In
2011 Pandora released their sophomore work on AMS/BTF, “Sempre e ovunque
oltre il sogno” (Always and everywhere beyond the dream), with the same line
up of their debut album featuring Beppe Colombo
(synth, organ, backing vocals), Claudio Colombo (drums, percussion,
bass, acoustic guitar, synth), Corrado Grappeggia (vocals, synth, organ,
piano) and Christian Dimasi (electric guitar, backing vocals). The
overall sound of this second work is mellow and symphonic and every
track is described in the booklet with a painting by the American artist
Emoni Viruet
(who now is Claudio Colombo’s wife), almost a ghost member of the band.
She is also the author of the art cover while Beppe Colombo painted the
inlay picture titled “Sempre e ovunque”.
 |
| Pandora 2011 |
The instrumental opener “Il re degli scemi” (The king of fools) is a solo performance by Claudio Colombo who composed the piece and played keyboards and percussion. According to an interview with the band it was inspired by a short story that his wife wrote after a dream. It tells of a powerful king who could impress his people with magic but who didn’t know what’s real love. This track reminds me of the soundtracks of some films of a genre called Sword-and-sandal, Italian low budget imitations of Hollywood historical epics that were in fashion in the early sixties...
The
short instrumental “L’altare del sacrificio” (The altar of sacrifice)
and the following “L’incantesimo del Druido” (The spell of the Druid)
tell the story of a fantasy character, a Druid called Chad-Bat, who with
his rites and his magic helps a king and his army to defeat their
enemies... “There’s no one like me / No one is greater than me...”.
Well, when listening to this track try to imagine the busy wizard at
work...
“Discesa
attraverso lo Stige” (Descent through the Styx) and “Ade, sensazione di
paura” (Hades, feeling of fear) are two long, complex instrumental
tracks linked together that describe the story of a woman who crosses
the waters of the river Styx and enters the secret world of Hades.
Follow her and you will see fire and ice dancing together, lost souls
and demons dancing with Death in the wide hall of immensity...
Eventually, if you are lucky, you’ll find the way back!
“03.02.1974”
(February 2, 1974) is about another kind of magic. The lyrics evoke the
feelings and emotions provoked by a Genesis’ concert in the
seventies... “It wasn’t just music that evening / It wasn’t just a show
in that moment... It was a magic touch flying away... They weren’t just
songs... Then The Knife
broke in / Shouts, shivers, tears / It was the end for us... Even today I
think of you / I can still feel the emotion and I cry...”.
On
“La formula finale di Chad-Bat” (The final formula of Chad-Bat) the
busy Druid comes back to offer you his help. All in all there’s no one
like him to conjure a magical dream...
“Sempre
e ovunque” (Always and everywhere) is a long suite in eight parts that
concludes the album. It begins with a nice instrumental overture, full
of symphonic suggestions to stir your fantasy... “Here I am, my young
prince / I’m just back from the past... I’m back to give you all what I
gathered in all this time / I’m back to give you the keys of my coffer /
My young prince, here you are / That’s the key of your empire...”. The
coffer is full of dreams and emotions, the same dreams and emotions that
a father would like to pass on to his son. Opening the coffer you
shiver, understanding the real value of that treasure you could be
overwhelmed by emotion... “I have lived to give you my world / Here I
am, my young prince / Look at your empire / Look where the past comes
from, where the future begins... Take up in your hands all my emotions /
And keep them with you, always and everywhere...”. Now the son is the
keeper of his father’s dreams... Progressive rock will live on! Well, a
great finale for a very good album...
After the album was released Christian Dimasi left the band and now Pandora are a trio again but don’t worry, they won’t stop...
Pandora: Sempre e ovunque oltre il sogno (2011). Other opinions:
Paul Fowler: Sempre
E Ovunque Oltre Il Sogno does not disappoint and is if anything a more
adventurous and sophisticated piece of work than their debut... (read the complete review HERE).
Olav Martin Bjornsen: If you generally enjoy music branded as symphonic progressive rock,
Pandora is a band that you most likely should check out, especially if
your tastes are liberal to the extent that listening to a band that
blends the retro-oriented strains of the genre with elements of a more
modern origin, first and foremost in the shape of metal guitar riffs,
sounds like an interesting experience. A fine and well made album
overall, sporting some of the best quality drum work I have encountered
for some time as an additional bonus... (read the complete review HERE).
Read the interview with the band at progarchives. Click HERE
More info:
No comments:
Post a Comment