Lisnaholic

Wow ! This is has been my first look at your journal, Trollheart, and now I understand why people say such good things about it. It`s an extraordinary acheivement, in terms of writing style and material covered. Congratulations !


As I warned you, I`m here to mention some of your old posts. Firstly, expecting an exclusively prog journal, I was pleased to see reviews of Copperhead Road and Night Owl, both of which I like myself, and both of which you described well. I also had a look at some of your Gary Moore posts - enjoyed a lot of the clips, especially one 13-minute track whose name escapes me. I`ll post another comment when I`ve read a bit more, ok ?

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Trollheart

Thanks for the compliments, Lisnaholic, and welcome to my journal.

Yes, many people think prog is all I'm into --- it IS my main love --- but as you'll see as you work through the pages I can feature anything from classical to country, from folk to electronic and even some old crooners (there's a review of a Neil Diamond album a lot further on). I try not to limit myself within the basic music I like --- there are some genres I just have no time for/interest in, such as jazz, hip-hop, punk etc --- and to provide as varied, within my own self-imposed limits, a musical choice here as I can.

Glad you're enjoying it. Feel free to comment (good or bad) and hope you stick around!

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Trollheart

Pedestrian debut with very little in the way of imagination. Or, indeed, dragons of any kind.
Night visions --- Imagine Dragons --- 2012 (Interscope)


This is, to be fair, not an album I either knew about or would have bothered with ordinarily, were it not for the gushing praise from a poster in the forum who seems to think we'll all be spreading butter on them soon (best thing since sliced bread), and that they're the future of rock. Well, such grandiose claims had better be grounded in reality and need to stand up to close scrutiny, so the question asked here is do this band from Sin City do either? Or both? Let's remember this is their debut album, although they have apparently had several EPs, tracks from some appear here, but even so, that's not really going to earn them any sympathy here if this turns out to be a load of old rubbish. I've heard to date just the one track from them in a playlist I made prior to writing these reviews, to prepare myself in part for what I was going to hear, and I have to admit what I heard was okay, though again I have to say it didn't blow me away. Still, that was one track. What does the whole album sound like?

We'll find out shortly, but first, the inevitable “who are [insert band name here]” bit. Well, it seems that their name, rather than lay claim to any fantasy connotations, is an anagram, yet we're told that the actual word or words being shifted around are a close-kept secret. Yeah, that makes sense, certainly! Imagine Dragons are a four-piece, formed in Las Vegas in 2008, and a year later were hard at work on their first EP. They've already appeared on many big talk shows in the States, and Billboard have touted them as one of the “brighest new stars of 2012”. One of their songs has already featured in “Glee”. Yeah, I hate the show too, but you have to admit that when your music appears in that programme you are seen to have arrived.

So how about the album then, Einstein? I'm getting to that. Right now. Opener “Radioactive” starts off with a deceptively gentle acoustic guitar from Wayne Sermon, then turns into a hard, slow hip-hop (I think) style song; I have no experience in that genre, but it sounds like something the likes of 50 Cent or Dollar or one of his mates would be seen singing. Maybe it's dubstep? There's big heavy echoey, almost sweeping percussion, like a lot of people slowly clapping in rhythm, keyboards and a strong chorus, with some unexpected viola from otherwise drummer Dan Platzman, while vocalist Dan Reynolds certainly makes himself heard. I hear a lot of dance and some annoying vocoder on “Tiptoe”, and not to be fair too much rock. Hopes sinking?

Squeaky keyboard doesn't add much to my mood, more heavy drumming and I really can't hear too much guitar, though it's there somewhere. Next one up is the song I heard, and in fact it's their first single so you may know it. “It's time” does up the ante a little, with a strangely oriental guitar line and some nice hooks which give way to a very satisfying bridge and chorus, more keys (which appear to be uncredited on the album but pretty much ubiquitous), Reynolds' voice a little more ragged and raspy here, and I can see why this was chosen as the lead single. It is very catchy, quite anthemic in its way. A good bit more guitar too, then “Demons” has a lot of Coldplay in it, with a nice little dreamy piano line then that heavy rolling drum --- is that dubstep? Someone enlighten me. Not a ballad, but the slowest track so far.

