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░ ██ ██ Artist: Barock Project ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Detachment █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2017 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-11-11 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Artalia / Edizioni Musicali 22R ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Luca Zabbini û piano, keyboards, acoustic guitars, █
█ lead vocals █
█ Eric Ombelli û drums █
█ Marco Mazzuoccolo û electric guitars █
█ Francesco Caliendo - electric bass █
█ Peter Jones - lead vocal on "Broken" and "Alone" █
█ █
█ Many years ago, long before the days of █
█ progressive rock being back in fashion and being █
█ discussed in the mainstream, I had been at a gig █
█ in London. Afterwards the normal band of hardcore █
█ progheads had gathered together, and there was █
█ only one topic that everyone wanted to talk about, █
█ "Had anyone else heard this amazing debut album █
█ that had been released in the States?". The album █
█ was 'The Light', and the band was of course █
█ Spock's Beard, and it amazed me firstly that █
█ everyone knew about it when it was yet to be made █
█ available properly in the UK but also that we all █
█ felt the same way. Fast forward to 2017 and I was █
█ in conversation with Artur at MLWZ in Poland █
█ asking him he thought of the new Cast album, and █
█ while he loved it he wanted to know what I thought █
█ of the new Barock Project release as it was █
█ amazing. The following week I asked Windhawk up in █
█ Norway the same question, and received the same █
█ response, which got me thinking that if two of my █
█ greatest progressive friends both thought the same █
█ thing I really ought to get onto it. █
█ A short time later and I had this, their fifth █
█ release, playing and I immediately knew exactly █
█ what all the fuss is about: this is incredible. It █
█ is music like this that first got me into █
█ progressive rock ? it is complex, it is magical, █
█ it keeps jumping into unexpected musical places, █
█ all with a sense of joy and happiness. I'm not █
█ going to bother trying to pick out all the musical █
█ clues and keys to their influences as they are █
█ many and diverse, but they have put them together █
█ in a way that is new and different, yet also █
█ incredibly melodic and the whole album is █
█ immediately accessible the very first time it is █
█ played. █
█ The four-piece band of Luca Zabbini (lead vocals, █
█ keyboards, guitars (electric, acoustic & █
█ 12-string), mixing & mastering), Marco Mazzuoccolo █
█ (electric guitar), Francesco Caliendo (bass) and █
█ Eric Ombelli (drums, percussion) have been joined █
█ by three additional singers in Alex Mari, Ludovica █
█ Zanasi and Peter Jones and the vocals are █
█ wonderful, but it is the diversity of the music █
█ and how it is performed that keeps the listener █
█ glued to the speakers. I can't pick a favourite █
█ song, as whatever is playing is always the one I █
█ want to listen to most, whether it is with vocals █
█ and just a simple piano, or harpsichord, or █
█ something that is way more bombastic and over the █
█ top. These guys are masters of all the styles, and █
█ I am having a hard time understanding that they █
█ have been around for years yet it is the first █
█ time I have ever come across them. █
█ That is something I am going to have to get on top █
█ of it, as if the rest of their output is even half █
█ as good as this then they are all essential. There █
█ have already been some incredible albums released █
█ this year, and this one may just be the best of █
█ the lot. This is indispensable. When it comes to █
█ progressive rock, it just doesn't get any better █
█ than this. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Without a doubt one of the highest profile █
█ prog-rock bands hailing from Italy of the modern █
█ era, Barock Project can be equally frustrating as █
█ they are superb! Press releases in the past have █
█ made wild boasts about the band being the █
█ `symphonic heirs to New Trolls, Premiata Forneria █
█ Marconi, Le Orme and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso', █
█ and yet with the exception of some of the fancier █
█ orchestral elements and an accent detected in the █
█ English vocals, there's very little to associate █
█ Barock Project with much of the pure Italian █
█ progressive music over the decades. █
█ But hang-ups (and typical press-release █
█ excitement!) aside, there's no denying that what █
█ Barock Project do, they do damn well, and they've █
█ delivered their strongest and most varied disc to █
█ date with `Detachment', their fifth full-length █
