COME IL SEGUITARE DELLE STAGIONI

While the first three Il Castello di Atlante albums contained old material or re-arranged songs from the bands early days,the Italian quintet decided this time to write completely fresh material for the upcoming release,so they fell into a writing process for about three years.Meanwhile they had already built a strong relationship with Beppe Crovella,so it was an easy decision for them to sign for his new-established Electromantic Records.The fourth album entitled ''Come il seguitare delle stagioni'' was released in 2000,surprisingly Crovella pressed the album additionally on vinyl with the exception of the track ''Guidizio'' due to the limited possibilities of a vinyl pressing.

Anyone expecting the band to sound more modern with this fresh written material will just collide on the wall.Il Castello di Atlante were born in the 70's,love this particular era and insist on playing this retro-styled Classic Italian Symphonic Rock with balanced instrumentation and, this time, quite limited vocals.Four long tracks are split each other with three short Classical- influenced preludes,driven by violin, pianos, acoustic guitars and organ.The longer compositions contain plenty of interesting moments: Violin work-outs similar to QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA or ''Jet lag''-era PFM, sensational guitar solos, captivating work on keyboards by Roberto Giordano through his organ,piano and synths offerings and sensitive,warm Italian lyrics.All of them are wrapped in symphonic arrangements and balanced between smooth acoustic passages and even spacey synth drives to stronger parts with intense interplays and grandiose finales full of Italian passion and melodies, creating remarkable,stunning emotions, a pure highlight of the band.

Il Castello di Atlante still have nothing new to add to the Italian Prog scene.Still what they do,they do it very well.Pure retro-influenced Italian Symphonic Rock with a full sound,passion and intensity.A must have for fans of the style,a strongly recommended effort for prog fans in general...3.5 stars.