge instead of the keyboards or violin. The combination of flute, violin and guitar on this track works quite well. For this piece, a bonus video is included, in the form of a short horror movie. The music and video fit together nicely, but may give an initial online listener (the video is on Youtube) a wrong impression of the band. When I had a friend listen to it, she immediately thought this was a metal band.

The second of the two heavy tracks is Due Anima Nella Notte (Two Souls in the Night), that starts with a staccato bass notes, and then slowly builds up into a dragging, haunting piece - with the staccato opening rhythm as a recurring theme.

The climax of the album is entitled Al di La' Del Sogno? L'Incubo Riaffora. Online material on the band and the album clarifies that this 12 minute piece actually consists of four pieces based of music from movies. All of these by the bands favourite director Lucio Fulci, in cooperation with the composer Fabio Frizzi. This is a real horror movie soundtrack as the band's founders had in mind, I recommend not playing this on headphones with the lights out on a dark stormy night?

This album needed some time to sink in, but my daily car routes helped in that - I just played it for a week and found the click. For prog fans who love soundtrack like music with a classic edge, or those who like dark, symphonic Italian prog this album is worth checking out.

The group features viola and flute players - and the latter cannot avoid the comparisons to Ian Anderson on the fourth, rocking track 'Un Altro Giorno di Terrore'. The intensity of some compositions remind me of the Finnish group Magyar Posse. Surely there are also more delicate nuances, especially on 'Presenze dal Pasato'. It's worth noting how full-bred and democratic the band sound is (another feature shared with Goblin); no virtuotic competition at sight. Only the 12-minute closing track 'Al di La del Sogno...l'Incubo Riaffiora' with its choir-like synth layers gets a bit too pathetic. The relatively short album offers a spell-binding listening experience.

The result is an album filled with instrumental progressive rock of the darker kind, music that exist within an overall gloom-oriented context. Not depressive nor oppressive as such however, and generally shying away from the brooding atmospheres and similar moods that reflects back to a negative emotional state of mind. Instead I'd opt to use words like ominous and haunting for the general ambiance of this production, Gothic is also a word that can be used as a reference I guess - as long as we think about the cultural tradition that brought us Dracula and The Hound of the Baskervilles rather than the more contemporary understanding of the word that implies either a metal band with a female vocalist or people dressing up and partying at more or less shady nightclubs.

The band alternate between a small handful of different dominant main arrangements throughout these six compositions. Frail, atmospheric and fairly mournful piano and viola driven sequences is one of those, a not uncommon feature that is explored in full in a stunningly beautiful manner on Presenze Dal Passato. Other themes revolve around a darker and more dramatic sound, where guitars, keyboards and Mellotron effects combine in majestic, haunting atmospheres, presumably many of them inspired by vintage Italian horror movies of some kind or other. These themes may be fairly dramatic in nature as well, and if they aren't they have intense, more dramatic and theatrical sequences building up to them or following afterwards. Constellations combining keyboards, flute and viola in haunting, almost sorrowful escapades of a more or less gentle nature is another common feature throughout, with or without guitars in the supporting role, as well as plenty of variations of the constructions described oh so briefly here of course.

While this may sound like an album that does contain quite a lot of doom and gloom, this isn't a production totally focused on dark atmospheres however. As with many other Italian bands looking back in time for inspiration that include a flutist, occasional nods in the direction of Jethro Tull is a feature also in this case. Harder edged more often than not, and most times with a generally darker touch than Ian Anderson's somewhat merrier men as well, but still with a combination of flute and guitar riffs that does remind of Jethro Tull, which in this context results in a more joyful and uplifting atmosphere introduced into this otherwise endarkened landscape.

Instrumental progressive rock with a distinct, dark atmosphere and moods dominated by ominous tendencies is what we're served on this album, with plenty of theatrical flair of a subtle as well as dramatic nature, flavored by melancholic inserts and occasional details of a more uplifting nature. The band's stated influences by movies and movie soundtracks from yesteryear shines through as an obvious presence throughout too, and as such this is a band that most likely will be compared with other Italian bands of old inspired by or responsible for some of the aforementioned soundtracks. A company that should suit this band very well I presume, and fans of music of that kind will have another band at hand they should lend an ear to.

After some line up changes and a hard work, in 2013 the band released a début album, "Le radici del male" (The roots of evil), on the independent label Lizard Records. The renewed line up features Nadin Petricelli (keyboards, synth), Claudio Miniati (drums), Lorenzo Picchi (guitars), Michele Andreuccetti (bass), Francesco Catoni (viola) and Marco Brenzini (flute) and the result of their efforts is a surprisingly fresh blending of vintage sounds and new ideas. Of course, they could recall Goblin or the Swedish band Anima Morte but the band showcase a great musicianship and a touch of sparkling vitality.

