ALPHATAURUS - DIETRO L'URAGANO - 1973

Alphataurus is one of those legendary RPI bands who are obscure in the annals of general progressive rock, but much appreciated by Italian prog fanatics who venture beyond the more well-known groups. Not much is known about the group from Milan who sprang on to the scene with a great album before vanishing in typical RPI fashion. A second album was partially recorded and later released by Mellow in the '90s as part of their archival projects. Our original site Bio summed them up like this:

"Expressive Heavy prog band from the classic early 70's Italian prog scene, very similar to MUSEO ROSENBACH and IL BALLETO DI BRONZO. Just like their contemporary 'sister' bands they mix very well the heavy parts with soft melodic passages, with exquisite contrasting strong voice. The keyboards are superb and their long thematic developments alone would merit an interest in their albums. They released two albums, the first one "Alphataurus" considered by many as a masterpiece of the 70's Italian scene. They are an unparallel heavy prog classic to my ears."

They did mix well the light and heavier sections and sometimes even a bluesy, jazzy, or spacey edge. I believe they probably had both English and Italian influences with the former being perhaps VDGG or even Deep Purple. I would say if you enjoy the heavier side of Italian, such as De De Lind, JET, or Museo Rosenbach, you will need to check out Alphataurus. Tragically the band split in 1974 while working on their second album, leaving it unfinished. It was released posthumously but was not even close to finished. Drummer Giorgio Santandrea went on to work briefly in Crystals, and Pietro Pellegrini collaborated with both Riccardo Zappa and PFM.



This is another bag of gold from the vaults of Mellow records and worth its weight!. This is an organ player's nightmare and will please all prog fans who love the 'ol analog keyboard sound. Altough this recording has a very dated sound, it should in any way detract from your enjoyment of this recording. There are some superb prog moments on this recording and great musicanship.
http://www.progarchives.com