ARX ATLANTIS

While this long lived RPI band may well never match the succinctness of their 1991 debut, at least it doesn't appear that they are trying to. Instead, picking up where "Tra Le Antiche Mura" left off, they have crafted another multilayered concept that plays to their strengths in melody and arrangement.

All primary instruments - guitar, keys, and violins - carry equal weight in the symphonic mix while the vocals are perhaps more insistent than before as befits the story of an elderly man in an eroded frame whose spirit remains as youthful as ever. The group continues with their song within a song approach, which makes the elongated track lengths more palatable, only clearly overreaching in the finale, while pretty much hitting their targets elsewhere, especially in "Il vecchio giovane" and "il tempo di grande Onore", while "Ghino e L'abate di Cligni" takes a step back from the generally uptempo mood and is highly effective as such.

In spite of the undeniable beauty of the performances, I don't connect emotionally with their presentation from start to finish, individually or collectively, just here and there. Yet I cannot deny its worth as another installment from this group of friends for whom the friendship has always come before the music, resulting in music that reflects enduring friendship.