Fungus - The Face of Evil

Since their formation launched eleven years ago in their hometown in Genoa, in which it’s the sixth largest city in Italy, Fungus has released three albums from 2004 to 2010. And they have this influential sound of Psychedelic and Heavy Progressive Music they have in their background that inspired the Fungus’ roots to bring the genre alive. Their new album, The Face of Evil, which is released under the Bloodrock Records label (which is a distribution under Black Widow Records), is a fine gem they have released this year and it’s a knockout.

The band considers; Alejandro J. Blissett on Guitar, Carlo Barreca on Bass, Claudio Ferreri on Keyboards, Dorian Deminstrel on Lead Vocals, and Cajo on Drums.  The opening title track begins with this ambient / atmospheric keyboard, fretless bass line and layered guitar rhythm to set the curtains to go up as it heads into the outer limits of the solar system for the first few minutes before the energy starts to kick into a hard space rock adventure with a lot of powerful vocals, heavy organ and piano work as it rises up into unexpected moments.

Gentle Season has this wonderful touch of the Acid Folk sound resembling Rush’s Hemispheres-era in the style of The Trees and not to mention an earlier sound of Pink Floyd thanks to Blissett’s sliding guitar sound as he pays homage to David Gilmour as the swarming keyboards that Ferrer comes in with a mourning style on the chords as The Great Deceit goes into the Symphonic Emotional Rock treatment. Lukewarm guitar melodies along with the uplifting structures, it carries a touch of the late ‘60s/early ‘70s vibe into the composition as Blissett’s goes up a notch while Dorian screams his heart out and you can tell he can go into soft and hard roads with his vocals to give it that mighty touch.

The Key of the Garden is another folky-psych touch that has this wonderful combination between Love’s Forever Changes and the Rolling Stones Child of the Moon as Rain goes back into the elevating momentum from the previous tracks before Ferreri does this stop-and-go workout on the organ as Cajo helps him out by doing some exhilarating drum work as more of the guitar lines help the group out to make sure the band is in a perfect and excellent mood.

Share Your Suicide Part III has a spooky and haunting atmospheric delay between Carlo’s bass, Guitar, and the sound of the Theremin and Keyboards sets the tension on your personal demons and how far can you go to stop them before taking your life while Angel With No Pain & Better Than Jesus carries the touches of Bigelf with a lot of Synth, Organ and Guitar driven forces. Meanwhile, Requiem, in which it has a walking Guitar/Bass line with a spacey feel, carries the spirit of Eloy and a Saucerful of Secrets-era of Pink Floyd.

It has a dooming beat and then goes into the frenzy structures for a quick second and all of a sudden its headed straight into the cosmos a rumbling force before relaxing and back into light speed that is surprising and calmed for the last few minutes. Then, it becomes a swirling beat between Psychedelic, Surf, and Garage Music through the instruments adding a sudden piano concerto, militant drum patterns, and the haywire effects starting to kick in along with a jazzy flute solo to combine the watery drops inside the cavernous cave on The Sun.

The closing, Bkk, has a nice Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra-sque short second finale that closes the album off into heading home with the Curtains dropped. This is a very interesting band and The Face of Evil, is an exceptionally good album. I might plan to check out their other material sometime in the future, but I guess they really got something up their sleeves to carry the genre into different voyages on where they will take their music next. So far, this will get the rocket ships ready for lift-off!

R-Evolution Band - The Dark Side of the Wall

Since their formation back in 2010, from the mind of Jazz composer and instrumentalist Vittorio Sabelli, R-Evolution Band released two albums, (One Way and Versus) and then, they decided to do something that was crazy and peculiar. By re-working and re-telling the story of Pink Floyd’s 1979 epic masterpiece, The Wall by making it insane, weird, and chaotic. And it’s a crazy combination of Avant-Jazz, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Blues, Swing, Ambient / Atmospheric, and Classical at the same time. Alongside Vittorio Sabelli, the band considers on this album; Marcello Malatesta on keyboards, Gabriele Tardiolo on Guitar, Bouzouki, and Lap Steel, Graziano Brufani on Bass, and Dreste Sbarra on Drums.

