VIRGIL DONATI: Ruination (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

In the short-list of virtuoso drummers Virgil Donati is very often cited. Virgil Donati began his dazzling career in the 90s with the Australian pop-rock band Southern Sons and later gave himself over entirely to his favourite style, jazz-rock. His participation in Derek Sherinian's "Planet X" in 1999, which led to the trio of the same name, will massively make him known to aficionados of the progressive metal sphere, which at that time produced great instrumental creativity (Liquid Tension Experiment, Bozzio Levin Stevens). For about ten years Virgil has participated in several projects as a guest and has mainly worked on his solo albums of which "Ruination" is the sixth chapter.

The novelty with this record is the presence of the singer Irwin Thomas that Virgil didn't look for very far because it's the singer of his former band Southern Sons in which he was officiating at the time under the name of Jack Jones. The Australian has a voice close to Ted Leonard's ('Time Is A Lie') and evolves with real mastery in the meanders of the demanding harmonies Virgil composed for him, confirming his melodic talents ('Back To Me', 'The Last Night That I Lived'). The four songs retain the same foundations as the instrumental tracks with great density and complexity. So much so that the vocals act as an extra layer in an already overloaded ensemble, sometimes creating the unsettling sensation of hearing two different musics at the same time ('Ruination', 'Time Is A Lie').

For the rest it is pure Donati concentrated who demonstrates his strength with sticks in hand ('Pinprick' gives an idea of the prowess achieved), making the joy of the amateurs and the indifference of the others. The compositions are placed in a very technical fusion register that crosses the progressive rock/metal universe of Planet X ('Castle Bastards', 'Eleven Pt. 2') and Holdworth-ish jazz-rock enhanced with vintage keyboards ('Castle Bastards', 'The Crack', 'The Quiet Place' or 'Out Of The Dirt'). There's even a troubling resemblance between the playing of the young and gifted Brazilian guitarist Andre Nieri with his Planet X counterpart Tony Macalpine ('Castle Bastards') and Virgil's immense, and friend, Allan Holdsworth ('The Quiet Place', 'Ruination'), who passed away in 2017.

While the genre is not as thriving as it was ten years ago, Virgil Donati carries high the colours of this jazz-rock/metal fusion of which he is one of the most talented representatives. In "Ruination" Donati develops more particularly the jazz dimension, making his immersion undoubtedly less easy than in the albums of Planet X for example. Besides this, the idea of incorporating four songs, which would have benefited from being refined, with melodic virtues, originality and variety, proves to be a success.
- Official website

VIRGIL DONATI

RUINATION

AUTRE LABEL

PROGRESSIVE METAL