Ray Wilson, former Genesis vocalist, has released a video of Never Should Have Sent You Roses. This is the second track to be taken from his new album ‘Makes Me Feel Like Home’ released on 7th October.
Ray says this about the track:
“In the song, the English girl leaves the Scottish boy and his love for her drives him to contemplate suicide. The rose is of course the national flower of England, hence, they never should have sent you roses. My ex wife was English, I also lived in England and my step Father is English, so there is perhaps a slight parallel somewhere, however it is fictional in the song. She could perhaps be of a higher class, him a working class, which also makes it more difficult to be together, due to family pressure and different upbringing.”
‘Makes Me Think Of Home’, the 6th solo studio album from former Stiltskin and Genesis frontman, Ray Wilson, will be released on 7th October. This release comes hot on the heels of ‘Song For A Friend’, an acoustic album released earlier this year and which garnered great reviews.
‘Makes Me Think Of Home’ is a mix of pop, rock and prog which showcases Ray’s remarkable voice. The title track sees Ray looking back to his days living in Scotland, a country he left after finding love with a Polish dancer. He moved to Poznan 8 years ago, and in this ambitious and very moving track he reflects on his years trying to find peace and happiness in Edinburgh.
Makes Me Think of Home full Tracklist:
Never Should Have Sent You Roses
The Next Life
Tennessee Mountain
Worship The Sun
Makes Me Think Of Home
Amen To That
Anyone Out There
Don’t Wait For
Calvin And Hobbes
The Spirit
Reflecting on his latest work, Ray says,
“Makes Me Think of Home encompasses the joy of freedom we have all come to enjoy and perhaps take for granted as well as the fear of solitude. It highlights the many imperfections that make us special and reminds us not to fear them, but to embrace them. In the words of Leonard Cohen. “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in”.
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX have shared the first track from their forthcoming album ‘Bronze’. The UK dark progressive rockers will release their stunning new full-length on November 4th.
Justin Greavescomments: “It is time to give the world a glimpse of our new album with the track ‘No Fun’. This song might raise an eyebrow or two amongst our amazing fans, but then again,CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIXhave always liked to lay musical traps to lure people into our orbit. ‘No Fun’ is far from giving it all away as regards our new album –and this riff has been on demo since 2004, but only now was given birth. Yet it fits the sound, which is our best yet in my opinion and I am extremely happy with how the new album turned out. Stand by for more, but enjoy having ‘No Fun’ for now.”
The artwork of‘Bronze’ can be viewed together with the now released track-list below.
01. Dead Imperial Bastard
02. Deviant Burials
03. No Fun
04. Rotten Memories
05. Champions Of Disturbance (Pt 1 & 2)
06. Goodbye Then
07. Turn To Stone
08. Scared And Alone
09. Winning A Losing Battle
10. We Are The Darkeners
Bronze consists primarily of copper, but it is the inclusion of other metals and non-metals that gives this alloy its specific characteristics. Ever since mankind discovered the secret of its making thousands of years ago, the golden and shining bronze has changed the course of history, spawned destruction and war, yet also been crafted into desired objects of extreme beauty.
You will find each of these traits inherent in the sixth studio album of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, which is aptly taking its title from this fateful alloy. Instead of copper, dark rock forms the base ingredient in this musical amalgamation process, but it is the addition of metal, progressive influences, gothic, wave, even pop, and many other elements as well as a changing cast of musicians that result in each song shining with its own individual hue and tone. Yet a deep sense of anguish, despair, longing, loss, melancholy, and nostalgia forms a binding force that holds ‘Bronze’ together and formulates an encompassing theme.
This musical darkness is reflected in the lyrical themes dominating the record, which partly revolve around battling inner demons and resisting oppression. The constant struggle comes as no surprise when taking into account that poetic mastermind Justin Greaves has recently gone public about his personal fight against severe depression. For him, not letting the “black dog” devour you is a big message mixed within his songs.
