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"This "Align Myself To The Universe" is a must-have for fans of Genesis, Steve Hackett's period."
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4/5
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It has been four years since the Italian veterans of Moongarden had given no sign of life, no doubt due to the busy schedule of Cristiano Roversi, the soul and leader of the group. According to the usual adage that "better late than never", the band returns at the end of 2018 with their eighth album, once again beautifully illustrated by Ed Unitsky.
And this new album starts with a very rhythmic first track, whose initial instrumental chorus can only remind us of a certain Steve Hackett, both from a compositional point of view as well as from the used sonorities whose balance is simply perfect. With its melody easy to access, its neat sequences, its luminous guitar solos, 'Here Now' is big slap!
After a 'Step After Step' similarly structured, the listener will get a second slap with an aggressively devilishly aggressive, compact and rough metal 'Run'. Going from Genesis to Metallica, what a contrast! But strangely, this parenthesis remains an isolated case, since the rest of the album will come back in a much more classical style, more in line with the genre generally developed by Moongarden.
And this style, as we've understood it, is strongly inspired by Steve Hackett's Genesis, and we find it as well on 'Planet of the Absurd', whose unbridled melody and sometimes baroque chords, interrupted by a central bass solo, are inevitably resolved by familiar-sounding choruses, but also and above all in the three-movement suite 'The Immuability' which, in its first half (part 1 and a part of 'Acqua Terra Fuoco Aria') is full of everything that makes the usual salt of the work of the guitarist with the golden fingers. And we must admit that Cristiano Roversi is rather good at it. This same suite, on the other hand, offers us a very long conclusion, which reminds us of Kate Bush's work on 'A Sky of Honey' (album "Aerial"), with a repetitive gimmick that goes on almost ad infinitum. The whole ends with a short instrumental, a bonus track on the CD version, as a kind of nod to the work Mike Oldfield did in his youth with David Bedford.
If this new Moongarden album does not revolutionize the style now established for almost two decades by the Italians, it contains enough material to delight fans of an intelligent progressive rock, strongly inspired by the 70s while being imbued with modernity. The few deviations from this line of conduct will be seen as pleasant surprises. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Here Now 02. Step After Step 03. Run 04. The Golden Circle 05. Planet Of The Absurd 06. The Immutability: I. The Immutable / Ii. Acqua Terra Fuoco Aria / Iii. Om 07. Shiva 08. The Union
LINEUP:
Cristiano Roversi: Claviers / Stick Chapman David Cremoni: Guitares Dimitri Sardini: Guitares Mattia Scolfaro: Batterie Mirko Tagliasacchi: Basse Simone Baldini Tosi: Chant / Violon
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READERS
3/5 (3 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.8/5 (6 view(s))
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"Osmium out now !" |
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