STEP BY STEP

Passo dopo passo, Il Castello di Atlante’s second album, is a collection of live recordings and demos dating back to the first period of the band’s activity, from 1976 to 1984. It was released in 1994 on the independent Vinyl Magic label with a beautiful art cover representing time passing by with an hourglass in the forefront. In my opinion, this album is a good document of the musicians’ enthusiasm and freshness in their early years but, despite the remastering, the sound quality is not always adequate to say the least. Moreover, the booklet is rather poor, with no details about the recording sessions. Nonetheless the music is worth listening to... 

The powerful instrumental “Overture per un concerto” (Overture for a concert) opens the album, then it’s the turn of another instrumental track, an early version of “Cavalcando tra le nuvole” (Riding through the clouds), a beautiful piece properly re-recorded and released in 2005 on the album Quintessenza...

The long, complex “Danza sulla Quinta Strada” (Dance on Fifth Avenue) begins by the sound of wind and hooters while distorted vocals evoke long shadows with a deathly train and funereal ghosts ready to wear their mask. Then the rhythm rises and the dance can start... Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan and one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Here it is described as the temple of deception, a place without poetry where even music sounds phoney. The protagonist walks along the street, under the colourful lights he’s hiding his thoughts and his disenchantment...

“Alice” is a delicate piece that depicts in music and words a little girl in love with nature who prays in the night, picks up daisies in the morning and let her dreams fly from the seashore to the mountains... Next comes “Omer”, a joyful, surreal ode to friendship and music that describes a keyboardist on his way to a castle located in the mountains of sound, guarded by friendly bearded knights...

Then comes the ethereal instrumental “Epiciclo” (Epicycle). The title refers to a geometric model used in the Hipparchian, Ptolemaic, and Copernican systems of astronomy to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, Sun, and planets...

 

The disquieting “L'ombra” (The shadow) features a pounding electronic sound and a mysterious feeling. The vocals play the role of a strange, insubstantial shadow fallowing you everywhere but disappearing at night... Then it’s the turn of the short, acoustic ballad “Il cortile” (The courtyard) that depicts a pastoral landscape from where old memories and bits of the protagonist’s past emerge...

The instrumental “Passaggio” (Passage) is just a long violin solo inspired by classical music that leads to the following “La guerra dei topi” (The war of the mice), an epic piece that evoke a rebellious army of mice marching from the suburbs towards the big city, pushed by a strong thirst for justice. They go on and on towards the unknown, towards the void, towards the glory, against the power, against the gods...

“Babele” (Babel) is another long, epic piece. Here the music and lyrics conjure up the images of living statues and ashes of gods wandering on the ground and whispering their meaningless words to the grim reaper, playing a pointless game of checks with the fate. Strong in their armours they build wall after wall trying to erase their past in a dark spiral of power and death... Then the soft instrumental “Chorale I” ends the album with a slow, solemn pace and a dreamy, nocturnal mood.

On the whole, despite the poor sound quality, a good work that deserves a try.

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
http://www.ilcastellodiatlante.it/

https://www.facebook.com/ilcastellodiatlante 

FROM THE NORTHERN LANDS

Il Castello di Atlante were formed in Vercelli in the mid seventies but it wasn’t until 1992 that they had the chance to release their first album, “Sono io il Signore delle Terre a Nord” (I’m the Lord of the Northern Lands), thanks to the independent label Vinyl Magic. The line-up here features Dino Fiore (bass), Aldo Bergamini (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Paolo Ferrarotti (drums, vocals), Roberto Giordano (piano, keyboards, vocals) and Massimo Di Lauro (violin, keyboards) and the overall sound is surprisingly fresh and up to date. Il Castello di Atlante were influenced, of course, by British and Italian prog bands as Genesis, Premiata Forneria Marconi and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso but they managed to shape an original sound and their song-writing is quite good. The result is an amazing debut album full of passion and dreams. 

The opener “Tirando le somme” (Drawing conclusions) is a reflective track about the meaning of happiness. A steady marching beat and keyboard waves set the atmosphere and a question arises... Who is greater, a powerful king coming back from a victorious battle or a happy gnome? Well, when you have death inside you, you can’t be happy, even if you are the greatest of the kings... “Is it really so sad to be as tall as the stem of a flower?...”.

The long, complex “La foresta dietro il mulino di Johan” (The forest behind Johan’s mill) begins softly with acoustic guitar and violin, then a piano pattern leads to a darker mood. The piece is about the fear of an impending obscure destiny knocking on your door. You can shout out loud your questions about your fate in the wind but only the spirit of the old forest can hear you... and it laughs! Fear spreads its tentacles in you and you can do nothing but close your eyes and delay for a short time the upcoming reality while the weight of silence becomes overwhelming... “Future will be knocking at your door anyhow / Future will be knocking at your door anyway!”.

“Il saggio” (The wise man) is a delicate, melancholic ballad about time passing by. Listen to the sound of the pouring rain, it’s the same sound you might have listened to in your childhood, it’s the same sound you might listen to when you have grown up... “Now I listen to the sound of the rain falling in my solitary hermitage / My hair is white and I’m indifferent to everything around me / And on the doorsteps the rain is still falling, drop after drop, until my new morning...”.

Next comes “Semplice ma non troppo” (Simple but not too much). It is a nice, lively instrumental piece full of energy where the musicians express all their joy of playing together...

“Il pozzo” (The well) is a beautiful acoustic track with a strange medieval taste that might recall some of Angelo Branduardi’s works. The lyrics describe a strange journey. As in Lewis Carroll’s novel “Alice in Wonderland”, the protagonist of the song explores a magic world that lies behind the images mirrored by the water down in a well... “Master Spider leads the way / The image mirrored at the bottom of the well is reality...”. 

 

“Non c’è tempo” (There’s no time) is a melancholic piece featuring good harmony vocals and some nervous passages. Sometimes everyday life is full of compromises and hard to endure... “The wet asphalt reflects the colours of the morning / I listen to the sound of my steps echoing in the street... There’s no time to think, there’s no time to talk / There’s no time to dream, there’s no time to be happy / There’s no time to love...”.

“Estate” (Summertime) starts softly with a piano solo intro. Here the music every now and again might recall Procol Harum, the atmosphere is pastoral and the lyrics describe a hot summer day in the country... “On the horizon shines that coloured bow / It’s like the touch of a painter on this new summer...”.

“Il vessillo del drago” (The dragon’s banner) is a perfect finale for this excellent album. Medieval influences blend with powerful rock passages and evocative images... “I’m the Lord of the Northern Lands / Under my banner you will fight...”.

 

From the book Rock Progressivo Italiano: An introduction to Italian Progressive Rock