TRANSIZIONE

I was very pleased with the latest release by Doracor entitled Evanescenze, what a wonderful symphonic rock album! This CD is from 2001 and contains three long tracks. The first Cavaliere Del Destino (26.43) manages to keep my attention despite the long running time: many pleasant musical ideas and fluent shifting moods, from mellow with beautiful violin and piano to bombastic with flashy synthesizer runs and heavy guitar riffs or mid-tempo with strong vocals and fiery guitar. Remarkable is the mid-part featuring The Enid-like prog delivering classical orchestrations and flowing, sensitive electric guitar work. The second song Luce Ed Ombra (7.12) contains a fluent rhythm with choir-Mellotron samples, very bombastic. Halfway the climate turns into dreamy with wonderful work on violin, piano and flute. The final part features a fiery and biting guitar solo, very heavy! The third composition Transizione (17.44) sounds very alternating and tasteful with great keyboards, from sensational synthesizer runs to impressive church organ samples. Again the guitar play is hearder-edged, a good counterpart to the keyboards, from howling to furious. Doracor doesn't make very original prog but their sound delights me, this is beautiful symphonic rock!

I started to appreciate this band with their previous release "Antiche Impressioni". A pleasant Italian symphonic prog work IMO.

It sounds as if the band is going to prolong the good experience while I listen to one of the epics form "Transizione". Cavaliere Del Destino is some twenty-six minutes of ambient themes, symphonic grandeur (even if pompous at times) and melodic instrumental parts. Mainly keyboards oriented, but not only. And this is probably what is making the difference in comparison with their early albums.

There are more people involved in the recording of the music, and even if the album remain solidly anchored on the keys (and its Emerson-like style), it is much more varied and interesting thanks to the presence of several guest instrumentalist (flute, violin) as well as vocalists. Massimo Farina is again present and delivers another fine performance.

The music is not only symphonic: there are short jazzy and more complex breaks (towards the end), but not too long. Some part sounds very much as "Trespass". From one of my dearest band (I guess you know of which one I am talking about). The finale is just majestic and truly passionate: as the magnificent Italian genre can be. This is a great piece of music which should please any lover of the fantastic seventies era. To which I belong.

The shortest track combines fine and early "Genesis" oriented music with heavier and darker sounds. One has to notice the excellent work from Nico Di Gia on the lead guitar. It is an enjoyable yet simple song. "Luce Ed Ombra" is by no means a filler. It has its own merit even if it can't be compared with "Cavaliere Del Destino".

The third (and last) song is another long piece of symphonic music which features another vocalist (female this time). I am not so thrilled about the voice of Luisa Ladu, but it is compensated by excellent and wonderful music. It is made of several distinctive sections yet flowing nicely into one another. The guitar is again the highlight IMO: so moving. The choir featured in the finale is another poignant moment.

I like this album very much. It is even better than "Impressioni" and I rate it with four stars.

Doracor is one of the lesser known symphonic prog bands coming from Italy, and I wonder why, but with already 20 years career so far. Their music is challenging, intresting and very well written and with plenty of memorable passages. Doracor's fourth release from 2001 named Tranzisione issued at famous Mellow records label, is a very worthy album. SYmphonic prog of the highest calibre is to be found here, are only 3 pieces, but very lenghty, with opening track Cavaliere del destino clocking around 27 min, but what a brilliant and inventive pieces, elaborated music. Nice mood, lots of instrumental sections, bombastic arrangements in parts, strong guitars and awesome keyboards, just to say in few words, but overall is much more , every one intrested in great italian symphonic prog must listen to this band, they really kick ass. I like a lot the vocal parts, combined with the music is top notch result. I also enjoy the guitar parts, very good and very Steve Vai in aproach, some intresting nice solos and overall arrangements. Flute and some violin appears here and there giving a more elaborated sound, in some parts remind me of Kansas more recent albums, but combined with that elegant refined italian atmosphere. So, ovearll a very worthy album, one of the best I've heared from italian school.