Triade were a Florence trio who left behind a single, intriguing album — “1998: La Storia di Sabazio” (1973), a short science-fiction concept built around keyboards, bass and drums in the manner of ELP. For years even the members’ names were a mystery; today the record is a sought-after rarity and a quiet favourite among lovers of keyboard-driven Italian prog.

The short version

Formed in Florence in 1972 by a teenage keyboardist and a seasoned bassist, both devoted to ELP, Triade made just one album — a keyboards-led, classically-tinged sci-fi concept. Split across an instrumental suite and a set of songs, “1998: La Storia di Sabazio” (1973) is a little disjointed but full of fine moments, and its rarity and charm have earned it a devoted following. The band broke up soon after, leaving it as their sole document.

Florence, 1972: a mystery solved

Triade came together in Florence in 1972, at the Space Electronic — the city’s famous venue, where the likes of Van der Graaf Generator played — when eighteen-year-old keyboardist Vincenzo Coccimiglio met the older, more experienced bassist Agostino “Tino” Nobile. Nobile had played in Noi Tre, the legendary 1960s band whose ranks had also included Franco Falsini, later of Sensations’ Fix, and Paolo Tofani, later of Area. Both men were devotees of ELP, set on the keyboards-bass-drums trio format — and so demanding was the music they wrote that several drummers walked out of auditions in frustration before they found one equal to it in Giorgio Sorano. Coccimiglio named the band Triade, after the major triad chord. For decades the members were unknown to the wider world, credited only by surname on the album; their identities were pieced together years later by dedicated researchers.

Keyboards, classical and ELP

Triade played a keyboard-driven symphonic prog firmly in the ELP tradition — Hammond organ and Mellotron to the fore, rich with classical influences from Chopin to Mussorgsky — softened on its second half by the gentler, song-based melodies of Le Orme. Signed in a matter of days by producer Elio Gariboldi to the Derby label, they were treated handsomely: lavish equipment, a Mellotron, even a giant gong and the services of a top studio engineer. The result is well-played and atmospheric, if it never quite escapes the long shadow of the masters it admired.

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1998: La Storia di Sabazio

The band’s sole album, “1998: La Storia di Sabazio” (1973), is a short science-fiction concept — its name drawn from Sabazios, an ancient god of wine. Its two sides could hardly be more different. The first is given over to Coccimiglio’s entirely instrumental, heavily classical “Sabazio” suite, a keyboard-and-piano lover’s delight; the second to three more song-like pieces written by Nobile, lighter and graced with acoustic guitar, two of which — “Caro Fratello” and “1998” — also appeared on a single. The contrast can make the record feel like two half-albums stitched together, and at barely thirty minutes it ends almost before it begins — yet there is much to enjoy, and the playing throughout is excellent. Housed in a delicate mirror-golden gatefold sleeve, original copies are now rare and prized. The band toured well, opening for PFM and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, but their moment was brief.

Album by album

A single album — a short, keyboard-led sci-fi concept. Tap the title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

Triade were Vincenzo Coccimiglio, Agostino Nobile and Giorgio Sorano. When their producer moved abroad and a new one pressed them toward a more commercial sound, the band refused — and, amid internal friction and waning support, soon broke up, no sequel to “Sabazio” ever made. Coccimiglio went on to study and teach music and to travel the world as a pianist and composer, releasing solo electronic projects; he sadly passed away in 2012. Tino Nobile remained in music too, living for a time in Los Angeles before settling in Madeira as a composer and author. Their single album endures as their legacy.

Where to start

There is only one place to start — “1998: La Storia di Sabazio” (1973), Triade’s lone album. Begin with the classical sweep of the instrumental “Sabazio” suite, then turn to the songs of its second side; for lovers of ELP-style, keyboard-led Italian prog, it is a rewarding, if uneven, hidden gem.

Why they still matter

Triade matter as one of the many talented one-album bands the Italian scene threw up and then lost — a trio of real ability who, devoted to ELP, made a record both ambitious and charming before circumstances pulled them apart. Long a mystery, now a collectors’ rarity, “1998: La Storia di Sabazio” rewards those who seek out the deeper corners of RPI. For anyone exploring the scene beyond its famous names, it is well worth discovering.

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