Abrupt ending and we're into a jangly little rocker they call “On top of the world”, which almost whistles its way along: seriously, there's a keyboard melody that's just like someone whistling happily. Timpani or congas or something in that line adds a sense of the Caribbean to the song, and it's, well, a happy little tune, as perhaps you might expect from the title. Not bad. Good backing vocals and a nice rhythm. Still, we're almost halfway through the album now and I'm not hearing anything that convinces me these guys are anything to get excited about, and I find myself wondering what Billboard sees in them? I mean, they're okay, certainly, but nothing special. “Amsterdam” sounds like it might be the first ballad, starting nice and relaxed and gentle and although the tempo picks up a little I still think it's pretty laidback.

Another nice piano melody --- why is the keysman, or woman, not credited? They seem to drive the whole sound of much of this album --- then some harder guitar and okay, it's not a ballad, but again it's one of the more restrained songs on the album with a nice vocal line from Dan Reynolds, who somehow manages to sound like Brandon Flowers. Hmm. Interesting, as the Killers also hail from the desert state, indeed come from Las Vegas too. Wonder if they met up and some influences from Flowers rubbed off on Reynolds? Certainly sounds like it. Even the guitar at the end has Killers written all over it. With percussion more in the Phil Collins mode than the Killers, “Hear me” is another slower, softer song with some nice slide guitar --- it's good to hear Sermon getting his riffs in properly now --- and the heavy (dubstep?) drumbeats appear to have been left behind for now.

On the other hand, “Every night” is a huge disappointment, sounding like Westlife, One Direction or any boyband you care to name. Totally generic, boring and stultifyingly annoying. I don't even want to say any more about it; it's threatening to change my mind about these guys completely, but that would be unfair. One song should not define a band, and although as I preach in my “Bad Apples” section, one bad track can come close to ruining an album, I'm prepared to overlook this, mostly because to be honest I haven't been that impressed that one bad song is going to devastate me. The album thus far is okay, but I certainly could live without it as happily. I don't feel like I've been let in on any great secret here, or allowed share in a wonderful experience I would otherwise not have had.

Nice acoustic guitar and some sort of whistly, fluty sound on the keyboard in “Bleeding out”, then they ruin it by hitting up some trance-style squeaky synth, and the big heavy drums are back and once more, I'm losing the will to live. Well, maybe not the will to live, but certainly the will to last to the end of this album. More Caribbean influences in “Underdog”, squealy synth and annoying vocal harmonies, but okay I guess: inoffensive, light, throwaway. We end on “Nothing left to say”, which is kind of how I feel about this album really.

Admittedly it was just the raving of one guy who set me onto this band, but considering how much exposure they've got, and how feted they've been, touted as the next big thing, I don't see it. Pretty much average, okay pop band with a bit of rock thrown in now and again. Few interesting influences, but not interesting enough to hold my attention. The closer is powerful, catchy with some nice hooks, probably one of the better tracks. For those interested there's a hidden track at the end called “Rocks”. Far as I'm concerned, it can stay hidden. Personally, I'd have to say that although this band is NOT a boyband, I find their style closest to the likes of Nysnc and their ilk; not as cheesy perhaps, but definitely NOT a rock band.

Mediocre at best. So of course they're going to conquer the world. But they'll be doing it without me.

TRACKLISTING

1. Radioactive
2. Tiptoe
3. It's time
4. Demons
5. On top of the world
6. Amsterdam
7. Hear me
8. Every night
9. Bleeding out
10. Underdog
11. Nothing left to say

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Blarobbarg

Trollheart, I believe you have trouble telling the difference between any genre that has a more poppy/electronic bent to it... because I wouldn't call these guys anything like Nsync. They're poppy, yes, but not a boy band. It's just typical indie pop.

