Alphataurus are one of the great cult treasures of Italian progressive rock — a band from Milan who released a single, magnificent album in 1973 before vanishing, only for that record to be reclaimed decades later as one of the genre’s revered classics. Dramatic, dark and driven by towering keyboards, their music captures the heavy, theatrical heart of RPI at its most intense.

The short version

Formed in Milan in 1970, Alphataurus made their mark with one self-titled album in 1973 — a dense, dramatic, keyboard-led work now widely regarded as one of the finest Italian prog albums ever made. The band split almost immediately, leaving a second album unfinished, but reunited decades later to record again. Built around the virtuoso keyboards of Pietro Pellegrini and the powerful voice of Michele Bavaro, theirs is essential listening for anyone drawn to the heavier side of RPI.

Milan, 1970: under the sign of Taurus

Alphataurus formed in 1970 in Milan, at the dawn of the Italian progressive rock movement. The band took its name from Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus — a suggestion from keyboardist Pietro Pellegrini’s sister. The original line-up brought together Pellegrini on keyboards, Michele Bavaro on vocals, Guido Wassermann on guitar, Alfonso Oliva on bass and Giorgio Santandrea on drums. After honing their craft on an intense live circuit — performing both British progressive material, from Genesis to Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and their own emerging originals — they made a strong impression at major Italian festivals in 1972, where they were spotted by Vittorio De Scalzi of New Trolls. He signed them to his newly founded Magma label, and Alphataurus became its very first release.

Dramatic, keyboard-driven heaviness

Alphataurus belonged to the heavier, darker wing of Italian prog, often mentioned in the same breath as Museo Rosenbach and Il Balletto di Bronzo. At the centre of their sound was Pietro Pellegrini, a gifted keyboardist whose arsenal of Hammond organ, Moog, piano, vibraphone and spinet drove the music with an obvious debt to Keith Emerson, yet always in service of the song. Above it soared Michele Bavaro’s powerful, dramatic voice, while Wassermann’s guitar and the muscular rhythm section of Oliva and Santandrea gave the music its weight. The result balanced bombastic, hard-edged passages with moments of classical delicacy and atmosphere — heavy, theatrical and unmistakably Italian.

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A masterpiece and a premature end

Released in 1973 on Magma, with striking cover art by the painter Adriano Marangoni, “Alphataurus” presented five long, ambitious compositions of remarkable maturity for such a young band. Though it passed almost unnoticed at the time, the album was later embraced as a cult classic and is now frequently ranked among the greatest Italian progressive rock records ever made. Success, however, came too late: the band split in 1973 while recording a second album, the largely instrumental sessions for which surfaced only years later, in incomplete form, as the archival release “Dietro l’uragano”. For decades that seemed to be the end — until, in 2010, several original members reunited to perform once more, eventually recording a full new album, “AttosecondO” (2013), that stood proudly alongside their classic debut.

Album by album

A tiny catalogue, but one that carries enormous weight in RPI. Tap any title for its guide.

The players

Pietro Pellegrini (keyboards) was the band’s driving force, his Emerson-inspired playing across organ, Moog and more defining their sound; in later years he worked with the likes of Riccardo Zappa and PFM. Michele Bavaro (vocals) gave the music its powerful, dramatic voice. Guido Wassermann (guitar), Alfonso Oliva (bass) and Giorgio Santandrea (drums) completed a formidable original line-up, with Pellegrini, Wassermann and Santandrea among those who returned for the band’s reunion. In recent years the band has mourned the passing of several of its founders — bassist Alfonso Oliva in 2022, guitarist Guido Wassermann in 2023 and original singer Michele Bavaro in 2024 — whose work together remains a cornerstone of Italian prog.

Where to start

There is one essential starting point: the self-titled “Alphataurus” (1973), a true RPI classic and one of the most rewarding heavy progressive albums Italy produced. Its five compositions, from the dramatic “Peccato d’Orgoglio” to the atmospheric “La Mente Vola”, reward repeated listening. From there, the reunion album “AttosecondO” (2013) shows the band’s spirit very much intact decades on. Together they form a small but powerful body of work.

Why they still matter

Alphataurus embody the romance of Italian progressive rock — a brilliant young band who made one extraordinary album, disappeared, and were rediscovered by later generations of fans who recognised its greatness. Their heavy, dramatic, keyboard-driven sound stands among the finest of the RPI scene, and their debut’s belated rise to classic status is a reminder of just how much treasure that scene contains. For anyone exploring Italian prog beyond its most famous names, Alphataurus are an essential and deeply rewarding discovery.

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