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX have always confounded critics trying to pin their style down ever since multi-instrumentalist Justin Greaves recorded his first ideas in 2004 – which earned them tagging attempts ranging from “stoner prog” to “freak folk” to “psychedelic doom”. Despite the wide range of musical leanings within their albums, there are a unifying dark streak and sombre melancholy running through the songs. Founder Justin Greaves had already made himself a name as drummer for IRON MONKEY and ELECTRIC WIZARD among others. When the multi-instrumentalist finally decided to stand on his own musical feet, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIXwas born as a project. This involves a changing cast of musicians and live set-ups, which mirror the ever ongoing evolution of the band and the fact that the songs were mostly not composed with their live performance on mind.
Between 2007 and 2014, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX released a string of five critically highly acclaimed studio albums – from ‘A Love of Shared Disasters’ (2007), via ‘The Resurrectionists’ (2009), ‘Night Raider’ (2009), ‘(Mankind) The Crafty Ape’ (2012), until ‘White Light Generator’ (2014). This was complemented by EPs ‘I, Vigilante’ (2010), ‘No Sadness or Farewell’ (2012), and ‘Oh’ Ech-oes’ (2015), the live recording ‘Live Poznan’ (2013), and the ‘200 Tons of Bad Luck’ compilation (2009). Their ‘New Dark Age Tour EP 2015 A.D.’ was the band’s first release on Season of Mist that came with an extensive homage to PINK FLOYD. The strong influence of the UK rock giants can still be felt on ‘Bronze’, yet while CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX never denied their roots, this outstanding act has long created their own sonic cosmos and now takes it a dimension further. Be warned that ‘Bronze’ will infect you with a most deep fascination. Shine on…
‘Bronze’ was recorded at Chapel Studio and mixed with Karl Daniel Lidén.
THE FESTIVAL WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE WORLD’S BEST PROGRESSIVE BANDS RETURNS IN 2017 WITH ULVER…
Since its inception in 2014 the Barcelona based festival Be Prog! My Friend has played host to the likes of Opeth, Steven Wilson, Anathema, Devin Townsend, TesseracT, The Pineapple Thief, Magma, Agent Fresco, Camel, Meshuggah, Katatonia, Riverside, Ihsahn and Alcest.
Taking place in the beautiful open air surroundings of Poble Espanyol the site is one of the most important landmarks of tourism in Barcelona. By day the Catalonian hotspot is an architectural museum and at the end of June, start of July it will play host to some of the world’s finest progressive bands.
This year saw the festival co-headlined by Steven Wilson and fellow progressive heavy weights Opeth. Now Be Prog! My Friend have announced that it will return in 2017 on 30st June and 1st July with Norwegian experimental music collective Ulver.
The festivlal organsiers comment: ‘Ulver are a fresh triumph of modern music, music that catches your heart and captures your soul. Ulver create music that cult festival Be Prog! My Friend must bring to Barcelona in its fourth edition in 2017.’
Tickets are currently on sale now at the reduced price of 75 Euros for a limited time only – http://www.ticktackticket.com/entradas/goto.do?claves=.127248&origin=TTT&codIdioma=ING
Press for Be Prog! My Friend festival 2016:
‘And so Prog finds itself in love with Barcelona, the delightful weather and everything that Be Prog! My Friend has to offer’– Prog Magazine
‘The leading festival for progressive music in Spain, showcased avant-garde music in a magnificent location’ – The Independent
‘Set in the hazy sunlit square of Barcelona’s historic and quite stunning Poble Espanyol, it certainly beats the sodden mud of the British festival season’ – Total Guitar Magazine
‘If nothing else, it proves that prog is alive and kicking. Especially in Catalonia’ – Classic Rock Magazine
http://www.beprogmyfriend.com/
facebook.com/beprogmyfriend
Be Prog! My Friend takes place in the heart of Barcelona and with an airport only 12km away, regular, cheap flights make it an easy festival to get and from the UK. Bands will start playing from mid/late afternoon each day which will also mean visitors have plenty of time to explore the stunning city of Barcelona while they are there.
