DIVIDE ET IMPERA

A few months ago I belatedly reviewed this band's 2014 debut album, most annoyed with myself for not writing about it earlier, but after I sent it to Fabio he asked if I would also like to hear their 2020 release (and told me there is a new album due for the end of this year). Although there was six years between the first and second, the core of the band stayed the same with Fabio Serra (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Gianni Brunelli (drums, percussion), Gianni Sabbioni (bass, Chapman Stick), and Massimo Piubelli (lead vocals) all still there but they have been extended from a quartet to a sextet with the addition of Carlo Soliman (piano, keyboards), who actually guested on two tracks on the debut, and Eva Impellizzeri (viola, keyboards, vocals).

As with their debut, Røsenkreütz do not sound Italian as they are a long way removed from the RPI prog scene we all know so well, but instead are mixing together 80's style melodic rock and prog in a way which is commercial, immediate, and so much damn fun to listen to. It is obvious they have been heavily influenced by classic Spock's Beard (such a strange thing to write, I can remember raving over their debut when they were unknowns), while there are also some elements of Eighties' Kansas, with the viola being very much part of that. Their music relies on hooks, melodic vocals and plenty of harmonies with complex interplay between all the instruments. The arrangements are bouncy and drive the listener along with a smile on their face. They can bring it down of course and do on tracks like "The Candle In The Glass", but this is primarily a crossover progressive rock band who do not forget the importance of rock in what they are doing but looking to melodic as opposed to metal.

The album ends with the longest track, "The Collector" (not the Twelfth Night song) which is more than 15 minutes in length. This tells the story of a psychopath, and contains the most complex interplay of the album, with dynamic keyboard runs, punching drums and plenty of guitars with Piubelli living every moment as he puts everything into his performance. It is a wonderful climax, and there is no doubt that anyone into this style of progressive/melodic rock will find this essential.