MITOPOIESI

Coral Caves started out as a Pink Floyd tribute band so I think it's fair to say that the English space rockers were a profound influence on these young Italians, and that impression certainly comes across in the music here. Anyway, there are already several detailed reviews of ''Mitopoiesi'' on the site therefore I'll just give a quick thumbnail sketch of it myself.

From the outset the signs aren't promising with some standard hard rock on the plodding title track. Actually, after hearing the first three tracks I was resigned to the possibility of this being a fairly run-of-the-mill release. However the gentle undulations of ''Senza Di Me'' then roll along and extend into a majestic conclusion of guitar and choirs, and this kicks off a rapid succession of songs that are anything but substanceless.

After a short flute intro on ''Ricordi'', the main song moves along swimmingly until a Santana- esque guitar solo emerges like rays of light through gaps in fine clouds, and is then swept away by a sharp storm of slide guitar and synthesizer. Likewise, the historical narrative of ''Tenochtitlan'' is enlivened with its meaty bass riffs and valedictory guitar solo. Then the scene-shifting opus ''Il Dolce Canto Della Terra'' concludes the album in a dreamlike, faraway manner with flute and acoustic guitar enhancing the pastoral mood.

''Mitopoiesi'' isn't one of the deepest or most original of RPI albums but it's sure to delight fans of melodic prog.