Seems like things have been very quiet lately with the Franck Carducci Band but Progradar has learned that they have been busy like bees, working on the production of a live DVD of the “Tearing The Tour Apart” tour.
The recording for this DVD was made during 2 concerts at Climax Club Legend at the end of 2015 and will feature special guest Jimmy Pallagrosi (Karnataka) behind the drums! There’s no news yet regarding any release date but, suffice to say, we will keep you updated!
The band have released a teaser for the forthcoming release:
I spoke to Franck himself about the making of the DVD and he told me this:
“It’s an absolute delight to be able to release a DVD of our live show. For me, the visual aspect have always been a full part of live music. That’s why acts like Genesis & Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, Alice Cooper and of course Pink-Floyd have always been huge influences of mine. So a DVD was completely necessary to be able to share the full experience of our show and I do hope people will enjoy it!”
Franck Carducci has started a Crowd Funding Campaign for the new DVD, sign up at the link below:
As I travel though this world full of incredible highs and unbelievable lows my companion has always been music. The type of music has changed through the years but one thing has been constant, it is music written not to make money but to enrich the lives of those that would hear the notes.
Obviously, since I started writing about music, the vast majority has been progressive rock and all of its variants but every now and again I hear something that people would not expect me to listen to but which really moves me in many ways.
The little beauty that grabbed my attention this time was the solo EP by long time Franck Carducci Band member Mary Reynaud, a delightful little bluegrass/folk/singer-songwriter concoction called ‘Make It Together’.
Consisting of six tracks and featuring Dorian Ricaux and support from Manu Bertrand and Franck Carducci himself, from the first listen it has brightened my day and washed away the blues.
“Like a Polaroid snapshot, this record represents the capture of a moment in time. It was not conceptualized and prepared as one normally prepares an album. However, during one evening in March, there was Franck, Manu and Dorian reunited in my living room gathered around me and my songs. Notes began flying, musical arrangements were settled and the idea to seize the moment was born. Two weeks after being in the studio, all three of us in a room and we recorded. Everything was captured as is, our hearts, our respiration, the ideas that came, our voices broken with emotion, the movements, the tiny flaws … just like in my living room. We mad it, together. And now, all you have to do is take a seat with us.” – Mary Reynaud.
So, all we have to do is press play and immerse ourselves in these wonderful pared back songs of wistful beauty, longing, joy, love and remorse, go on then!
“Last night a comet crashed in my dream, I first thought it might be a real bad thing…”
Magic Passerelle is an upbeat, fast paced little toe-tapper with some excellent fret work on Mary’s 1974 Martin D18 guitar and her delicate, yet sultry voice is the only accompaniment required. Just let the music wash over you and enjoy the feeling of the sun and wind on your back, a song for the summer for definite. The guitar playing is an utter joy.
“Close your eyes and stop your cries cause I will always be there, To dry your tears and take your fears and keep you warm with me…”
We turn to wistful and winsome with Make It Together a soft hued and soft timbred delight. The guitar playing drips emotion and Mary’s vocal is full of melancholy and yet gives a feeling of hope. The guitar playing and the way this delightful troubadour sings give a real feeling of gallic bluegrass. A song for warm nights sat around an open fire with a fine red wine, French of course!
“The sky is blue and I”m in a cloudy mood, I say I’m cool but my face don’t move…”
A sort of jazz/folk track with a light blues infusion (well, to my ears anyway), Sad For Nothing really hit home with me as it mirrored my feelings exactly, going through a difficult phase in my life. Stylish guitar playing, polished and earnest vocals and yet a feeling of remorse or something similar lying in wait in the background. The wonderful guitar picking is a delight to hear, a song for those close to us, late nights and serious discussions.
“I think I have a crush on you, It seems like I am falling for you, I know I’m wrong, I’m so young, but there’s not much that I can do…”
A passionate song of love and longing, No Way You Can Guess is full of beautiful fragility from the compassionate vocals through to the dreamy and contemplative guitar playing. I feel summer days and grassy banks alongside a jewel like, burbling stream, sepia tinged and nostalgia filled, where there is love, there will always be hope.