I've never listened to them before, and I find them a little cheesy, but I rather enjoyed the songs you posted. The combination of cheerful, skipping-along melodies with those big drums and vocals was really fun. If I'm ever in the mood for arena-rock, I may just put them on.

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Trollheart

Meh, maybe Nsync was a bit harsh, but they're definitely not a rock band. I did say, if you check, that they're not a boyband but to me they SOUND like one. Tracks like "Tiptoe", "Every night" and "Underdog" just scream commercial pop crap. I only mentioned this because the poster I mentioned in the intro was going on so much about these guys being the second coming, and I was unimpressed, let's say.

You're right though: if it's poppy I have a hard time properly categorising it, but tracks on this definitely reminded me of what I heard when I did my special on boybands. Maybe not Nsync, maybe more Westlife. Anyway I didn't like it, though the closer is growing on me. Just thought they were pretty average, and no way on earth I'd call them arena-rock, or indeed any other kind of rock. Don't get the hype, I just don't. Still, as I say, my not liking them will hardly stand in the way of their making it.

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Anteater

My dear Trollheart, why do you even bother reviewing these questionable albums when you have me around to provide you with more interesting material?

Here's catchy and contemporary done right-

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Trollheart

Yo Ant! Always good to see ya here.
Like I say, the only reason I reviewed Imagine Dragons was because that guy was going on about how great they were, so I thought what the hell, I'll try them out and see. At least now I can say they're ok but not anythng special.

Not to worry: coming up next week, Big Big Train, Marillion, Mystery and The Winter Tree among others. Hey, we give everyone a fair shake here, whenever we can... but at least I know these albums will all be fun and rewarding to review.

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Trollheart

Tyger, tyger, burning very bright indeed...
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Ambush ---- Tygers of Pan-Tang --- 2012 (Rocksector)

So the tiger is going extinct, is it? Well that's really sad and I hate that it's a fact of our uncaring world, but there's one tiger (or indeed, five) thought wiped out who has come roaring back this year with renewed energy, purpose and determination. Now admittedly this is a completely new lineup to the one I knew --- although these guys have already put out one album in 2008 --- with only guitarist Robb Weir surviving from the original Tygers setup, but the music is as sharp-edged and biting and roaringly fun as ever. Roping in Chris Tsangarides (wonder do they call him “Pan-Tsangarides”? Probably not to his face...) who worked on the seminal “Wild cat” and “Spellbound” albums, on which the Tygers produced some of their very best music, it looks in a way like a return to the early eighties, when the Tygers stomped and growled into the NWOBHM with songs like “Killers”, “Suzie smiled”, “Hellbound” and “Silver and gold”.

With a new* vocalist (and new everything) in Italian Jacopo Meille, there's a deceptively acoustic start to “Keeping me alive” before the familiar electric guitar of Robb Weir, always a signature sound for the Tygers, blasts in and then thumping drums from new guy Craig Ellis before we get a chance to sample the chops of the latest Tygers singer. Certainly betraying no hint of his Italian heritage, he's a fitting replacement for Jon Deverill, and the song rocks along but with a certain restraint, almost touches of AOR in the vocal harmonies, but much harder guitar work than we heard in “Crazy nights”, where they began to listen too much to their label and softened their sound, resulting in accusations of selling out, and the inevitable decline in their popularity, which eventually led to their disbanding.

Great solo from Weir, and it's really like the last thirty years never happened: the Tygers are back! There's the very best elements from Kiss and Leppard in “These eyes”, with a hint of Dio too, a great growling riff leading the charge, a big dirty rocker, and the pace doesn't slacken for a moment as we head into “One of a kind”, Meille exercising his chops and sounding like he's been there all his life. Dean Robertson's guitars complement Weir's perfectly, with Gavin Gray meshing with Ellis to form the perfect rhythm section. If I was to make a negative comment, it would be that so far there's not a lot of variety. It's all hard heavy rockers, the kind of thing I loved on their debut “Wild cat”, but tracks like “Rock and roll dream”, “She” and “Man on fire” all tend to blend together a little.

