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Review:
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The Never Ending Illusion is the highly anticipated
second CD release for Italian prog-metalersDaedalus. The
band, having gone through a few personnel changes now consists
of Davide Merletto (vocals), Andrea Torretta (guitars),
Fabio Gremo (bass), Giuseppe Spano (keyboards) and Davide
La Rosa (drums). Fans of harder-edged, crunchy guitar progressive
rock are going to love this release.
What we have here are ten compositions most of which
are in the five-to-six minute range but also a couple longer
pieces of seven and nine-minute lengths. By all accounts
this is a band that had matured greatly from their 2003
release Leading far From a Mistake. The Never Ending Illusion
starts out with the short keyboard-dominated, arpeggio based
“Waiting for the Dawn” [1:14], but from that point on the
guitars tend to be the dominant lead instrument. That said,
there are moments, such as three-minutes into the song “Life”
[5:46] where the heavy guitars step back providing space
for washes of keyboards or other times for a short piano
solo, but by and large this is an album of solid guitar
work. The full-time keyboard player is kept busy for the
most part providing thick atmospheres just to keep up the
six-string crunch. The vocals of Merletto are in English
and can be quite restrained as in the opening of “Hopeless”
[5:11] but they can also take on a very James LaBrie tone,
both in terms of style and range. Sometimes the resemblance
is remarkable. In fact if I was forced to point to a sonic
reference point it would easily be Dream Theater. The tunes
hold much in common with those guys. Having said that Daedalus
can also put together a great sounding ballad. Check out
the opening classical strains of “Cold Embrace” [5:24] with
the vocals in the lower register, keyboard strings adding
a little orchestrated touch. It’s a great diversion from
their heavier side.
If you enjoy the music of band’s such as Dream Theater,
with maybe a little Arena, but mostly DT then Daedalus is
an easy recommendation. The Never Ending Illusion has every
chance of being a classic prog-metal disc in the years to
come. Fans of harder-edged prog will find much to enjoy
and appreciate here.
www.jerrylucky.com
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