“Let’s spend the afternoon under the figtree, I’m Alice in wonderland and you are a pixie, Undercover of the leaves, there is no distance…”
The upbeat feeling returns with the utterly charming bluegrass hues of Under The Figtree. A three minute ditty with clever lyrics, clever guitar playing and Mary’s knowing vocals. You get a feeling of the mystery that Mary shows when she is in character as Alice in the live Franck Carducci shows. One to stand up and dance to under the stars, carefree and happy with life and yourself. A song of pure good-feeling, happiness and an utmost joie-de-vivre, bravo Mary!
“Stuck in frontof that white page, Wondering what you’d want me to say, I’m lost in an ocean of question marks, Time to give a piece of me…”
I loved reading the lyrics to 3 Chords And The Truth, the never ending battle about whether the songwriter should write to please the audience or just give a bit of themselves in the hope that the honesty will strike a chord. It is a wonderful song, straight from the heart of Mary Reynaud and you can hear the inner turmoil in her voice, a creation of sheer charm, elegance and grace. This is music pared back to the basics with the refined guitar adding a subtle backing to Mary’s heartfelt lyrics. Always be true to yourself, give all of yourself and no-one can ask for anymore, a parable for modern times perhaps?
Music truly is the food of love and you can’t help but adore this beautiful collection of songs from this talented lady. They lifted my soul from some very dark places and this EP should be on everybodys wish list. A natural feel-good lift for the body and mind and songwriting of the highest calibre, Mary Reynaud has released something true to her heart and we should all be thankful.
The Swedish extreme tech-metal pioneers MESHUGGAH recently revealed the title of their upcoming eighth album, “The Violent Sleep Of Reason”. Today, the band released the first trailer where Tomas Haakediscusses the title and cover artwork for the eighth album. Watch the video on the Nuclear Blast YouTube channel:
Tomas Haake comments, “Basically, the whole idea of why we chose the title is it kinda connects with the lyrical content of the album. Which is to a fair degree about current events and what you see is going on as far as terrorism today, extremist views on ideals, and religious dogma and the violent implications that you get from being asleep so to speak and not acting/reacting to what is going on in the proper way”
The album was produced by the band and was engineered by Tue Madsen of Puk Studios in Kaerby,Denmark. For the cover, the band once again enlisted KeerychLuminokaya who created the artwork forKoloss and The Ophidian Trek as well as the new images for each of the 7 albums and 3 EP’s featured in the 25 Years of Musical Deviance box set.
“The Violent Sleep Of Reason” will be available in the following formats:
Nuclear Blast UK Store:
– Mail-Order Exclusive Box Set*
Limited to 1,000 worldwide
Includes: Latex face mask, (2) stickers, (2) 1.25” buttons, poster flag, certificate of authenticity
– Limited Edition Double Gatefold Gold Vinyl
– Limited Edition Double Gatefold Silver Vinyl
– Limited Edition Double Gatefold Light Blue/Orange Bi-Coloured Vinyl
Available here: http://nblast.de/MeshuggahNBUK
Recordstore.co.uk:
– Limited Edition Black Double LP
– Limited Edition Double Gatefold Picture Disc
– CD Digipack
Available here: http://nblast.de/MeshuggahRS
Track listing as follows:
1. Clockworks
2. Born in Dissonance
3. MonstroCity
4. By the Ton
5. Violent Sleep of Reason
6. Ivory Tower
7. Stifled
8. Nostrum
9. Our Rage Won’t Die
10. Into Decay
Progressive rock stalwarts and innovators The Tangent return, after main man Andy Tillison’s heart attack last year, with a great lyric video for single A Few Steps Down The Wrong Road and you can watch it here:
Andy wanted to return to the more socially aware music that he has generally written since he was a teenager.