The opener "Dove danzano le streghe" (Where the witches dance) begins softly, then the rhythm rises and the dance begins. The atmosphere is haunting and you can really breath tension and a strange kind of excitement where joy and fury are at war. The following "... e resta il respiro" (? and breathing remains) begins with an old, dark waltz coming from times out of mind, then the music lights like a fire casting uneasy, flickering shadows all around.

"Presenze dal passato" (Appearances from the past) has a strong classical flavour and features delicate piano patterns and melancholic violin lines. It leads to the more aggressive "Un altro giorno di terrore" (Another day of terror) where feelings like fear and pain are painted with strong musical colours. For this tack the band shot a video that is included as a bonus on the CD.

"Due anime nella notte" (Two souls in the night) is another dark, haunting piece where you can imagine two lost souls in the night dancing like moths around a fire, mesmerized. The last track, "Al di là del sogno... l'incubo riaffiora" (Beyond the dream... Nightmare comes back), is a tribute the films of Lucio Fulci and to the music of Fabio Frizzi and it's a medley taken from four different scores "Sette note in nero (The Psychic), "Zombi 2", "Paura Nella Città Dei Morti Viventi" e "?E Tu Vivrai nel Terrore! L'Aldilà". The different parts are perfectly matched together and this long piece sounds like a wonderful suite that begins with the sound of a carillon and ends with a powerful crescendo. A delightful gran finale for an excellent work!

Focusing on the album itself, opener `Dove Danzamo Le Streghe' starts with somber low piano notes and creeping pulsing electronic whirring, a driving plodding beat soon kicks in with slightly-off violin and gently heavy guitar riffing from Lorenzo Picchi that made me briefly think of UK doom band My Dying Bride. But the ghostly piano and flute outro is the first hint that this band may offer something a little deeper than typical horror soundtrack cliches, confirmed by the circus-like disorientating intro to the next piece `...E Resta Il Respiro'. Child-like and innocent with a creeping unease, before wailing guitar staccato stabs and thick imposing synths assault the listener. Some brief lovely flute is our only respite from the approaching sense of doom and maddening tension here, especially when the track picks up in tempo with bashing drums in the second half. Both of these pieces recall classic Goblin, so fans of that band will really go for these two.

`Presenze Dal Pasato' is very special and my personal favourite here, a lovely and darkly romantic piano/violin/synth piece that calls to mind the sadder moments of classically minded Italian prog. After the occasional bombast of the opening two numbers, this is a nice way to slow things down, though there's still enough to put you on edge. I really hope the band gets to make a video for this one.

Coming back to proper 70's Italian prog, both `Un Altro Giorno Di Terrore' and `Due Anime Nella Notte' have the wild and ferocious unhinged energy of Biglietto Per L'Inferno, with darting flute, smashing drums and dirty guitar stomp! Flute player Marco Brenzini also plays in RPI band Le Porte Non Aperte, and their album definitely had it's Biglietto-like influences too. There's some truly beautiful gothic drama throughout the first piece, Nadin's piano sparkling with spectral beauty over Francesco's stirring viola. Michele Andreuccetti's chunky bass playing punches through the latter, with weeping viola, jazzy drumming and very loopy synth effects to create a rather sinister and deranged sound.

The band wraps the album on an ambitious medley of interpretations from the soundtracks of one of their favourite film-makers', Italian horror/thriller director Lucio Fulci. The band weaves through a variety of deep synth melodies, Mellotron bursts, sparkling tip-toeing spectral piano, complex varied percussion from Claudio and imperial gothic classical majesty. Fans of dark Swedish project Morte Macabre will certainly recognize one of the musical themes covered here too! This grand and ambitious medley will surely be the favourite track for many listeners, and full credit to the musicians for making the pieces blend and weave together so seamlessly. I have no doubt that as the band perfect their craft and develop their own already strong material, they could achieve the same incredible quality arrangements as displayed on this cover piece.

L'Albero del Velono now joins the company of artists like Jacula/Antonius Rex, Devil Doll, Il Segno del Comando, and of course the mighty Goblin that inhabit the darker corners of the Italian progressive genre. Short but darkly sweet, their debut release gets them off to a fine start, and the sheer talent on display from the band, not only in their playing, but in the grand arrangements and their ambitions of creating films to complement and enhance their work suggests a band with many great ideas, that will see them further mature and develop their sound in the future. For now, `Le Radici del Male' is a perfect introduction, and surely just the beginning of a distinctive and promising new project.

Four stars.