Here's a holdover from late 2016 that's just hitting our review desk now, the latest from Italian hard rock/prog act Lucid Dream, titled Otherworldly. Basically a trio for the album, the band consists of guitarist Simone Terigi, vocalist Alessio Calandriello, and bassist Gianluca Enroico, with drummer Paolo Tixi contributing in the studio and a few guest string players. Lucid Dream actually have a few albums to their credit in the five or so years they have been together, Otherworldly being a good representation of their style, which is a melodic and slightly progressive brand of hard rock & metal, long on effective guitar riffs, tasty solos, and powerful vocals. Calandriello's style is a sort of a cross between Geddy Lee, Joey Tempest, and Jack Russell, his high pitched tones soaring in and out of waves of crisp riffs and sizzling lead solos courtesy of Terigi, a mighty fine player who gets plenty of room to shine here. Tunes like "Buried Treasure", "The Stonehunter", and "The Ring of Power" pack plenty of punch and contain some intricate arrangements, reminding at times of Rush, Savatage, and early Europe, while the atmospheric, proggy nature of "Broken Mirror" and "Magnitudes" bring to mind Fates Warning and Queensryche. Terigi truly gets his moment in the spotlight though on the lengthy instrumental "The Theater of Silence", a classy piece brimming with majestic guitar harmonies and riffs galore, his guitar dueling with violins and creating some wicked interplay while Tixi flails away underneath it all.
Very enjoyable from start to finish, Otherworldly is proof that Lucid Dream are still growing as a band, their instrumental & songwriting skills continuing to develop as they have put together a mighty fine album here that deserves to be heard. Nice job!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
01. Intro
02. Buried Treasure
03. The ring of power
04. Everything dies
05. The stonehunter
06. A blanket of stars
07. Magnitudes
08. Broken mirror
09. The theater of silence
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