Andy told me,
” …obviously it’s something where we;ve beaten the punks, the independents, the Bonos and Stings to the post in having something to say about the Post Brexit racism. The song is NOT about Brexit itself… that wouldn’t interest me enough to write a song…”
In an announcement on the band’s facebook page he went on to say,
“It’s a song from a man who loves his Yorkshire, his England, his Britain and his Europe more than the self serving hacks from the tabloid press seem to love anything.
This is The Tangent. We are a PROGRESSIVE ROCK BAND. This is our new song. Play as loud as you can – and make sure you listen to the very end.”
The track, and the band’s upcoming as-yet-untitled album, will feature artwork created by renowned UK comic artist Mark Buckingham, who has provided designs for both DC and Marvel as well as artwork for The Fierce And The Dead.
“The power of music, whether joyous or cathartic must steal on one unawares, come spontaneously as a blessing or a grace–”
― Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
I write reviews and run this website purely for the love of music. I don’t get paid for anything I write or publish and this bothers me not one iota. I am a music lover and I feel it is my mission to expose as many people out there as I can to some of the wonderful, awe inspiring, life affirming songs that are created mostly to be heard and to enrich people’s worlds.
Hopefully this will mean that they will then support the artists by buying the music or sharing it with even more people which will enable those musicians to carry on their creative endeavours. A musical Circle of Life if you like.
This could be upbeat music that just puts you in a really great mood or music written specifically for the love of life. When I’ve had a major upheaval in my life I like to listen to music that soothes my soul and calms me down, cathartic songs that can take the worries and strains of real life and just smooth them away to ease me into a place of calmness. I’m not bothered about genre, it is the music that speaks to me the loudest that I want to hear and, more often than not, it’s one band who my radar zeroes in on….
Italian alternative band Nosound started as a one man studio project in 2005 by Giancarlo Erra, but has since grown into a five piece band, evolving into something unique, focused and powerful. The music is evocative and intense, with personal songwriting. Influences range from Pink Floyd to Brian Eno, from Porcupine Tree to Sigur Ros, passing through rock and electronic/ambient.
As well as Giancarlo (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Nosound is Marco Berni (keyboards, vocals) Alessandro Luci (bass, upright bass, keyboards) PaoloVigliarolo (acoustic & electric guitars) and Giulio Caneponi (drums, percussions, vocals).
I discovered the band upon the release of their 2013 album ‘Afterthoughts’ and I was immediately bowled over by their particular type of widescreen melancholia and wistful imagery which really struck a chord with me. This led to the discovery of their back catalogue including such gems as 2013’s reissue of the wondrous ‘Lightdark’, a remaster of the album originally released in 2008.
Their trademark symphonic lushness and winsome ennui really suited many of my moods and I almost felt reborn and pulling free of the trappings of a painful life after listening to the music.
So, you can imagine that news of a new album by this expressive band is going to make me a happy boy and you’d be 100% correct. Earlier this year an email arrived from the PR company stating:
‘NOSOUND ANNOUNCE NEW STUDIO ALBUM – SCINTILLA & RELEASE FIRST VIDEO FOR “SHORT STORY”’
After barely containing my excitement, I ploughed on to see what we had coming in store for us.
Featuring guest appearances from Anathema’sVincent Cavanagh and acclaimed Italian singer Andrea Chimenti, ‘Scintilla’ is inspired by personal upheaval and a desire for change and is a wholly new musical and visual approach for Giancarlo Erra’s ever-evolving band. Cellist Marianne De Chastelaine returns tot he fold but, this time, in a more free-flowing and improvisational capacity.
He goes on to say:
“The intention with ‘Scintilla’ was to do something a bit more different than previously and illustrating more vigorously what Nosound is today.
During a decade of activity, my listening tastes have shifted gradually towards a more simpler, more direct music with an intimate character that still retains a certain richness and detail in sound.
Northern folk and alt singer-songwriter music are possibly the stronger influences, but generally speaking, everything that is simple, direct and minimal but with rich sound is what I like, and what I hope this album is.”
This latest work marks the beginning of the second phase of Nosound’s fascinating career.