It’s complex, difficult, and interesting at times. Not to mention seven centerpieces to get you ready and have your seat-buckled for the adventures of the avant-sounds of R-Evolution Band. Their take on Mother, has this sliding wah-wah guitar blues in the styles of Ry Cooder featuring a heartbeat and Ilaria Bucci’s voice resembling Merry Clayton as if she’s singing in a church to give a mourning that sends chill down your spine before it goes into this stop-and-go atmospheric bebop jazz sound between Vittorio’s woodwind solo and Sbarra’s drum keeping the patterns for a moody walk into the streets in the evening. 

Then, all of a sudden on Requiem: Funeral of Queen Mary II (Don’t Leave Me Now) has a spoken-word related sound before going into the operatic vision for a quick second on the lyrics and the gothic church organ as it plays the classical Purcell piece while Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) goes into the sneering hard fast-driven Black Metal with growling vocals done by Angel C. Malak. Meanwhile, Hey You (Intermede) becomes this electronic upbeat tempo with a lot of driven patterns, along with the violin going into the middle-eastern sounds of Egypt and the woodwind done by Vittorio setting the scenery into a whole new level and paying tribute to Olivier Messiaen. You get the idea, they take the sound of the Floyd’s work into uncharted territories.

Nobody is done in the style composer Ennio Morricone. It has that symphonic structured beauty as if he had done the score for Terry Gilliam’s 1985 Sci-Fi classic, Brazil as the militant dancing upbeat fanfare on Bring the Boys Back Home, segues into a soft-gentle electronic jazz waltz in ¾ time signature featuring the synth and beautiful vocals and guitar lines on Comfortably Numb. And then they pay homage to the Physical Graffiti-era of Led Zeppelin and Rick Wakeman that has been rolled up into one with some heavy riffs and wonderful moog solo’s on Another Rock in the Wall.

And they do something very wacky and interesting. They do their take of The Trial into a 1930’s and early 1940’s swinging Jazz sound before the growling nightmarish experimental tension comes into full swing for The Wall to collapse as each of the instruments go into a chaotic climatic finale with a big crescendo that is mind-boggling and unexpected.

I have listened to R-Evolution Band’s The Dark Side of the Wall about four times already and It’s very interesting and difficult to listen to from start to finish. It’s not an easy album to listen, however they got something up their sleeve and its okay. Not good, but okay. So if you are ready to go into the world of Vittorio Sabelli and the R-Evolution Band, remember to set the controls for the heart of the Dark Side of the Wall.

Sonata Islands - Sonata Islands Meets Mahler

Now, on my blog site, I do reviews on; Progressive Rock, Jazz Rock, Doom and Symphonic Metal. But this album has completely taken me by surprise that stretches into the world of both Jazz and Classical music that has suddenly rolled up into one. With a twist of the two genres along with Rock in Opposition and Avant-Garde, you know something strange and twisted is about to happen at the right time to get you ready for an Ensemble line-up.

I first became aware of Sonata Islands last year on an episode from Sid Smith’s Podcasts from the Yellow Room after hearing one of their tracks from the Altrock Chamber Quartet in which Emilio Galante founded, where they did an homage to the RIO genre called, Brachilogia 7 and it took me by surprise of hearing this. Hearing this bizarre surroundings of the string quartet, flute, and woodwind going through this resemblance of Frank Zappa and Ron Geesin, was something that had my eyes wide open and knowing this would take me into unexplored specialties.

And now they are going into the world of the late romantic period of Austrian composer, Gustav Mahler. He was controversial, a visionary, a creator, and an autocrat along with the forces that would come with it. He wrote 10 symphonies back from 1884 to 1910 in four major chords and six minors as well along with Lieder und Gesange, Das Klagende Lied, Ruckert Lieder, and Kindertotenlieder to name a few. And for Sonata Islands to challenge the music of Mahler, is a challenge and a big leap for them to walk on the tightrope on the composer’s arranging and composition that are demanding and intense. In this one, they take on Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth).

Now while I’m not crazy about Gustav Mahler’s work, this album is complex and compelling from what Sonata Islands has unleashed from beginning, middle, and right into the very end. The Ensemble considers; Giovanni Faizone on Trumpet, Emilio Galante on Flute and Piccolo, Achille Succi on Woodwind and Sax, Simone Zanchini on Accordion, Stefano Senni on Double Bass, Francesco Cusa on Drums, and Tommaso Lonardi on voice.

