La
Bottega del Tempo a Vapore come from Benevento and began life in 2014
on the initiative of guitarist and composer Alessandro Zeoli and
writer and lyricist Alfredo Martinelli. The name of the band can be
loosely translated as "The Steam-Time Workshop" and their
aim is to blend poetry, legends and history giving form to modern
rock operas inspired by the music of bands such as Banco del Mutuo
Soccorso, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Le Orme, Dream Theater, Angra,
Liquid Tension Experiment, Epica, Two Steps From Hell, Porcupine
Tree, Haken and many others. In 2015 the band self released a very
interesting debut album entitled Il guerriero errante (The
wondering warrior) with a line up featuring Alessandro Zeoli
(guitar), Alfredo Martinelli (libretto and concept), Angelo D'Amelio
(keyboards, sax), Angelo Santo (vocals), Gabriele Beatrice (drums),
Giovanni Santamaria (guitar) and Giuseppe Barbato (bass). It's a
concept album based upon a short story by Alfredo Martinelli that
tells the legend of a mysterious Samnite-Lombard warrior...
The
short, dreamy instrumental "Overture" sets the atmosphere
drawing you into the mist of time, where the legend becomes
reality... You're now in the Duchy of Benevento, in the Langobardia Minor, during the Middle-Age and you can see a brave warrior leading
the army of the king out of the city walls... The following "Fumo
d'anime" (Smoke of souls) evokes a battle and features marching
drums and aggressive electric guitar riffs. The brave warrior leads
his soldiers against the enemy and they're like a raging wave... The
music and lyrics conjure up images and visions, the blood is burning
in the flesh of the fighting men while the wind sweeps away dust and
screams all day long. Eventually, the dark veil of the night comes
down on the battlefield...
"Ordine
e follia" (Order and madness) begins softly, it's the calm after
the storm and you can relax for a while... Then you can hear the
soaring notes of a cheerful folksy dance. In the city the people are
celebrating the victory, barefoot dancers are moving in the firelight
and the voices of the women have a therapeutic effect on the tired,
injured soldiers... The king sees the brave warrior wondering alone
in the crowd and orders him to fetch the Lady, the promised bride of
the prince, and take her to the royal palace. The voice of the king
is like a vortex, a lightning coming from a demon... Here the music
becomes harder and heavy electric guitar riffs mark the sudden change
of atmosphere... Then a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio leads to
new horizons and the rising sun...
The
following "Arabeschi sentieri" (Arabesque paths) drives you
through a labyrinth of narrow streets and obscure paths. The brave
warrior has to escort the lady to the palace where she will be taught
the rules of the court... You can feel desires drawing in the sea of
life, suffocated by imperious orders while the music and lyrics evoke
whirling emotions, dazzling sensations, hidden feelings. The infinite
paths of life can be complex and treacherous... The warrior and the
lady are victims of an ambush but they fight bravely and you can feel
the sound of bloody blades breaking bones and skulls. At last the
warrior and the lady escape and find a shelter in the wood on a near
hill...
Next
comes the suggestive "Mendicanti luridi" (Dirty beggars)
that blends oriental influences and more aggressive parts. The music
and lyrics depict dark shadows moving around in the wood under the
mocking gaze of merciless gods sitting on their throne high in the
sky. For them, men and women are nothing but grey pawns in a court
game... So, the warrior and the Lady fall in love with each other,
like Lancelot and Guinevere, and eventually the razor of desire tears
apart the veil of hypocrisy that ties the lovers to the king's
will... The following "Eterea fusione" (Ethereal fusion)
marks the final pace of the betrayal evoking sounds of infinite
colours that fill the silence and kill the fears. The shadows get
blurred in the light while a warm hug becomes a shelter against the
adversities and two breathing bodies slowly merge...
"Urlanti
demoni" (Screaming demons) depicts in music and lyrics the
vengeance of the king. To avoid scandal, he asks a powerful witch, a
janara, to perform a terrible spell: the warrior is
transformed into an invisible ghost and condemned to walk on the city
walls for the eternity while the Lady is condemned to die and born
again forever, living thousands miserable, short lives, perpetually
humiliated under the gaze of her invisible lover, a man that she
can't remember and can't see anymore...
"Vita
sospesa" (Suspended life) is a tense track that tells about the
effects of the vendetta. Nonetheless spells are not always perfect
and the warrior, after centuries of desperate, vain walks on the city
walls, eventually breaks the perfidious enchantment. In some way, the
warrior manages to write on a very thin paper that the Lady reads:
the words give back to her the memory of his lover ad they're free,
at least for a moment...
 |
| The band with Lino Vairetti from Osanna |
The
following "Ombra di falce" (Sickle shadow) depicts in music
and words the last fight between the unfortunate lovers and the
wicked witch. In fact, the powerful janara is still alive and
determined to carry out her terrible duty... You can see a thundering
vortex of black clouds and imagine a conclusion where jealousy and
hate are just two sides of the same coin... Then the delicate, dreamy
instrumental closer "Finale" concludes the tale.
On
the whole, a very good work full of melody and energy, bright colours
and dark passages, poetry and magic... Have a try!
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