Alphataurus
began life in Milan in the early seventies and in 1973 released an
excellent eponymous début album on the independent label Magma
Records. Unfortunately, soon after their first work was released and
while they were working on a second album, they split up. The result
of the unachieved recording sessions was released by Mellow Records
in 1992, under the name Dietro l'uragano, but this can be
hardly considered an official album. In fact, it wasn't until 2008
that two of the original members decided to have a new start and
gathered a new line up to complete what they had begun long time
before. In 2010 the band began playing live again and in 2012
released a new studio album on the independent label AMS/BTF, Attosecondo, with a line up featuring, along with the two
veterans Pietro Pellegrini (organ, synth) and Guido Wasserman
(guitars, keyboards, vocals), new members Fabio Rigamonti (bass,
vocals), Claudio Falcone (vocals), Andrea Guizzetti (piano, synth,
vocals) and Alessandro Rossi (drums, percussion).
The
art cover was painted by the old friend Adriano Marangoni, the same
painter who was in charge of the wonderful art cover of their début
album. It tries to catch the spirit of this new work, rooted in the
past and projected towards the future with a sense of rebirth and
perpetual change. The album was produced with the help of the
off-stage Alphataurus' member Gianpaolo Santandrea who also
contributed to the song-writing of two tracks. In my opinion the
result is excellent, the overall sound perfectly blends vintage
instruments and new technologies, good musicianship and genuine
feelings.
The
opener “Progressiva-mente” (Progressive Mind / Progressively) is
a kind of manifesto of Alphataurus' new deal and invites you to look
for new rules and to leave behind the old clichés and the ideas that
someone else chose for you. The music alternates some aggressive
parts with delicate, dreamy passages and a strong sense of melody. If
you can avoid all the thoughts that can make you feel uncomfortable
you might overcome obstacles such as false ideologies and religions
and you will be able to climb up on you personal stairway to
heaven... “It is not easy, it never will / Just live it at the
right speed... Progressively you'll become aware / Suddenly you'll
recognize yourself... Progressive mind, open mind that creates,
imagines, improvises...”.
The
following “Gocce” (Drops) deals with environmental issues. It
draws in music and words an apocalyptic picture featuring dark
colours and some touches of hope. You're lying under a starry sky and
you feel helpless in front of the immense power of nature, you have
never felt so small before and you reflect about the merciless
greediness of the human race. Melodic vocals soar like a prayer...
“Mother earth, sooner or later you will collapse under the blows of
your children / We are drops in the sea of immensity, the wasted
sweat of civilizations / We are the blood of a world that doesn't
have a soul any more...”. To overcome this sense of loss you have
to fight. But now it could be too late and perhaps you would have
better to think of leaving this planet and embark on an interstellar
journey through the stars to find a new source of life, a stream that
would make you strong.
Next
comes “Ripensando e...” (Rethinking and...), a beautiful
instrumental track, a bright collage of musical colours and
classical evocations that takes you back to the seventies on the
footsteps of the days when it was originally composed. It leads to
“Claudette”, a long, complex track describes in music and words a
dialogue between an old man and a little child. It begins softly, the
mood is dreamy and melancholic... “I would like to be like you, go
back to your age / A clean mind that sees everything for what it is /
But life will forcefully change us / If I could save you from the
truth!...”. But you can never go back in time, you have to grow up
quickly while the contrary winds of life rage on you. The rhythm
rises while the music underlines how ever changing is everything on
this earth. You have to deal with all the challenges of life while
the ideal world of the fairy-tales crumbles around you. You have to
learn, you have to study, everyday you become more and more conscious
of what reality is. Finally you'll understand that you can't change a
destiny already written and you'll follow the mercilessly rules of
power. But even then, you would had better to remember the purity of
your childhood.
The
music of the last track, “Valigie di terra” (Suitcases of land),
tells in music and words the need to set off following a dream to
live, the need to move on breaking the borders of a unsatisfying
reality looking for a new life and a spiritual rebirth. Now you're on
the road again with nothing but a few suitcases containing your past,
land for your roots. But you might have to buy other suitcases along
your journey because you know that the future will give you better
things to care for... “I won't stay here / I made up my mind, this
is not my reality / I will follow the way that will stir my emotions
/ So I will come to a new life...”. Well, a great conclusion for an
excellent album!
You can listen to the complete album HERE
Alphataurus:
Attosecondo (2012). Other opinions:
Conor
Fynes: Alphataurus tend to stick to the predetermined instruments
and tricks of Italian prog, and they're able to do this while keeping
the emotions fresh and evocative. It builds proudly upon an
already-excellent Italian progressive tradition, and while it may
never have the same far- reaching influence within the scene as the
eponymous debut, "AttosecondO" still rates as one of the
strongest RPI records to come out in a while. Their age regardless,
Alphataurus have proven that their sound- and by extension, the sound
of Italian progressive rock- is timeless, and that is quite an
accomplishment in of itself... (read the complete review HERE)
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