ARX ATLANTIS

Seven years after their previous studio album "Capitolo 7 - Tra le Antiche Mura" Il Castello di Atlante is finally back with its latest "Arx Atlantis" celebrating the band's 40th anniversary of music career.

The band took a new path by evolving their sound and recording techniques, giving this new record a whole new level, maybe the highest point they ever reached: mature arrangements together with a fresh and punchy sound are the main ingredients of the 5 tracks featured in "Arx Atlantis".

Aldo Bergamini (guitar, vocals), Andrea Bertino (violin), Davide Cristofoli (keyboards), Paolo Ferrarotti (keyboards, vocals, drums), Dino Fiore (bass) and Mattia Garimanno (drums) painted this dynamic portrait of the most genuine italian progressive rock, telling stories of life experiences through the songs: "Non Ho Mai Imparato", the perfect opener; "Il Vecchio Giovane" the story of an old man that still feels young and tells how important is to still keep on dreaming and open our minds; "Ghino e l'Abate di Clignì" representing a novella from Giovanni Boccaccios' The Decameron - must be noted that this song is featuring Tony Pagliuca (ex-member of the historical band "Le Orme") and will be featured on the compilation "Decameron" for the Finnish progressive magazine "Colossus"; "Il Tempo del Grande Onore" a fresh progressive song with a great orchestration work; "Il Tesoro Ritrovato" a progressive masterpiece where the heart of the musicians can be felt beating underneath the harmony weaving. "Arx Atlantis" turns out to be one of the best album so far by Il Castello di Atlante, a perfect element for every prog lover to have in their music collection.

Interesting release from some stalwarts of the Italian scene. Arx Atlantis is certainly one to pay attention to if you like your prog to be bold and busy, with plenty going on at all times and lead vocals in the operatic tradition set by the likes of Banco in years past. However, I find it ends up losing me partway through (often midway through Ghino e L'Abate di Clignì). Part of the issue seems to be that the band seem to be sometimes a bit overbusy, cramming in solos and riffs and backing music where sometimes it would be better to take a little step back and give the composition a little space to breathe.

While this long lived RPI band may well never match the succinctness of their 1991 debut, at least it doesn't appear that they are trying to. Instead, picking up where "Tra Le Antiche Mura" left off, they have crafted another multilayered concept that plays to their strengths in melody and arrangement.

All primary instruments - guitar, keys, and violins - carry equal weight in the symphonic mix while the vocals are perhaps more insistent than before as befits the story of an elderly man in an eroded frame whose spirit remains as youthful as ever. The group continues with their song within a song approach, which makes the elongated track lengths more palatable, only clearly overreaching in the finale, while pretty much hitting their targets elsewhere, especially in "Il vecchio giovane" and "il tempo di grande Onore", while "Ghino e L'abate di Cligni" takes a step back from the generally uptempo mood and is highly effective as such.

In spite of the undeniable beauty of the performances, I don't connect emotionally with their presentation from start to finish, individually or collectively, just here and there. Yet I cannot deny its worth as another installment from this group of friends for whom the friendship has always come before the music, resulting in music that reflects enduring friendship.

When a band has been around for forty years, with a fairly unchanged line-up for more than thirty, it perhaps isn't unsurprising that they know what they are doing. Aldo Bergamini (guitar, vocals), Andrea Bertino (violin), Davide Cristofoli (keyboards), Paolo Ferrarotti (keyboards, vocals, drums), Dino Fiore (bass) and Mattia Garimanno (drums) follow a classic RPI path, with strong symphonic elements, all lyrics in Italian, and plenty of bombast to combine with the different styles they are bringing together. The arrangements are lush, and while the vocals may not be as strong as some may wish, to me they are perfectly matched to the music.

Unusually for RPI the drums are quite high in the mix, but this has been done quite deliberately as Mattia has a deft touch, and his various rhythms make the album stand out, along with complex keyboards and wonderful violin. Hugely structured and complex, yet also incredibly enjoyable and listenable, this is a wonderful album for any lovers of this style of progressive rock.