Kind of Earth starts with this ominous sound between Accordion, Alto Sax, and Piccolo as if you are walking alone in the lonely nights in the streets of Paris as it goes into the ¾ Jazz-Waltz while they go into various tempos as Achille Succi challenges Mel Collins and Lol Coxhill while the dramatic tension between Stefano Senni and Francesco Cusa goes into a climatic banging and crash as Senni creates this insane bass solo. And then, it goes back into the Waltzy dance with some different changes in the tempo as Succi just wails it out and then heads back into the darkness to close it off.

Von Der Schonheit is very much in the styles of the Rock in Opposition feel as if they are traveling back in time that begins with a joyous walk into the park done by Zanchini, Galante, Senni, and Cusa as if the setting is very relaxing and calm for the first two minutes before going into a chaotic mode with stop-and-go mode in different time signatures. It has this weird combination of Magma and Samla Mammas Manna while the opener, Das Trinklied, is very sensational and vibrant as the Ensemble just have a grand old time taking the sounds of both Avant-Jazz and Classical Music that just completely took me by surprise.

Non Mahler goes from different variations. From the insane, off the wall and free jazz experimentations for the first four minutes into a late ‘30s/’40s sound of the swing-era for a couple of seconds, the dualistic between Faizone’s homage to Miles Davis on the Trumpet and Achille’s insane solo on the sax and they would come up with some wonderful melody to get the rhythm of the beat going into the Brazilian bossa nova sound to close it out for a wonderful dance into the sunset.

The twisted Around Mahler, is back into the difficult time changes with some wonderful bass solo that is Senni is doing this in the style of Charles Mingus and Jimmy Garrison as a tribute to the two Jazz bassists before they go into this jaw-dropping tribute to the Bitches Brew-era while the ensemble gives Francesco Cusa a chance to shine as he goes into town on the drums by doing this crazy and brilliant drum solo. He is over the place and doesn’t stop a beat when hits the patterns as the band go into a frenzy as a finale.

Commiato, which closes the album off, has a mourning middle-eastern introduction before the woodwinds go into a frantic screeching noise from low to high as if they reached the highest note between Galante and Succi and they just go through various melodies. And then it goes from the trumpet and accordion solo done in the bluesy style before Zanchini’s Accordion going up the spiral staircase to go up as reaches and stops to take a break and then reaching the highest crescendo up to the top of the flights of stairs.

And then, it’s a trip to different parts of Italy as you walk through various monuments for the last three minutes as Tommaso Londari’s narration sets the tone for a wonderful trip into the dream and laid-back adventure that is a calming and relaxing end. I have listened to Sonata Islands Meets Mahler about nine times now and I just can’t put into words, but it’s one of the most mind-blowing, stimulating albums I’ve listened to. It’s accomplishes the music of both Jazz, Avant-Garde music, and Classical that is rolled up into one.

So if you are ready to travel into the world of Sonata Islands, be prepared and fasten your seat belts, because it’s going to be a journey you will never expect.

Top 30 Albums of 2013

Well, here we are. The Top 30 albums of 2013. It's been a magical year in the world of Progressive Rock/Metal, Jazz Rock, and Symphonic Metal as well. There will be some criticisms over the list, but I digress. Here we go:

1. La Coscienza Di Ceno – Sensitivitia [AltrOck / Fading]

2. Guapo – History of the Visitation [Cuneiform]

3. The Fierce and the Dead – Spooky Action [Bad Elephant]

4. Chrome Hoof – Chrome Black Gold [Cuneiform]

5. I Know You Well Miss Clara – Chapter One [Moonjune]

6. Simakdialog – The 6^th Story [Moonjune]

7. Blood Ceremony – The Eldrtich Dark [Rise Above Records]

8. Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) [Kscope]