Not that that's a bad thing: this is rock and metal the way it should be, the way it used to be, with the Tygers returning to what they know and do best, and excelling at it. “Play to win” recalls “Silver and gold” from the “Spellbound” album, one of the fastest and heaviest on this album, while there's a very Iron Maidenesque guitar wailing opening to “Burning desire”, but it soon sheds any such similarities and becomes very much its own song, a big heavy cruncher with some killer guitar. Weir straps on the talkbox for “Hey Suzie”, their update of their minor hit from “Wild cat”, and the first song I ever heard from them. It's got quite a boogie rhythm and whereas Meille's voice is not the ragged drawl Jess Cox's was on the original, it's a good reprise of an overlooked classic, and Robb even throws in his original riff and ending, with the drums punching out the last notes as they did on “Wild cat”.

It's pretty obvious at this point there aren't going to be any ballads. Classic Tygers never messed with the slower songs; that only happened on the back of pressure from the label, later in their career, and became an attempt to totally change their sound, which completely backfired. Gavin Gray gets to showcase his smooth bass playing in “Mr. Indispensable”, on which Jacopo Meille's Italian accent betrays itself for the first time, and the album closes on yet another hard rocker, aptly entitled “Speed”, as it powers along like a freight train.

TRACKLISTING

1. Keeping me alive
2. These eyes
3. One of a kind
4. Rock and roll dream
5. She
6. Man on fire
7. Play to win
8. Burning desire
9. Hey Suzie
10. Mr. Indispensable
11. Speed

I'm not going to make any claims about this being the best rock, or metal, album released this year. I'm not even going to say it's the best the Tygers have done, but it's definitely a return to the glory days of the early eighties, before their sound was so diluted by record company executives without a drop of rock in their blood, looking only to maximise the band's financial returns. This sounds more like the Tygers I know, doing things their way, and though there's only one original Tyger left, you'd have to think that the others, wherever they are and whatever they're doing, should they hear this album must think, yeah, that's how we should have done it.

After an absence of four years --- though for me, really, it's been more like thirty, as I haven't listened to anything since “The Cage” --- the Tygers are back, and they're roaring, hungry, and out to getcha!

(* = New to me, new to me! I haven't heard the Tygers since 1982!)

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Trollheart

Good, honest music never goes out of fashion...
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The hipsters --- Deacon Blue --- 2012 (Demon)


I've always had a special place in my heart for Deacon Blue. Many will know them only from their hit singles, like “Dignity”, “When will you (Make my telephone ring)” and the other, bigger ones from the second and more popular album, such as “Real gone kid” and “Wages day”, but I think both their first two albums are cohesive works in their own right, and each tells its own story. That said, I bought “Ooh Las Vegas” on vinyl many moons ago and have yet to listen to it. I could blame this on the fact that I no longer have a turntable (except the USB one from last Christmas, which I have yet to even unpack!) but that would be unfair: I just never bothered, and I really don't know why. This is only their seventh album in a career spanning twenty-five years, but as Urban Hatemonger once opined: quality before quantity. Even at that, this is their first new album since 2001, which, if you do the math, makes it eleven years between albums. Has the spark gone over that period, or as Deacon Blue as infectiously enjoyable and almost innocent as they used to be?

There's an opening to the album that almost evokes the first track ever released by them, the opener on “Raintown”, a short little track called “Born in a storm”, with soft piano and lush synth, with Ricky Ross's inimitable vocal behind it in an understated little ballad to get us underway, then the title track comes in on strings intro, sharp and punchy before the drums kick in and we get into that old Deacon Blue rhythm. There's always been a great sense of enthusiasm and honesty about this Scottish band, whether they're extolling the virtues of living your life to the full, railing against governments and politics, or having their hearts broken. You always feel like what they write is from the heart, and it seems the more real for that.

