THE ANCIENT VEIL

After such a beautifully executed symphonic progressive album as "Rings of Earthly Light", Eris Pluvia had a tough act to follow, which may be why the duo of Alessandro Serri and Edmondo Romano were exfoliated as "The Ancient Veil". Eris Pluvia had somehow synthesized a work that appealed to the romantic soul in all of us, and I mean romance in the broadest sense, and it achieved this feat with almost no drama or flash. It was a journey that overshot the destination.

Such is not the case with the Ancient Veil. It is pretty in many places but even more mellow than "Rings", which is saying something, and some songs, like the opener, beginning with one of the few lead guitar segments, and closer, lack development, focus and sustained interest. I have not found this album to grow on me the way "Rings" did. I get the sense that the guys are jamming as opposed to playing a composition, that "let's see what we can try next", so if you favour such a haphazard approach you may enjoy this alot. Perhaps out-takes from their debut? That said, it is still a pretty unique album that has the stamp of these two fine gentlemen all over it, especially on the instrumental pieces dominated by woodwinds like "Feast of the Puppets" and "Dance of the Elves". The titles alone give you the picture. Several vocal oriented songs also stand out and are reminiscent of earlier material, like "Can you feel me" and "Dance Around your slow time". Unfortunately there is no "wake up" song like "The Broken Path", the closest being the vocally rich "Walking Around".

Eris Pluvia's debut achieved singular status in the world of prog for its gentle jazz, folk and classically inflected sound, and, while this offshoot bears many textural similarities, it fails to unveil the candid emotions and humble symphonic grandeur of that earlier album.