Low key and almost under the radar Short Story makes a very unassuming entrance. Delicate piano, lush soundscapes and an almost ethereal vocal immediately set the tone and calm any rushing heartbeats. With an almost organic creativity to the music, it seems to have a life of its own as it wistfully drifts across your psyche with its gentle sonic palette. Last Lunch immediately takes on a more melancholic and dreamlike note, the music being the tapestry upon which the vocals paint their temperate scene. Initially a paragon of self-control and emotional depth, it really touches you deeply, the wondrous Cello is particularly emotive and touching. 7 minutes of laid back, low key and yet deeply stirring music has an ultimately cathartic outcome and I find myself afloat upon a sea of my own dreams and aspirations. I saw Nosound play live at The Resonance Festival two years ago and can still remember how much of himself Giancarlo puts into the songs as he sings them. They are part of him and come from the depths of his very soul. As the song comes to a close you feel you have been through quite an emotional journey and are all the better for it.
There is a whimsical feel to the opening of Little Man, nostalgic and playful, as the chiming keyboards resonate. It soon opens up into a much more mature track as the soothing strings and heartfelt vocals stir up emotions deep in your psyche. The way the drums are delivered is relaxed and composed and the Cello, once again, provides moments of pure indulgence. A sinuous soundscape is created that leaves tendrils of thoughtful contemplation floating around in your mind, the meandering guitar playing is another highlight of this reflective song. In Celebration of Life sees the first contribution from Vincent Cavanagh and the introduction is as sonically intimate as they come, small pearls of musical delight surround you and leave you in a tranquil state, musing what is to come next. More verdant strings continue the meditative mood. The whole musical vista that is laid before you is celestially sublime and, when the vocals begin, all breathy and gossamer like, the spell is set and you are caught right in the middle of a thing of utmost beauty. The exquisitely heart-breaking solo is absolutely amazing and strikes you right in your heart, a song of pure delight and wonder.
Sogno e Incendio was co-written, and is sung by, renowned Italian singer Andrea Chimenti, it is serenely intense and full of a deeply felt passion. The vocals are delivered in such a fashion as to leave you hanging on every word, whether you understand them or not. The musical accompaniment is classically superb and compliments Andrea’s voice perfectly, it is like a melancholy lament but is oh so beautiful, painfully so in places. The Italian language, especially when sung, is a thing of charm and grace and I am left with a feeling of utter bliss as the elegant guitar floats around your mind. The trancelike Emily is like wisps of cloudlike delights that fleetingly leave an impression on you before moving on, transient and ephemeral notes of music that leave you in a dreamlike reverie. It is surreal but in an exquisite fashion and tugs at your heartstrings all too briefly before departing to who knows where.
Cavanagh returns for The Perfect Wife, a mournful and somber track which wears its heart on its sleeve. There’s a deep lying and potent passion at the core of this powerfully compelling song, the ardent sentiment is clear in the fervor of the vocals. The somber and forlorn music is incredibly emotive and fills you with a sorrowful empathy, the Cello seems to become animate and alive with its own character and draws you even further into this dark and plaintive story. These musicians leave nothing behind and exhaust you with their intensity and ardor, as impassioned a track as you will hear this year. What appears to be an alluring love song at first with its tender piano and fragile vocals, Love is Forever soon reveals its unexpected sarcasm in the cynical lyrics yet you can never get away from the fact that this song has style and artistry at its heart, quite a conumdrum. I just let the winsome music wash over me and enjoy its cathartic powers.
Evil Smile is an elegantly charismatic track that takes you on a meandering journey through a wonderful acoustic soundscape, the organic feel is increasingly evident in the flow and texture of the vocals and the hypnotic music, especially the strings. The trance-like instrumental sections leave you mesmerised, only recovering when the introspective voice of Giancarlo wakes you from your musing state. The final title track Scintilla takes all that has come before and amalgamates it into something even more divine. A fantastical musical journey where you are the only passenger and there is a musical universe of a myriad opportunities in front of you. Hesitant and slightly unsure, it takes small steps before the halting vocals draw you in and the journey commences for real. A song (and, indeed an album) worth listening to with headphones on and silence around you to pick up every tiny nuance and subtlety. Enjoy a fine wine and just relax as this seraphic track cleanses your heart and soul and encourages the deepest parts of your very being with its almost heavenly grace and charm.
