SYNOPSIS

After a few years of silence Quasar Lux Symphoniae begun writing material heading to the 30th year of their existence.However this was meant to be Roberto Sgorlon's last contribution with the band, as in 2007 he jumped off board to leave the leadership of the band to Paolo Paroni.He helped though the band (which saw the arrival of Elvio Tavian and Marco Filippo on guitars along with Luca Vigneri on vocals) with the production of the new album, which was entitled ''Synopsis'' and released in 2009 by Artesuono under the acronym QLS.

''Synopsis'' is pretty much what the title states, a summary of Quasar Lux Symphoniae's trip into the music world for over 30 years and the sounds, which influenced the band.As with ''Milt'' there are tracks in a typical grandiose Symphonic Rock vein next to the Classical inspirations and operatic elements to met throughout the album, fortunately the cheesy moments of the previous work are long gone.The lovely keyboard/guitar interplays with the strong Classical flavor remain the band's trademark.Bombastic synthesizers and emotional guitar solos are also among the highlights.And the instrumental passages remain the strong point of the band.Regarding the vocal moments of the album, these show a strong operatic essence, led by symphonic orchestrations, piano interludes and the voices of Luca Vigneri and Annalisa Malvasio, the material is also nice, though far from the great instrumental parts of the album.The arrangements are well-crafted and challenging with a nice balance between emotion, melody and grandiosity, three characteristics of all Quasar Lux Symphoniae's albums.

While not containing the masterful moments of ''The Enlightening March of the Argonauts'', ''Synopsis'' is the second best album of the band so far, containing cinematic Symphonic/Classical Rock with a thrilling atmosphere, easily appreciated by dedicated fans of the style.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.