“Stars” kicks up the tempo a good bit, with a lovely rippling piano line counterpointing the melody, and Ricky in fine form, backed as ever by Lorraine McIntosh, while things slow right down again for “Turn”, with a great power and drama about it, some really nice strings and strong percussion, piano sprinkled through the track in little segments, the song seeming to draw a picture of the difficulties in relationships --- ”You walk, I'll run, you talk, I'll fight, you shout, I'll cry” --- and “The rest” bounces along with a great sense of optimism.

Seeming to look back to their early days, “The outsiders” features a sort of time-delayed whispered backing vocal, and reminds me of the likes of “Ragman” and “The very thing” from the first album, or “One hundred things” from the second. You can't help but be uplifted by the whole theme of the song with more bright optimism, shot through with a certain sense of reality and the idea that innocence and naivete have been replaced by pragmatism and experience, but the initial wonder of young adolescence has not been completely extinguished. A stadium rock anthem, “That's what we can do” keeps things moving nicely, with a great keyboard line and some punchy drumming.

The first ballad, then, utilises an almost Phil-Collins-In-The-Air-Tonight drumbeat, but “She'll understand” is nothing like that song, featuring an almost duet between Ross and McIntosh, which as ever works very well, and the music paints a scene of tension and regret but softened by memories of past good times. Nice harkback to the debut with some cool harmonica --- hey, it may be on the synth but it sounds great. More reflections on past loves in “Laura from memory”, a mid-paced half-ballad sung with that rapid-fire delivery Ricky Ross has made something of his trademark.

There's almost Elton John in “It will end in tears” as the tempo kicks right back up again, and we end on another ballad, with some more nice duetting as “Is there no way back to you” closes the album very well. Very dreamy and laidback, and setting the seal on what may not be actually seen as a comeback album, but one which will prod people and remind them that Deacon Blue are still around.

TRACKLISTING

1. Here I am in London town
2. The Hipsters
3. Stars
4. Turn
5. The rest
6. The outsiders
7. That's what we can do
8. She'll understand
9. Laura from memory
10. It will end in tears
11. Is there no way back to you

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Trollheart

Innovative Italian prog-rockers again look to the past for inspiration for a future classic

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Chapter One --- Hostsonaten --- 2012 (AMS)


A complex undertaking indeed, and a brave one, but then, Italian symphonic progressive rockers Hostsonaten are known for these grand sweeping concepts, their last four albums being based on the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. This time out they're tackling, as you can see, the classic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Of course, that's a long poem, so they're doing it over two albums, of which this is the first.

Hostnsonaten are generally known for more instrumental works: their last four albums, as mentioned, interpreted in new ways Vivaldi's most famous work, and indeed their first two albums were mostly instrumental, with some vocal parts. Weirdly, both these albums featured tracks entitled “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, with part 1 on the debut self-titled and part 2 on the followup, “Mirrorgames”, so its genesis can be said to have been on those two albums, albeit less well fleshed out, but this is the full thing, split into five parts.

But who are Hostsonaten? Well, their name comes from an old movie and means “autumn symphony” in Norwegian. However, Hostsonaten are Italian; in fact, the band is a kind of a project for the bass player from prog rock group Finisterre, one Fabio Zuffanti, and like his English contemporary, Alan Parsons, he recruits bandmembers and surrounds himself with the cream of Italian prog rock to record these albums under the name of Hostsonaten. Fusing classical, progressive rock, folk, jazz and many other genres and subgenres, Hostsonaten are a little hard to quantify, but their music speaks for itself.

Although there are five tracks there are only four parts, as the opening track is called “Prologue” and begins, as perhaps you might expect if you know the poem, with the sounds of bells and the surf washing against the side of a ship. Then heavy keys and drums cut in and powerful choral vocals add to the mix as the scene is set musically. Very progressive rock opening, with insistent keyswork which then drops away abruptly to soft acoustic guitar and flute, the latter taking the lead in the melody, while the sounds of waves sussurates in the background, then tinkly little piano flourishes join cello and violin before bass cut in and the melody begins to fill out a little more. At seven minutes exactly, this is in fact the shortest track on the album, so you have some sort of an idea what to expect from the rest.