Not so much a leap into the unknown as a slight re-imagining of who they were before, ‘Scintilla’ is more than just a piece of music or an album of new songs. It alters your state of mind and your very essence and you come out of the other side feeling a better and more complete person. That Giancarlo Erra and Nosound can achieve that is testament to their amazing songwriting skills and musical ability. I implore you to buy this album and, as soon as you can, see them perform it live, I promise you will not be disappointed!
After announcing the new album ‘The Ninth Hour’, due on October 7th, the Finnish melodic metal quintet SONATA ARCTICA now present their first single and lyric video ‘Closer To An Animal‘.
“‘Closer to an animal’ was a song that our vocalist Tony sent to the studio somewhere around the middle of the sessions with the words: ‘This will be the album opener’,” keyboarder Henkka Klingenberg remembers. “After checking out the demo, we all just had to agree. I would say that musically this is a ‘metal meets 80’s’ type of song. We wanted this as the first single, since it gives quite a clear picture of what you can expect on the upcoming album, or at least some of it. I’m really looking forward to opening the shows on the next World Tour with this track!”
‘The Ninth Hour’ full tracklist:
01. Closer To An Animal
02. Life
03. Fairytale
04. We Are What We Are
05. Till Death’s Done Us Apart
06. Among The Shooting Stars
07. Rise A Night
08. Fly, Navigate, Communicate
09. Candle Lawns
10. White Pearl, Black Oceans Part II – “By The Grace Of The Ocean”
11. On The Faultline (Closure To An Animal)
Once again, the upcoming album was produced by SONATA ARCTICA themselves and mixed by Pasi Kauppinen.
Right after the summer festival season and the release of their anticipated record, the band will embark on a European tour together with their label mates TWILIGHT FORCE. Dates as follows:
SONATA ARCTICA
Special Guests: TWILIGHT FORCE presented by: Metal Hammer, Musix, Blast, Rock it + Powermetal.de & Dragon Productions
07.10.16 NOR – Trondheim, Trondheim Metal Fest
08.10.16 SE – Borlänge, Liljan
09.10.16 SE – Huskvarna, Folkets Park
11.10.16 DK – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset
12.10.16 DE – Hamburg, Markthalle
13.10.16 NL – Haarlem, Patronaat
14.10.16 NL – Tilburg, 013 15.10.16 UK – London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
16.10.16 FR – Paris, La Machine du Moulin Rouge
18.10.16 FR – Strasbourg, La Laiterie
19.10.16 CH – Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7
20.10.16 IT – Milan, Alcatraz
21.10.16 DE – Mannheim, Alte Seilerei
22.10.16 DE – Bochum, Zeche Booking: Dragon Productions – www.dragon-productions.com
Thanks to modern technology Bedroom Warriors around the world are free to record their music without interference or demands from Labels or Managers. People are free to create, liberally making the music they want to make without compromise, other than the amount of instruments and recording equipment they have. It’s even possible to do it from a digital pad these days, with a studio at your fingertips, you can twiddle virtual knobs to your hearts content, until you are satisfied. Unfortunately it also means there is no quality control.
Dave Palermo hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He’s been a musician for many years and has recorded several albums both as a solo artist and with other bands. All songs are written and recorded by Dave and he plays all the instrumentation, keyboards, synth bass, synth guitar, and drum programming .
He named the solo project VISTA which he sees as a metaphor for his music createability from the dictionary definition: A view, especially an attractive view from a high position. “After a hard climb, we were rewarded by a vista of rolling hills.” He says” “A song and ultimately an album are mountains to climb. An upward journey through the mind to the top where you turn around and look back at something aesthetically pleasing, entertaining, and informative for the listener. This is the goal and the standard for every piece of music I write, so I’ve called this project Vista.”
