Blacksmith Tales

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Oct 21 13:45:51 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит BlacksmithTales/(2021)_DarkPresence

Молодой нео-проговый коллектив из Италии.
Их дебютный, и сразу - концептуальный, альбом.
Достаточно интересное, связное повествование, много разного вокала, разнообразные инструменты, весьма неплохое владение ими, без экстрима и выпендрежа так характерного для стиля. Поют на английском.
Мне понравилось со второго раза, вначале - просто пожал плечами.
Рекомендую!

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(c) Blacksmith Tales biography, PA

An Italian combo BLACKSMITН TAKES have the roots founded in the 1990s by a keyboardist David Del FABIO, who has been inspired by authentic Britsh progressive rock outfits like Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Gentle Giant. They have been reborn as a septet for their debut album entitled "The Dark Presence" released via an Italian independent label Immaginifica in April 2021.
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The Dark Presence is a concept album that describes a journey told with symbols and images from ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages. It is a journey of a lost soul in search of the inner light, your own 'I'. The protagonist has to face the darkest sphere of his mind, he has to go deep into his own heart, overcome the obstacles on his way to light, and then face a new journey that leads him to a new life. This is an interesting topic and is accompanied by even more interesting music. Maintained, of course, within the framework of progressive-rock canons.

Well, the leader, pillar and driving force of the Blacksmith Tales group is David Del Fabro. For some time he has performed in cover bands Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Gentle Giant ... and at the same time he started smuggling his own songs at concerts, which now filled the program of the album "The Dark Presence". Apparently, they soaked in the atmosphere of the songs of legendary rock groups. This can be heard clearly on this album. In its creation, David was strongly supported by his longtime musical friend, Luca Zanon (keyboards, flutes). Нe brought with him a group of young instrumentalists (Stefano Debiaso - drums, Denis Canciani - bass and Marco Falanga - guitars). Only the vocalist was missing from this group. Not one, but two people were found who took over the main vocal parts, complementing each other perfectly and building interesting harmonic atmosphere with their voices. The male vocal is Michele Guaitoli, the female vocal is Beatrice Demori.

The album "The Dark Presence" is a long, epic colossus , and its program consists of 13 compositions, two of which (the epic title suite opening the whole and the song "Possessed By Time") are multi-threaded and very extensive , several minutes long programmatic works. The climates mix in them like in a kaleidoscope, often balancing between pathos and sleepy moods, decorated with a piano, dynamic strokes of the strings, strong guitar parts, sophisticated melodies performed on Moog, classic orchestrations of oases the melodies played on the flute. Both long tracks represent the real added value of this release and along with the third epic long, "Book Of Coming Forth By Day" (it lasts nearly 9 minutes), are not only the strongest points of the album's program, but also proof that the style of Blacksmith Tales is deeply rooted in classic prog rock. Together, they last the same length as the 10 other recordings on the album. And of the others, the emotional "Golgotha", the wonderfully flowing dynamic song "Let Me Die", the catchy "The Dark Presence Revelation" and the late-Genesis-like "Rain ... Of Course!" Two short themes are also interesting: the instrumental "Tides From A Faraway Shore", in which progressive rock is mixed with court dances, and the cosmic "Chapter LXIV", which serves as an introduction to the already mentioned epic composition "Possessed By Time".

Important points in this story are two short acoustic pieces: "Interlude", in which the protagonist gets to know his 'I' and finally begins to rely on it (on himself), which has its consequences in the further part of the story told on the album, and placed near the finale, very melancholic recording of "Last Нero's Crusade", in which the soul of the main character flies towards the stars ..

"The Dark Presence" is a very romantic album, kept in good progrock tradition. It shows the great potential of this Italian band and emphasizes its dynamic and diverse sound. From the beginning, it sounds like a band from Italy is playing. This is probably the second, after the Norwegians, nation that perfectly feels prog rock, giving it its own specific style. For debutants, the musicians making up Blacksmith Tales did more than decent on their first album, giving us a very successful mix of neo fret and symphonic rock.

Great listening pleasure guaranteed!

(c) prog_traveller!!, PA
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido