OLTRE L'IGNOTO

After ''La citta sul lago'' several official and unofficial rare studio/live recordings of Malibran saw the light like ''Raccolta 1990 - 1998'' (1998),''In concerto'' and ''Rari ed Inediti'' (both from 2000).In the meantime Malibran even toured in the USA with Giancarlo Cutuli and Benny Torrisi announcing their departure shortly after.So the fourth studio work of Malibran was a bit of an adventure,partly recorded by the whole band and partly recorded by Giuseppe Scaravilli alone.The new album, entitled ''Oltre l'ignoto'', was finally released on Mellow Records,with the band already shortened to a quartet.

Despite the difficult situation the band was going through,''Oltre l'ignoto'' sees Malibran fresh and inspired and fortunately the whole album is sung in Italian for the first time,leaving the dull English vocals behind for good.Musically the album follows the same vein as with ''''La citta sul lago'',their sound is more modern compared to the early days,but still their musicianship has a strong retro influence.Alternating between symphonic arrangements with powerful organ,harmonic flutes and sensitive guitar work and more Neo-Proggish moments with floating synthesizers and strong guitar solos,Malibran are still alive and well,offering some splendid moments among the overall decent stuff of the album,especially in the longer tracks.There are also plenty of acoustic passages with the support of violin,cello and smooth bass to give a sort of dreamy feeling to the album.However a few negative points are still present,apart from their early sound nostalgia.The sparse electronic effects and the distorted guitar at moments seem rather useless,still for the first time Malibran's vocals belong among the highlights of the album.

Another more than decent Malibran release,not so close to their early masterpieces, but a step forward from the previous album.Anyone into modern Italian Symphonic Rock,who does enjoy also some vintage passages,should simply purchase this.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.