It’s at this point the PR pack goes on to list influences and the kinship with other bands, though pointing out Vista has its own style and sound, full of unique chord progressions and memorable melodies. Dave also says the new debut album includes 8 tracks of powerful synth rock. Sorry Dave it doesn’t. Though it pains me to say it I cannot agree with these comments and have deliberately not named the bands.
I really don’t know where to start, so let’s begin on the positive. Dave is clearly a competent multi-instrumentalist but I would like to see him stretched to show his full abilities which this album does not seem to do, or I hope it doesn’t. He obviously loves his music and the creative process, the instrumental tunes are nice and inoffensive. There is no growling vocals, blasphemy or swearing to be heard. I would like anyone reading this to bear in mind that these are all merely my opinions and others may well like the eight tunes presented on this album and Dave is free to ignore this review, shun me forever and pretend I don’t exist, but I cannot do this without being honest and true to myself.
I will not use the words ‘powerful’ and ‘rock’ because I at no time want to mislead anyone.
Track 1 – Aviator: Never really takes off for me and floats, drifts around like a brightly coloured balloon in a summer sky slowly deflating as the helium exits through a small pinhole.
Track 2 – Arena: Nothing to do with Clive Nolan, of which I’m sure he’ll be relieved. This is where I expected the excitement, drama and the two previously mentioned words to kick in, but no. Deflating further the balloon doesn’t even receive a kick to boost it and the arena it trails over is an overgrown ruin.
Track 3 – Virtual Safari: The balloon floats across sparse, flat tundra, dodging dried twisted trees and bushes and I want my money back as at no time does the tune create any images of virtual, majestic creatures running freely across the synthesised plains.
Track 4 – Marathon: Not related to the Rush tune of the same name, though the metaphorical balloon does seem to catch a little breeze and gain pace in comparison to the previous tracks but the music doesn’t befit the title as neither very long or epic. Half way through the album though and I am begining to feel I’m running in a marathon.
Track 5 – Brigade: As an ex-military man myself I could never have marched to this beat. It doesn’t convey any sense of bombast, pride or action. There could be no chest beating swells of emotion as the only distinguishing thing on this track is a leisurely run up and down the keyboards. This should be enough to shoot further holes into the metaphoric balloon, depleting it’s momentum further. I’m tempted to go AWOL.
Track 6 – Myriad Harvest: A welcome departure into piano like intro on this track holds promise, but it doesn’t last and slips back into the synthesised anaesthesia. The old adage of ‘You reap what you sow’, never rung more true, one careless swing of the instrumental scythe and the balloon could be punctured beyond repair. With a heartbeat drum track this plods like a shire horse pulling a heavy plough.
Track 7 – Finding Destiny’s Road: We all have a destiny, be it in our hands or not and we find signs to guide us along the path. But here, someone’s pinched the road signs and we are left to wander aimlessly following the balloon as it drifts just above the road surface, ribbon trailing on the tarmac. Once again the only distinguishable piece is a few bars of piano like keys in the middle, too little to raise us and we stop suddenly at the end not knowing or particulalry caring where this takes us.
Track 8 – Devil’s Pass: Atmospheric and with a certain gloom, this is the best track, albeit the final one, on the album. It mourns the passing of the balloon as the the last desparate whisps of air are expelled and it lays motionless, done. This could have been good if longer and had built the menace and impetus, but it dies too soon. It also shows a hint of one of the bands Dave claims kinship with, I’ll leave you to guess which band.
In conclusion I have listened to this album four times fully and it has played whilst I write, I will not be listening again. I do not get paid for this and have no hidden agenda, the reviews I do are purely out of love for music. If you find riding in a lift aesthetically pleasing, getting off at the floor housing the library and feel daring at returning your library book a couple of days late, then this is the album for you.
I am proud to know a number of excellent multi-instrumentalists, one of whom I know once entered a popular TV talent competition and ended up probably hearing a similar parting sentence from the judges.
Sorry Mr Palermo, but it’s a ‘NO’ from me and I’m out.
