FLOWING PORTRAITS

This 2008 release was the debut album from this Italian prog metal band, who originally started out playing Dream Theater covers back in 2004. They have certainly come a long way since then, as this is far more commercial and direct than anything to come from the Americans, but still displaying incredible virtuosity. While the harmony voccals may not always be absolutely spot on, the result is something that feels more 'real', and far less contrived. The interplay between guitarist Antonio Vittozzi and keyboard player Luca Di Gennaro is an absolute delight, while bassist Lucio Grilli and drummer Antonio Mocerino lock it all together. What is somewhat surprising is that singer Mark Basile, who is key to the overall sound and success of the album is here only as a session singer (formly with Mind Key, he is now active in DGM) ? the band's singer Michele Serpico was unable to record due to ill health, and he was replaced after they had been in the studios so Mark was only brought in for this album.

One of the things that is readily apparent is the quality not only of the songs, the vocals and overall performance, but also that of the production. So, it wasn't much of a surprise to see that although it was originally recorded in Naples, it had then been mastered by none other than Threshold's Karl Groom, and certainly some of the crunching riffs could have been laid down by the Thin Ice guitarmeister himself. It contains plenty of space, and the songs flow and move as if they are a living breathing being, effortlessly going from one melody to another, but always with real feeling of passion and depth.

This is an incredibly powerful album, very nearly flawless, and if one is into prog metal of any type then this should be played immediately, if not sooner.