█ set since forming in 2004. The band fuse a wide █
█ range of rock, pop and even heavier styles to █
█ ambitious orchestral arrangements (actually worked █
█ into the music, not merely an orchestra slapped on █
█ top, mind you!), all coated in an overly polished █
█ production to appeal to as wide a worldwide prog █
█ audience as possible. █
█ After a teasing little piano and ambient █
█ introduction, proper opener `Promises' is a punchy █
█ vocal rocker in the Enchant, Spock's Beard/Neal █
█ Morse and even Dream Theater manner, right down to █
█ charmingly accented vocalist Luca Zabbini's █
█ soaring radio-friendly chorus with slick harmonies █
█ - and great frantic drumming from Eric Ombelli on █
█ this one too! Some light touches of electronic █
█ programming flitting around gorgeous pristine █
█ piano would make Radiohead envious throughout █
█ `Happy to See You', quickly revealing to be a soft █
█ romantic rocker where lush orchestration weaves in █
█ and out of Luca's busy keyboard soloing and Marco █
█ Mazzuoccolo's slow-burn electric guitar soloing █
█ runs. Along with expertly delivered drama and █
█ tasty bombastic bursts, much of the vocal melody █
█ takes on a memorable `sing-along' quality after █
█ only a few listens! There's ravishing Gentle █
█ Giant-like chamber prog touches to the sparkling █
█ acoustic guitars, dancing flute and groaning group █
█ vocals throughout `One Day' which eventually turns █
█ into a defiant up-tempo rocker, and breathless █
█ Eastern flavours permeate `Secret Therapy' as well █
█ as a very spirited chorus. █
█ The nine-minute multi-sectioned suite `Broken' is █
█ the longest and most ambitious portion of the █
█ disc, a dazzling and sophisticated Big Big █
█ Train-like symphonic pantomime utilising English █
█ multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Peter Jones as well █
█ as female singers. The darker and reflective `Old █
█ Ghosts' crams an insane amount of ideas, tempos █
█ and moods into a mere four minutes (a great track, █
█ but worth it alone for Luca's electric piano █
█ touches), Peter Jones takes the lead again on the █
█ heartbreaking and melancholic ballad `Alone' that █
█ could have been an Eric Woolfson standout on an █
█ Alan Parsons Project album, `Rescue Me' is a bold, █
█ cool and jangling indie-pop rocker full of █
█ momentum, and the wistful and reflective `Twenty █
█ Years' is initially elegant with plenty of █
█ delicate acoustic passages, soft sweeping █
█ orchestration and a sparse heartfelt vocal before █
█ crashing into boisterous bluster - phew, got all █
█ that?! █
█ `Waiting' is a darker-tinged electronic rocker █
█ more along the lines of Porcupine Tree where █
█ Francesco Caliendo's thick bass slithers with █
█ eerie purpose (and Luca's recurring piano refrain █
█ is delightful). `A New Tomorrow' opens as another █
█ sweetly romantic piece with dreamy guitar bends █
█ and warmly embracing group harmonies that suddenly █
█ takes off with energetic up-tempo Kansas-like █
█ Hammond bursts and a swooning orchestral finale █
█ (the piece will likely become an anthem for the █
█ group when performed live!). `Spies' is then a █
█ sleek indie pop-rocker with heavier flavours, but █
█ it might have been better placed somewhere in the █
█ middle of the disk, where the previous track would █
█ have served as a stronger and more striking █
█ closer, although the devilish jazz-fusion middle █
█ instrumental stretch is especially superb! █
█ Yes, the album is absurdly long at over █
█ seventy-five minutes (bands, just because you can █
█ fill a compact disc to eighty minutes doesn't █
█ always mean you have to!), but it's hard not to be █
█ won over by the impeccable and varied instrumental █
█ arrangements, killer choruses and quickly █
█ revealing strong tunes. The album is also █
█ constantly optimistic and loved-up, and it refuses █
█ to merely be a retro throwback by fusing vintage █
█ elements into a firmly modern style. Barock █
█ Project have absolutely delivered another █
█ crowd-pleasing collection of music here that will █
█ not only be adored by their large fanbase, but █
█ probably - and absolutely deservedly - bring in a █
█ whole new bunch of listeners. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Driving Rain 1:02 ░
░ 2. Promises 5:02 ░
░ 3. Happy to See You 7:36 ░
░ 4. One Day 7:23 ░
░ 5. Secret Therapy 5:36 ░
░ 6. Broken 9:06 ░
░ 7. Old Ghosts 4:07 ░
░ 8. Alone 3:11 ░
░ 9. Rescue Me 4:55 ░
░ 10. Twenty Years 6:04 ░
░ 11. Waiting 5:42 ░
░ 12. A New Tomorrow 7:44 ░
░ 13. Spies 7:25 ░
░ 74:53 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
■ █▄ ░ ██
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