Away we go with the second part of the
Genius concept, a collection of 11 songs containing a mix of Progressive Metal, Power Metal and Melodic Rock.
Main man Daniele Liverani handles all guitars, bass and keyboards and that with solid firmness while Dario Cicciori takes care of the tight drumming, Oliver
Hartmann adds rich choirs to the whole thing.
Apart from that we are offered 9 singers and a story teller (Philip Byroe from Ring Of Fire) who all adds their very special touch to the album, here's the list:
Mark Boals (Ring Of Fire)
Daniel Gildenlow (Pain Of Salvation)
Russel Allen (Symphony X)
Edu Falaschi (Angra)
Jeff Martin (Racer X)
Rob Tyrant (Labyrinth)
Eric Martin (Ex. Mr. Big)
Johnny Gioeli (Axel Rudi Pell/Hardline)
Liv Kristine (Ex. Theatre Of Tragedy)
An impressive gathering of high-class vocalists, and let me just say it from the start, they do enhance the album quite a lot.
The story is fairly complicated and raises questions that are both interesting and plain weird, some of it is just too mystical and far out for my taste. A story about a person who gets stuck between reality and dream, I must say that I lack something to keep me focused all the way.
Just the title "In Search Of The Little Prince" and characters like "King Mc Chaos" made me go "hmmm". Anyway the lyrics themselves are quite decent, having some intriguing parts to offer where opposite themes like friendship and frustration are presented in a vivid and more down to earth fashion.
One of the albums highlights is the opening track
He Will Die, featuring powerful vocals from Russel Allen and a 9-minute neatly packed progressive structure expressing very technical bass parts and a driving drum style.
Playing In Their Dreams wins by its mystic atmosphere but needs a binding element to keep ones attention focused, at the end it becomes a bit stretched too.
Valley is not exactly my favourite track either due to its quite monotone and laid-back rhythm path, it offers inspiring rhythm guitar passages though, I just think it needs a better overall idea and flow to function well.
My Dear Son is one of the albums ballads and a well working one too, strong vocals from Eric Martin, bombastic choirs, soft and suiting key arrangements and a catchy guitar solo all make this a great song.
The highly progressive opening to
All My Fault is some of the best music on the entire disc, innovative melodies and a thrilling build-up. Johnny Gioeli adds his fantastic distinct rough voice and the tight and heavy rhythm guitar work must also have a mention.
The slow and emotional mid-section passage sees Mark Boals and Daniel Gildenlow entering the scene with a spectacular duet, overall this is my favourite piece on the disc.
With the second ballad
To Be Free we are offered a mellow piano driven track with an even more mellow vocal performance by Liv Kristine, a warm atmosphere shines softly through this one even though it has a rather simple structure.
After 11 songs and a playing time of nearly 80 minutes I can't help but think that this would have been a more whole and well-organized episode if some of the albums extensive jamming parts and quite long narration passages were cut down a bit or made into something more captivating.
The keyboard is a very important instrument through the whole journey, adding cool atmospheres and harmonious melodies in a fitting dose. In general the musical execution is a joy to listen to, the ideas and melodies could nevertheless have been more recognisable and intriguing.
Production-wise the album has received a detailed and quite clear sound, too bad the otherwise rather expressive narration is mixed far too low.
Even though it has its pitfalls it still comes in as a solid and quite ambitious project, with some really great songs to explore.
Written by
Tommy Friday, August 20, 2004
Show all reviews by TommyRatingsTommy: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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