Triumvirat
Spartacus

Late Republican Rome: The two most important politicians of the time, Caesar and Pompey, form a conspiratorial agreement with the wealthy Crassus, which will be known as the Triumvirate. Upon Caesar's death, his two heirs, Octavian and Antony, in alliance with Lepidus, renew this fraternal bond, elevating it to the rank of magistracy, to annihilate their conservative opponents. From the ashes of the two Triumvirates, the future Roman Empire will emerge.

Reign of Terror: Robespierre, Couthon, and Saint-Just are the three most powerful figures of the French Republic. From the ashes of this Triumvirate, the future Napoleonic Empire will emerge.

The '70s: In Germany, the trio Fritz - Bathelt - Frangenberg started the musical group Triumvirat. From their ashes, no Empire will emerge.

In fact, the music of the Triumvirat does not seem very original. Yes, we are talking about a good prog record, which, like all prog records that aren't gems, great works, musical Divine Comedies, ends up being labeled as mediocre prog.

Surely, there's not much innovation in Spartacus, a concept album inspired by the deeds of the one who first managed to break his chains. If upon hearing the word "TRIO" you immediately thought of ELP, you've nailed it: these German progsters seem like the German mannerist counterpart of the three monsters who rode the British scene.

And if Fritz and Frangelberg have adapted (not very originally) the styles of Emerson and Palmer to their needs, Bathelt's bass doesn't stand out from Lake's. And let's not talk about the composition: "The School Of Instant Pain" (which follows the previous "The Capital of Tower") in its first minute is the illegitimate child of "Trilogy", and continues to align largely and freely with the style of Gentle Giant (and in its harsher parts with Jethro Tull). The only original element that struck me is the drumming of "The Hazy Shades of Dawn", where Frangenberg demonstrates a certain technique with the snare drum.

It is well known that the Germans hold deep admiration for the Romans and just a bit less for their descendants: the Italians. Even if it were so, only the first assertion is evident in this group. It would have been nice if the Triumvirat had succeeded in communicating their real message with this Spartacus, now combative, now dreamy; instead, musically it conveys only a style between classical and epic, which might have been more suitable in a musical like Jesus Christ Superstar than in a concept album.

Well, all this while listening to the album in one go.

Taking the tracks individually, these guys are actually quite enjoyable: less eccentric compared to British prog but with a certain danceable quality; I was intrigued by the individual hints of some keyboard and drum passages that highlight a certain theoretical preparation, an evident taste for technique, and an expressive potential that could have been further cultivated.

A flat record with tracks that are too similar to each other, fascinating only in spurts. A well-prepared but mannerist group. A genre that suffered from the extreme selectivity of its followers. In any case, this is Spartacus: an example of pure progressive rock, without contamination. To be studied with interest by all those who want to dedicate themselves to this genre; for this reason, it demonstrates all its importance.