|
Review:
|
Here’s the second part of the Dante story The Divine
Comedy entitled Dante’s Purgatorio, this is the place (to
be more specific, it’s a mountain) where the souls of those
who have died repenting of their sins are “purified” in
order to be allowed to access Paradise. In the huge booklet
(80 pages) you can read the story in 36 “Canto’s”, embellished
with wonderful paintings. The second part of the booklet
contains information about the 35 bands and compositions,
the (mainly ‘vintage’) instrumentation and many websites.
Listening to this 4-CD I am pleasantly surprised about the
quality of the 36 tracks, after 40 years of progressive
rock there is still so much quality and dedication!
CD 1 starts with the highly acclaimed Swedish band Simon
Says, on this track only featuring keyboard player Stefan
Renstrom, he delivers a first part with beautiful Grand
piano and flute-Mellotron, then a kin of ‘sound collage’
in the second part, pretty experimental and not really similar
to his work in Simon Says. Then Nemo, I watched this French
band on the annual Progfarm Festival in Holland in late
2008, high expectations but their contribution evokes mixed
feelings: exciting guitar with sitar sound and keyboards
with Fender electric piano sound, in the end great part
with rock guitar and psychedelic organ but the ‘lalala’
vocals doesn’t please me at all. Next my highlight on this
CD, Italian formation KBridge with a 15 minutes epic: lots
of flowing shifting moods, a breathtaking sound of the Minimoog
synthesizer, Hammond organ and Mellotron and very moving
electric guitar, only the English vocals sound a bit mediocre
but not disturbing, next time Italian vocals please! The
other bands are Ozone Player from Finland (alternating with
majestic choir-Mellotron and a flashy Minimoog solo in the
end), Raimundo Rodulfo from the USA (impressive guitar work
with hints of Steve Howe, concluded with a sensational Minimoog
solo), Ten Midnight from Italy (strong build up, from dreamy
to bombastic with propulsive guitar riffs and Emersonian
Moog flights and wonderful choir-Mellotron), Soulengine
from Italy (a kind of “Rush meets neo-prog” with strong
work on keyboards (lots of Hammond) and guitar, it sounds
very powerful and exciting), Willowglass (this time not
a duo but only prime mover Andrew Marshall) from the UK
(very beautiful blend of 12-string acoustic guitar and vintage
keyboards, halfway culminating into a bombastic part with
sensitive electric guitar runs and splendid Mellotron waves)
and finally Atlantis1001, again a band from Italy, another
highlight on this CD: a very compelling and powerful sound
with strong English vocals, I love the contrast between
the Grand piano and the sumptuous vintage keyboards and
heavy guitar sound and you can enjoy sensational breaks
and solos on guitar, wow!
CD 2 opens with a virtuosic solo piece on the Grand
piano by Andrea Cavallo of the Contrappunto Project (Italy).
Then again from Italy lady Sophy Baccini, she delivers an
unique blend of wonderful vintage keyboards (lots of fat
modular Moog sounds along Hammond, piano and strings) and
good, pretty theatrical vocals, to me it sounds intricate
although the vocals are a bit too extravagant for me. Next
is Argentine top notch formation Nexus with the usual bombastic
Hammond and synthesizer layers and strong guitar (fiery
solo and delicate slide guitar) but this time the vocals
are in Gibberish, it sounds a bit weird but thumbs up for
this daring experiment. The following artists are the ‘veterans’
of acclaimed Italian band Nuova Era with a varied track
that is loaded with excellent vintage keyboards, Moog Taurus
bass pedals, the final part is mindblowing featuring a compelling,
a bit psychedelic atmosphere with a raw guitar solo, goose
bumps! The other bands are Survival from Holland (church-organ
intro, then a tight rhythm section with lots of Hammond
and Emersonian – Works era - synthesizer flights), Little
Tragedies from Russia (ultra bombastic with splendid interplay
between heavy guitar and dazzling keyboards, supported by
a very powerful rhythm-section), Marmalite from Italy (very
pleasant and melodic neo-prog with strong Italian vocals,
lots of musical ideas and wonderful work on guitar and keyboards,
especially the unsurpassed Mellotron), Phideaux from the
USA (very warm and compelling composition with wah-wah guitar
and subtle contributions of the Hammond, Moog and Mellotron)
and finally Tommy Eriksson from Finland with a sound that
alternates between symphonic rock (Genesis and Camel) and
neo-prog (early Marillion and IQ), the instrumentation is
varied and beautiful, from fiery electric guitar and majestic
choir-Mellotron to soaring flute and powerful Hammond organ
waves, in the end we can enjoy a strong synthesizer solo.