Electric guitar joins in and the shape of the melody begins to change a little, getting rockier and a bit more dramatic, the sounds of surf now drowned out by the rising guitar, the thumping drums and the soaring keyboards. About two minutes from the end the guitars and percussion kick into high gear and the tempo goes right up, everything getting very frenetic and rowdy as I expect the idea of the Mariner's ship going off course and getting caught in the ice is conveyed. If you don't know the poem, I'll encapsulate for you, very briefly. Anyone who knows the work is free to skip on to the next paragraph.

Coleridge's most famous poem tells the tale of an old sailor, the “Ancient Mariner” in the title, who is never named, and who takes passage on a ship which gets blown off course into the icy Antarctic. When an albatross appears and begins following the ship, the Mariner, believing the bird to be a sign of bad luck, shoots it down. In revenge (presumably by God) the ship, although breaking free of the ice, is driven again off its course and finds itself entangled in windless doldrums, becalmed and unable to move. Things become a bit more surreal then, as Death approaches and begins taking the sailors, killing them one by one, but his mate, Life-in-Death, claims the Mariner and decides to allow him to live, to see his friends die. Now of course this is more than likely an anthropomorphisation of the cruel death of thirst and hunger, but it's scary in the poem. Anyway, eventually the Mariner is saved as the winds begin to blow and he finds his way back to his home country, where he relates his story at a wedding. It doesn't sound much, but you really should read it. What I've just written is a totally oversimplified and basic sketch ofthe storyline. Here's a link The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in case you want to check it out for yourself.

And so, part one begins, with Allesandro Corvaglia, sounding uncannily like Peter Gabriel, on vocals as the poem is begun. Against a backdrop of flute and acoustic guitar, with some breakout guitar and synth parts, part one runs for just under twelve and a half minutes, with a great violin solo and some excellent guitar work too, soprano sax from Edmondo Romano adding a burst of panic into the proceedings. It seems that Zuffanti has gone for the literal approach with regard to lyrics, in other words reciting the entire poem against the music, which is an interesting idea, and a courageous one. Some lovely piano and flute, the former played by Luca Scherani, the latter by Joanne Roan, take the midsection until the vocal comes back in, and the music becomes slower, sort of triumphal with thick synthesiser and midpaced drums, choral vocals. Some discordant piano then, some shuddering vocals before the acoustic guitar comes back and it all slows down in a pastoral melody, ending in a sonar-like sound, the same that began the prologue, but somehow this time foretelling doom and woe for the heinous thing the mariner has done by shooting the albatross.

That sound continues into part two, fading away under gentle acoustic, as the sailors blame the Mariner for killing the bird, as fog closes in around them, but when the fog begins to clear and the winds begin to blow again, they forgive him and agree it was the right thing to do. A soft quiet vocal describes the gathering of the fog as the sailors wait for a sign. A rippling piano joins the melody, then gets a little discordant before heavy guitar rocks everything up, the piano turning jazzy and adding funky organ. However, no sooner have they entered the unknown sea than the winds fall silent and drop completely, and their ship being a sailed one cannot move without the aid of the winds. Becalmed and unable to move, they see, or fancy they see, strange creatures coming out of the still sea and crawling towards them. The sun, beating mercilessly upon their heads at night without any wind to mitigate it, is only matched in its misery by the coldness of the nights with no sound of waves or wind, and the horrors, imagined or real, that lurk in the darkness.

To mirror the becalmed ship, the music turns lighter, more pastoral yet with an edge of hopelessness, led by light guitar and piano, the guitar getting harder and louder in progression, organ joining in with choral vocals and measured percussion. The track ends with a climax as the sailors, angered at the bad luck the Mariner has brought them by his actions, hang the corpse of the bird around his neck like a millstone.