9. La Maschera Di Cera – Le Porte Del Domani [AMS]

10. Magenta – The Twenty-Seven Club [Tigermoth]

11. Soft Machine Legacy – Burden of Proof [Moonjune / Esoteric Antenna]

12. Touchstone – Oceans of Time [Hear No Evil]

13. Marbin – Last Chapter of Dreaming [Moonjune]

14. The Wrong Object – After the Exhibition [Moonjune]

15. Edenbridge – The Bonding [SPV / Steamhammer]

16. Sanguine Hum – The Weight of the World [Esoteric Antenna]

17. Anathema – Universal [Kscope]

18. Half Past Four – Good Things [Paper Plane Music]

19. Raving Season – Amnio [My Kingdom Music]

20. Violent Silence – A Broken Truce [Progress Records]

21. Blackmore’s Night – Dancer and the Moon [Frontiers]

22. Unreal City – La Crudelta di Aprile [Mirror Records]

23. Not a Good Sign – Not a Good Sign [AltrOck / Fading]

24. Pandora – Alibi Filosofico [AMS]

25. Purson – The Circle and the Blue Door [Rise Above Music]

26. Ingranaggi Della Valle – In Hoc Signo [Black Widow Records]

27. Active Heed –Visions from Realities [Self-Released]

28. Yagull – Films [Moonjune]

29. Dialeto – The Last Tribe [Moonjune]

30. Henry Fool – Men Signing [Kscope]

Australasia - Vertebra

Time to get the stockings and Christmas wish list settled for Santa Claus to see if you want to get ready for an adventure into the world of Post-Rock. Alongside bands from that genre I admired from Joy Division, Magazine, and The Fierce and the Dead, who I championed years ago, this next one is going to take me by surprise. Australasia is one of the most up-and-coming bands from Italy that is led by multi-instrumentalist Gian Spalluto.

The sound of their debut album, Vertebra, is almost a trip down memory into the underground scene in a time machine heading back into the late ‘70s/early ‘80s with a touch of electronica, ominous chord tones, and a futuristic world gone from beautiful into a dystopian universe as if they were doing the score for Ridley Scott’s 1982 cult classic, Blade Runner.  The band had also released an EP called, Sin4tr4 last year and while this is their debut album, it is a stunning, powerful, and eruptive debut, like you’ve never expected before in your wildest dreams.

So how is it? Well, let’s get down to business and fasten your seatbelts and prepare to hurtle through the cosmos by sublight speed:  Aura and Apnea have these sounds resurrecting the new wave genre between melancholic vocals, electronic drum patterns, soothing guitar melodies, and atmospheric synth patterns while Deficit, which is a reprise to the opener, Aorta,  goes into the touches of Fugazi meets Joy Division’s guitar haywire effect of post-punk before settling into the voyages of Krautrock at the last couple of seconds by paying homage to NEU!

The rumbling drum patterns and pinging noises that make it almost sound like a lullaby which is evidential on Zero. It’s a driven composition that goes from soft into a driven rocking adventure that Gian creates to get the tempos flowing and vibrated, but Volume goes back into the post-punk techniques before heading into the synths as the title track has a peaceful guitar line between a classical and distinctive surround sound that is a perfect instrumental composition of walking into the woods by getting away from the pain and suffering by listening to the birds chirping to make you feel at home.

Everything starts to calm down on the closing track, Cinema. You can always imagine the soundtrack to your movie with an independent background as seeing the couple starting a new life and a new beginning by going off into the sunset and seeing where the next piece of the puzzle will take them into a new direction as the credits start to roll. And I could imagine this during Sofia Coppola’s 1999 classic, The Virgin Suicides.

After listening to this about three times already, I have to say, I am impressed of what I was hearing from beginning, middle, and end. Even though this is their debut album, Australasia has a long way to go. Ambient, Atmospheric, Shoegazing, and Poignant, Vertebra, is an experience you’ll never forget. 

Dewa Budjana - Joged Kahyangan

One of the things I love of hearing great music in the world of Jazz Fusion and Progressive Rock, is that I would always get a funny feeling that something magical and special is about to happen. And one of those people that I’m blown away by is Indonesian guitarist virtuoso, Dewa Budjana. After hearing his first album, Dawai in Paradise from the Moonjune label, he has this wonderful gift that just takes you into various worlds that is awestruck.

Now he’s back with his follow up, Joged Kahyangan, which means “Dancing Heaven” is Dewa’s own interpretation of beauty from his roots in his hometown of Waikabuba. And this is almost a coming back home album and revisiting the places where he grew up and set to a smooth and uplifting tempo. Dewa is not alone, he’s brought along some friends to help him out including; Larry Goldings on Keyboards, Bob Mintzer on Sax and Clarinet, Jimmy Johnson on Bass, Peter Erskine on Drums, and special guest Janis Siegel on vocals.

