CONFORTATE GLI ABBATTUTI LIVE

Roz Vitalis is one of those bands in quite a strange position for me, one where I rarely feel as if I outright love any of their work, yet they're able to do enough interesting stuff that I feel as if they're almost always worth checking out when they drop something new. Furthermore, I'm quite a fan of the way they don't just release live albums reasonably often, but ensure that they're extremely well produced and mixed to the point where I'm sure you could almost mistake it for a studio project. Confortate Gli Abbattuti Live continues this trend rather nicely, with lots of your standard hallmarks of a live album by the band, with some wonderfully varied instrumentation and a strong sense of unity within, which is reflected effectively through the tight interplay between all elements.

Being a live album by Roz Vitalis, you can simultaneously expect there to be a lack of purely new material here, yet also be confident in the fact that the music will all sound sufficiently different. This compositions here rings true to their studio and past live counterparts for the most part, but are all shifted and put under a different lens, with the improvisational material being guided by the chosen approach. This provides a much stronger opportunity for each track to sound interesting and distinct no matter how many times it's played, and serves to form the backbone of this album in the process. To my ears, this album feels far bolder and focused on melody than I'm used to from the band, with less time being dedicated to the long winded jamming or atmosphere than usual, definitely making it feel rather unique. Daybreaking is one of the clearest examples to be found here of this decision, still carrying a lot of the cryptic, mysterious vibe that's practically a mainstay of Roz Vitalis, but the guitar and bass are pushed way forward in the mix and given a lot of attention. Not only does this make for a rather fun, catchy track, but it also brings in a hint of that more heavy, avant-garde sound that I often wish the band would delve into more often. Donor further reinforces this sound through its own heavy, prominent bass that it revolves around for its rising intensity and climactic finish. The thing is that despite this, the band is able to maintain a strong sense of elegance to how things progress, it never feels rushed, just long enough to get across what it wants to and a bit more, naturally moving through its sections to craft a series of wonderfully textured soundscapes that I haven't really heard elsewhere.

Overall Confortate Gli Abbattuti Live is yet another good live album from Roz Vitalis that if you liked their previous work, you should also like this by all rights. The stronger focus on intensity and melody also go a long way to make this a very ear-catching listen and potentially the best starting point I've heard for getting into the work of Ivan Rozmainsky. If you're into the idea of somewhat more out there symphonic prog with a large variety of instruments (especially keyboards), give this album a shot, it's a great time.