On CD 3 the first band is Chilean Heavy Prog formation
Entrance, we can enjoy a swinging rhythm with powerful Spanish
vocals, spectacular synthesizer work and harder-edged guitar.
Then the USA band Maxwell’s Demon (with a varied and adventurous
track, from a spacey intro and twanging acoustic guitar
to lush choir-Mellotron and Hammond organ) and RAK from
Switzerland (omnipresent Hammond organ sound along moving
guitar, beautiful Grand piano and a choir). Next one of
the highlights on this CD, Colossus Project from Italy:
first mellow with warm vocals and soaring flute-Mellotron,
then bombastic with strong Damian Wilson-like vocals and
mighty Mellotron eruptions, followed by a splendid break
with powerful guitar and Hammond and in the end dreamy with
acoustic guitar, pleasant vocals and Mellotron, this formation
should make an album! The other bands are Matthijs Herder
from Holland (delicate interplay between guitar, keyboards
and rhythm-section with the focus on the Mellotron, including
the choir -, violin – and flute section, awesome!), Mad
Crayon from Italy (warm sound with native vocals, violin
and a classical – and electric guitar duet), Tabula Smaragdina
from Hungary/Romania (excellent and dynamic song with strong
work on guitar and keyboards and in the end a wah wah guitar
and choir-Mellotron duet, how exciting), Blank Manuskript
from Austria (fluent rhythm, wide range of instruments and
lots of variety) and finally from Holland the trio Lady
Lake with their very pleasant and melodic interplay between
guitar, keyboards and rhythm-section evoking Camel (guitar)
and Focus (Hammond) and in the end beautiful Mellotron waves.
CD 4 starts with two bands from Finland, both in mellow
climates: first Groovector (very atmospheric with native
vocals) and then Mist Seaon (soaring female vocals, a jazzy
Fender piano solo and in the end a sensitive electric guitar
solo). The next band is Flamborough Head from Holland: a
strong build-up from dreamy with flute and piano to a slow
rhythm with moving guitar and Mellotron and finally a bombastic
climate featuring a fine synthesizer solo and a powerful
solo on the electric guitar, a big hand for these fellow
Dutchmen. The other bands are Yesterdays from Hungary/Romania
(a tight beat with native vocals, sensational keyboard work
and strong guitar play that range from Howe inspired to
Fripperian), B612 from Venezuela (from a warm classical
guitar intro to fiery guitar leads, embellished with duo
Spanish vocals), my highlight Equilibrio Vital from Venezuela
(choir-Mellotron drenched, guitar with an Andean undertone,
a part with native dialect and strong Hammond and electric
guitar solos), Jinetes Negros from Argentina (exciting Heavy
Prog with classical orchestrations, heavy work on guitar,
powerful Spanish vocals and a swirling Hammond solo), a
second appearance by Simon Says from Sweden (dreamy with
majestic choir-Mellotron and Wakeman-like synthesizer flights
and finally Pasini & Ragozza from again Italy, their track
sounds a bit experimental in the beginning, halfway a slow
rhythm with a very Classic Italian Prog climate.
Wow, what an amazing experience to listen to 4 CD’s
with 35 inspired progrock bands, pretty time-consuming to
review but it’s worth to make these efforts, especially
because these 4 CD’s deliver so many interesting new bands,
a big hand for this new Colossus/Musea project!
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]
Erik
Neuteboom
Progwalhalla.nl
|
