ROTTER�S CLUB (Italian Web Site)

[The original Italian-language review, of which this is a translation, may be viewed at http://www.rottersclub.net/musicalbox/h.html]

Keyboards to go, references to symphonic music, a big sound, first-rate technique . . . Hermetic Science have all the cards in place to entice those who love the progressive classicism of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.� In this album the opener, �Mars,� the celebrated first movement of Holst�s The Planets, already gives evidence of the quality of the band, guided by the vision and abilities of Ed Macan.� This very capable keyboardist/vibraphonist, in fact, creates considerable tension by attempting to attract both those impassioned with vintage sounds and those who prefer more modern timbres.� After the more than seven minutes of �Mars� comes the very long suite from which the album derives its title, subdivided into seven parts, totaling three quarters of an hour of music.� Macan�s use of his instruments to paint a dramatic and intense atmosphere is virtuosic.� The encounter between progressive rock and classical music produces remarkable fruit, ranging from the imposing sounds of dense synthesizer counterpoint to elegant piano accompaniments, with the Hammond organ playing a not insubstantial role in the arrangement.� The music�s rhythmic construction shows a close attention to detail and contributes notably to the creation of a music that guards, yet transmits, its mysterious fascination.� It appears that Macan was himself inspired by the work of novelist J. K. Huysmans, one of the major exponents of the Decadent movement of the 1890s.� Certainly not at the front line of releases that make originality their strongpoint, but without a doubt Macan, with his project Hermetic Science, proves capable of re-creating an Emersonian progressive rock of good quality, succeeding, unlike many other musicians, in not losing himself in mere technical exhibition and in not reproducing a pale clone of the group of Tarkus, in revealing, therefore, that in reality with symphonic prog merit accrues from being a follower.������������������������� Peppe Di Spirito