This review will appear in Issue 59 of The Underground Sound Webzine: http://undergroundreccords.org/sound
Originally released in 2010 and self produced by this Italian band, this title gets new life as the band signed with Jolly Roger and has since released their debut for that label (also reviewed here). Coming off the table like hot tayters on flesh, the first strands of these ditties put forth a technical proficiency so smokin' hot that it earns it's own genre. That track, the lead off "Through The Spiral Rise" is all but progressive heaven. The renaissance worlds of celestial lyrics and vocals of yonder yore, not a small bit reminding me of the glory of Dio intensified in delivery, phrase and power, works on this track better than average and really throughout this album seamlessly. Which for many bands of Memento Waltz's ilk, vocals get made into a mess. Here though, the work is clear and strong, as the entire album comes through uncluttered, precise and hittin' on all cylinders. Really, and I am not making this up, such a feat can be extremely hard to accomplish, if not just for the skill of writing this type of music, and being able to play it more than a one off jam. It takes work folks.
"Illusion" is a prime example of this ability. It goes from galloping war horse to futuristic jam breakdown then off into the nether realms first blazed by the masters of the vinyl era over decades of toll. The band manages to put together a passable persian vibe on "Vision", reminding the listener that there is a world of music out there to explore above the bland pop varieties of the modern commercial quagmire which often just rip off such flows by sampling or just outright plagiarism. It just takes a one-two count though, or maybe a break beat, for the band to be back tearing it up with psychedelic abandon. Same song, different mind. In all, heavy metal is not far away, if not stampeding through your conscious en-route to oblivion. The sound clip and time inversion which kicks of "Albert The Visitor" brings to mind the innocence of youth, stripped away by the first clouds of reefer, the sky opening, the voices from the ether, speaking a new language. Behind it all, a massive barrage of rock n roll. This leads into the title cut, which makes you think it's simple, till you really listen to the parts; a lead drum passage riding above and putting a fret-board work-out to task, embedded in a myriad of riffing. Come to think of it, that's this album simplified and paired down; riffs, and lots of'em.
Originally released in 2010 and self produced by this Italian band, this title gets new life as the band signed with Jolly Roger and has since released their debut for that label (also reviewed here). Coming off the table like hot tayters on flesh, the first strands of these ditties put forth a technical proficiency so smokin' hot that it earns it's own genre. That track, the lead off "Through The Spiral Rise" is all but progressive heaven. The renaissance worlds of celestial lyrics and vocals of yonder yore, not a small bit reminding me of the glory of Dio intensified in delivery, phrase and power, works on this track better than average and really throughout this album seamlessly. Which for many bands of Memento Waltz's ilk, vocals get made into a mess. Here though, the work is clear and strong, as the entire album comes through uncluttered, precise and hittin' on all cylinders. Really, and I am not making this up, such a feat can be extremely hard to accomplish, if not just for the skill of writing this type of music, and being able to play it more than a one off jam. It takes work folks.
"Illusion" is a prime example of this ability. It goes from galloping war horse to futuristic jam breakdown then off into the nether realms first blazed by the masters of the vinyl era over decades of toll. The band manages to put together a passable persian vibe on "Vision", reminding the listener that there is a world of music out there to explore above the bland pop varieties of the modern commercial quagmire which often just rip off such flows by sampling or just outright plagiarism. It just takes a one-two count though, or maybe a break beat, for the band to be back tearing it up with psychedelic abandon. Same song, different mind. In all, heavy metal is not far away, if not stampeding through your conscious en-route to oblivion. The sound clip and time inversion which kicks of "Albert The Visitor" brings to mind the innocence of youth, stripped away by the first clouds of reefer, the sky opening, the voices from the ether, speaking a new language. Behind it all, a massive barrage of rock n roll. This leads into the title cut, which makes you think it's simple, till you really listen to the parts; a lead drum passage riding above and putting a fret-board work-out to task, embedded in a myriad of riffing. Come to think of it, that's this album simplified and paired down; riffs, and lots of'em.