Part three then opens on powerful guitar and drums; the longest track of the five, it runs for just short of seventeen minutes, and relates the events that take place as the ship sits trapped in the windless cove. Gentle flute and ethereal piano float like the winds that will not appear to move the ship, suddenly supplanted by wild organ and raging guitar as on vocals goes into something of a histrionic, as a ship is sighted in the distance.

But if the sailors think this is their salvation they could not be more wrong, for the ship is captained by Death and his mate, Life-in-Death. A thick bassline leads the melody which slows to a more ominous pace as the sailors realise that something is very wrong on this skeletal ship that approaches them. Some ethinic sounding violin and cello adds to the mood, then everything stops for a second before a big guitar and organ solo pumps everything back up, ramping the tempo again. Fiddle joins in and then the pace slackens again, perhaps to mirror the dread of the crew as they see that Death and his mate are casting dice for their very souls. Death winning all but that of the Mariner, causes the sailors to drop down dead, but Life-in-Death forces the Mariner to remain alive while he watches his friends die. A great guitar solo ends this, the third part of the story, and indeed brings to a close the third part of the poem.

When we next meet the Mariner, he is back on land, telling his story, but only for a moment, as the scene shifts back to his lonely vigil, as he, alone, survives and is forced to look into the dead eyes of his crewmates for seven awful days and nights. Like a lonely sentinel --- which in ways the Ancient Mariner is --- a single bagpipe starts part four, with sounds of surf and a chiming guitar backing it. Then soft yet brittle piano carries the melody alone as Simona Angiloni takes the vocal role of the wedding-guest (although it's meant to be a man in the poem: poetic licence?) with mournful violin counterpointing the piano. Then folky acoustic guitar joins the violin as we return to the Mariner alone on his ship.

In a waltzy sort of rhythm, the narration continues, and it seems clear now that Signora Angiloni is going to take the role of the Mariner too, which is even more confusing, considering his voice has been sung by a male up to now, and he is, after all, a man. But no matter. Her voice is certainly angelic and easy on the ears, and perhaps we're meant to be hearing the softer, more repentant side of the Ancient Mariner. The guitar gets a little harder and bass joins in, as the Mariner contemplates his situation and watches the living things in the sea, no longer seeing them as evil or ugly, but as beautiful creations of God. The bagpipes return as Angiloni's voice gets a little more ragged and intense as the Mariner wonders what is going to happen to him, why he cannot die?

Tinkly piano is all that's left then as the final section of part four begins, and the Mariner's redemption is at hand. Heavy organ and choral vocals drive the ending, pounding but measured and precise drumming as Allesandro Corvaglia comes back in, duetting with Simona, as the albatross suddenly falls from the Mariner's neck and sinks into the sea, taking with it his sin, his guilt and the awful evidence of the crime that caused the deaths of two hundred sailors.

And with a final flourish on guitar and choral vocals, falling away to one last booming, echoing synth note, that's where we leave the hapless Ancient Mariner, stranded on a boat full of dead men in an unknown land, facing his demons and unsure what his fate is to be. Zuffanti has promised there will be a second chapter, presumably finishing the story --- there are three more parts to go --- but we're going to have to wait until next year for the conclusion of this epic musical poem.

TRACKLISTING

1. Prologue
2. Part I
3. Part II
4. Part III
5. Part IV

Seldom have I seen a project on this scale. Yes, people have interpreted literary works before --- only recently I reviewed Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman's retelling of the story of the Hound of the Baskervilles --- but I can't ever recall anyone transcribing the work, word for word, into their lyrics. It's also done with such care, and reverence for the source material, and with such expertise that if it's the first time you've heard the poem it could be something you will forever hear when you read it, as those who came to the work via Iron Maiden's version will always hear that low bass and creaking timbers, with the sonorous voice intoning the stanzas.

A true collision of arts, the best of both worlds, not the only way to get into Coleridge certainly, but a very enjoyable and rewarding one, and the artiste should be commended and congratulated on succeeding beyond perhaps even his wildest dreams in managing not only to bring to life a story over two hundred years old, but to make it sound relevant and current.

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