FLYING ACROSS A DARK VOID

Daedalus is the seventh studio album by Daal and was released in 2022 on the independent Ma.Ra.Cash Records label. The line up features, along with founder members Alfio Costa (Mellotron, Moog, piano, organ, synthesizers) and Davide Guidoni (drums, percussion), also Ettore Salati (guitars) and Bobo Aiolfi (bass) here promoted to effective members while they were credited just as guests on the 2018 album Decalogue Of Darkness. The art work by Davide Guidoni in some way reflects the musical content with its dark, oneiric figures loosely inspired by ancient Greek mythology...

 

The long opener “Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part I” begins with a slow pace. The cinematic intro conjures up a creepy atmosphere and might recall Goblin, then hypnotic notes take you across mysterious places where the world under your feet suddenly seems no more real than the world of a dream, apt to dissolve without warning and send you tumbling into a great, dark void... (the short quote is from Lightning, a novel by Dean Koontz).

“Icarus Dreams” begins by a surge of energy. As the rhythm rises you can set off on an interstellar journey on the wings of fantasy. In the open space, as the dizziness of the departure dissolves, darkness becomes an excellent screen on which the mind can play out its architectural whims. For this track the band provided a video to give you an idea of what the music is about...

 

“Painting Wings” starts softly, the atmosphere is relaxed and dreamy but after three minutes the music takes a different direction and dreams seem almost turning into nightmares as the rhythm becomes more obsessive and threatening. When the calm comes back you could feel scared by your own lethal visions...

Then it’s the turn of the long, complex “Labyrinth 66 Part I & II”. Here the music depicts a sinister place, where some evil and malignant force lurks behind sombre corners, a kind of dark presence coming in steady, inexorable waves. You’re prisoner of your dreams and waking up will be hard...

 

The ethereal “In My Time Of Shadow” starts by the sound of the wind and a delicate piano pattern. It’s a calm piece with beautiful melodic lines and a nocturnal mood. For this track the band shot an interesting video where two statues come to life in a deserted atelier. They’re like sleepwalkers dancing to a surreal choreography, assailed by their own inner demons... Eventually they turn to stone again, after all, a moving statue becomes grotesque, it only has majesty in immobility... (quote from Le Roi Squelette by Serge Brussolo).

“Journey Through The Spiral Mind Part II” ends the album and closes the circle by taking back the atmosphere and the melodies of the opener. The dream reaches its climax in a crescendo of tension and desire, then slowly fades away...

On the whole, a magnificent album that, in my opinion, might be a perfect score for an adventure in the crazy, ancient world of Brussolo’s characters Shagan and Junia...

You can listen to the complete album HERE

Daal: Daedalus (2022). Other opinions:

Nick Hudson: All labyrinths have an inherent duality, embodying simultaneously great artistry, design, and order; and confusion, chaos and dissonance. Daal’s music has also always had the same duality, being both beauty and beast chasing itself through complex patterns that beguile and bewilder in equal measure. Without ever really sounding like either, there is surely a good deal of influence from Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and for added colour, perhaps a little Tangerine Dream. I could probably draw a list of A to Z of artists I’m reminded of – or, at least Art Zoyd to Zappa. But Daal really do sound like no other band, and for that I’m glad as I doubt I’d keep coming back to them otherwise... (read the complete review HERE)

 

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