Erksoman, in which is Peter’s nickname, has this soul-jazz rock flavor in the styles of the late ‘60s/early ‘70s as Dewa, Peter, and Larry Goldings in which he is playing in the styles of Thelonious Monk, Bo Hansson, and Steve Winwood, he just going into town with his Hammond Organ on the road for some wonderful solo work as Dewa lays down on the groove while Peter keeps the waltz tempo flowing in the ¾ time signature.

Majik Blue starts off at first with a calming relaxation for the first two minutes and fifty seconds as it goes into darker territories as Dewa goes at it with heavy related work before Larry captures his Monk and Keith Tippett piano styles before Bob Mintzer is wailing on the sax as Johnson’s bass has some Pastorius licks as they come back in the easygoing finale while Dang Hyang Story, captures the essence of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Inner Mounting Flame-era rolled up into one with an ominous and elevating feel.

Elsewhere, the title track, has this wonderful resemblance of King Crimson’s In The Wake of Poseidon-era as its done in the style of Cadence and Cascade with the acoustic folky background as Dewa challenges Robert Fripp’s chord progressions. Then there’s the lovely song dealing with growing up and moving forward to start a new chapter in your life, As You Leave My Nest, featuring Janis Siegel. She has this soothing and comforting sound on her voice as the band go into a beautiful ballad to give Janis a chance to get into the song as its used as a reprise for an instrumental style on the closer, Borra’s Ballad.

Guru Mandala, has this cool riff between guitar and sax and vocalizations scatting the melody, goes into this atmospheric funk-rock with an Indonesian kick to it and you can tell they are having a blast on this piece as Dewa goes from funk-jazz into classical movement as you can imagine walking on the sandy beach and seeing the sun going down while the opener, Foggy Cloud, just takes your breath away as it goes into the Bebop Fusion resemblance of Vince Guaraldi as if Dewa was recording a score in honor of Vince's work doing one of the Charlie Brown specials.

Joged Kahyangan shows that not only Dewa Budjana is back, but he is soon going to have a name for himself in the Jazz community and give the sound a big warm welcome that is take everyone by surprise. Moonjune Records have really scored a home run with this!

Dusan Jevtovic - Am I Walking Wrong?

The sound of Jazz Rock, Hard Rock, and Progressive Rock, has really come a long way since the late ‘60s and into the future. And it’s a great chance for a huge revival to receive that big jolt of electrical voltage in the musicians’ life and body to show that the three genres aren’t dead, they come with an excellent taste and the power trio can come in handy.

One of the performers that I am completely blown away by is a man from Serbia named, Dusan Jevtovic. His guitar playing is intense, powerful, captivating, and thunderous as well. And with help from Bernat Hernandez on Bass Guitar and Marko Djordjevic on Drums, I knew that this was something I would later expect the unexpected. Am I Walking Wrong? His follow up to On the Edge, is a creative stroke of genius.

Capturing the essence of Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, and Elephant9, Dusan shows his love of the three genres by giving it an ominous and magnetic atmosphere to go into the voyages of space with his music along with his fellow space cadets to hurtle through the cosmos through five centerpieces. Pieces like In the Last Moment II and Embracing Simplicity,  goes through darker passages as the intensity starts to raise up a bit more before going into your car and headed down a long and winding road to focus into the future and what will lie ahead for them.

Dusan changes various moods by going into those territories by increasing it that is a jawdropping moment as he along with Marko and Bernat go through a time machine as if it was 1974 all over again by paying tribute the Red-era of Crimson’s masterpiece while seeing Robert Fripp himself being blown away by them and receiving the hand shake from the maestro. The title track is a psych-fuzz composition with a post-jazz rock and at times middle-eastern twist thanks to Bernat’s walking bass lines, the band goes into that mode while the bluesy Zeppelin-sque rock flavored touches with One on One and the rockabilly sound of the ‘50s on Bluesracho gives the band a chance to relax from their moody and darker passages and have a blast.

The doom of the waltz on Drumer’s Dance comes in handy for the first few minutes before Bernat comes up with this beautiful solo on the bass as Marko is laying down the surroundings while Dusan is going through various chord progressions. Am I Walking Wrong? Is soon going to become the Christmas / Hanukkah gift for any jazz or prog fan to sink into. I have listen to this three times already and when you put this on, you will embark on for an amazing journey with the power trio. So if you love Jazz and Prog with a dosage of Red-era Crimson and Elephant9, you have come to the right place.