LYCANTHROPE

A few months ago I spoke a member from Dutch progrock formation Plackband. They had performed with Mangala Vallis on an Italian progrock festival and were very impressed by their performance and new material. Well, listening to this new album from Mangala Vallis (with a contribution from VDGG saxophonist David Jackson on 3 songs) I was stunned by the hugh progress this promising Italian band have made. Their debut CD was a pleasant one (loaded with Mellotron) but this one sounds far more mature andd captivating.

The unsurpassed Mellotron is very omnipresent, almost every song contains waves of the violin -, flute - and choir-Mellotron, what a joy! The eight compositions (between 2 and 12 minutes) sound melodic, tasteful and alternating: from dreamy en compelling to up-tempo and sumptuous featuring great soli on guitar (often Gilmourian inspired) and keyboards. The vocals (from Bernardo Lanzetti who played in PFM and Acqua Fragile in the mid-Seventies) are both very distinctive as a bit theatrical and will not be everybody's cup of tea. The highlight on this CD is the long track The Boy That Howls At The Moon. It starts with the howling of wolves, then twanging guitars, dreamy vocals and flute-Mellotron. The rhythm turns into slow delivering floods of organ and delicate acoustic rhythm guitar, culminating in a senstitive electric guitar solo, supported by violin-Mellotron. Next a splendid piece of music with lots of bombastic progrock, very compelling and moving: heavy choir- Mellotron, a Hammond organ solo and finally an up-tempo rhythm with flashy synthesizer runs, GOOSE BUMPS! The final part contains a wonderful build-up guitar solo with fiery runs and fluent drums.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!