OBERON

The music itself can be somewhat repetitive, and while I understand not using a singer, this is music which will feel much better when it is played live than being listened to at home. I imagine they have quite raucous crowds and that these songs also get extended and drawn out when being played in that environment. This is a significant change from the debut in all areas and given it has now been five years since this was released one wonders what they are going to come up with next. Fans of stoner instrumentals should definitely give this a chance.

However, there is the feeling throughout that it needs to step up. Elena sounds good in places, yet in others does not have the cut through and bite one expects from a singer. The drums are too much in the background and while Alberto is a great musician, he never provides the support required due to the mix, and while Yuri is a competent keyboard player, he is primarily a guitarist and if they had a true keyboard player in the role it would have been better. There is a naïve innocence about this recording from 2016, with "The Golden King" being a highlight, with nice acoustic guitars although again I do wish the vocals had been a little stronger, with Blackmore's Night being an obvious influence. The band were only formed a year before this recording so possibly they hit the studio a little too soon, but what will the Italians come up with next?

Oberon are Yuri Crescenzio on guitars, Giacomo Zanardo on bass and guest artists Gilberto Ongaro on keys, with Alberto Barretta on drums.

It opens blazing with Time to Sleep 1, a massive distortion sound on guitar is augmented with a grinding organ. It has a Stoner feel and sounds very raw, but the riffs are awesome.

Nightmares with Open Eyes has another killer riff and the raw energy is astonishing in places.

Visions has a quieter atmosphere with finger picking intro and then gets faster with a dirty distorted guitar, and then the glory of a Hammond organ sound crushes in lending an explicitly 70s vibe.

Obsession has a chaotic quirky rhythmic guitar and more frenetic percussion. The bass lines are frantic and sporadic and this goes down as my favourite track on the album.

Strange Shadows has a dark Sabbath like riff and some fast and furious drums. At this point though I was longing for some vocals as it was getting repetitive.

Time to Sleep 2 closes the album with more Sabbath metal and chaotic drums. I love the time sig changes on this and the Doomy sound generated. The bass runs are cool and the chord structure grabs me. Again some vocals would have really added to the sound but that is perhaps to come later depending on the direction of the band.

Overall this is a solid release from Oberon and it is the absence of vocals that are a crucial missing element as the riffs chug away and it feels as though it needs that something extra. Having said that I would hate a screamo voice to be used, rather a clean vocal like Ozzy would be perfect. It sounds like a band in progress and it certainly shows great promise. The album is online and on YouTube so check it out now.

And here Crescencio is a true multi-instrumental talent making almost everything while Baretta played the drums and percussions, with the collaboration of Elena Dainese on vocals. The concept of the album revolves around Mount Olympus and its implications in Greek mythology and the lyrics are interesting enough making company to a very Black Sabbath and Deep Purple influenced sound with some glimpses of medieval music which make some songs sound very similar to Blackmore's Night, given the sweet voice of Dainese.

But this sweet voice sadly fits not so good in the stronger songs, where she lacks the strength and punch to make these tracks truly shine. The subpar production is also another weak point of this album, because the drums sound clunky and the guitars not fierce enough to make this stoner-psychedelic ensemble compelling, making the hearing of this album dull and not interesting enough in the long term.

Bes Tracks: The Golden King (a song which would fit in Blackmore's Night discography!), Icarus on Broken Wings (good songwriting here) and the suite Inheritance (the most complex and progressive track of the album)

Conclusion: Oberon started their studio adventure with an album of lights and shades. The lights are some cool tracks and glimpses of very good songwriting inspired in acts like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and other legends of the 70's, and the shades are the unfitting vocals, the weak productions and some uninspired moments which make the hearing of this album rather unpleasant at times.

So, if you want to introduce yourself in the world of Oberon, I recommend you start with their much better produced and written second effort called To Sleep Produces Monsters.

My rating: **

So hearing this second Oberon's album and to have this band included on this site is great. Because they are one of the most pure and beautiful examples of stoner rock that I've heard in a long time, mixing mammoth riffs with the perfect amount of psychedelic elements and some progressions that makes this band worthy to be included in ProgArchives.

The production of the album is a bit rough, but it is very intentioned, sounding the entire instruments natural and clear without losing an inch of the power that they intend to transmit. The guitars of Crescencio and Zanardo's bass are powerful and technical enough and they remind the best moments of acts like Black Sabbath, Sleep and Cathedral. In addition, in terms of songwriting, they are very competent.

Nevertheless, I miss some vocals here. The album is short, funny and very catchy, but I think that a singer is missing. This fact prevent this album to reach a higher rating, for sure.

Best tracks: the quality of the album is very homogeneous, but I particularly like the final epic Time to Sleep Pt.2

Conclusion: this album suffers from the lack of a vocalist, and it does not bring anything new to the horizon. It is also not very prog either. However, if you like pure stoner rock with some psychedelic elements, you will surely enjoy The Sleep Produces Monsters.

I wish this band the best of lucks in the future! They are definitely in the right way, but not there yet.

My rating: ***

That quote is from their web page. Oberon is the performance duo of Yuri Crescenzio and Alberto Baretta of Padua, Italy, two young guys with big creative dreams. You can hear it through and through on this delightful debut album, a conceptual work rooted in Greek mythology but seeking to comment on modern dysfunctions as well. The guys are lovers of many classic bands and have sought to create a retro-sound work that provides new adventures for other fans of those days. Prog snobs, bless their hearts, may look down their noses at bands they call "derivative" but I could care less whether a band is seeking to be "progressive." I'm a music fan first.

I was cracking a smile almost from the git-go over what was coming at me. I love it when I hear this kind of pure musical excitement from a band. They are all-over-the-map in the best way, drawing from sounds as divergent as medieval folk, stoner psych-rock, and dark symphonic. I hear bits of Jacula, Spiral, Akron, Hero, Spettri, Fiaba, as well as many vintage RPI bands who would incorporate heavy with acoustic. The production is somewhat primitive sounding but as I mentioned they were going for a 70s underground vibe here I believe, so it works just fine. No gloss is needed for this kind of adventure.

Between the hard rock sections of doomy, at times Sabbath-ey sounding drums and guitar, there are these wonderful breaks where you just drift away to acoustic guitar interludes. The other secret weapon are the spirited vocals of Elena Dainese, bringing some female energy for a nice variation of the sound palette. Her only mistake is singing in English -- it really should be some kind of international artistic crime whenever Italian bands use English. To possess the world's most beautiful language but not use it. Tragic. Nevertheless, the album succeeds anyway. My favorite element here is the fantastic, trippy keyboard parts, providing such rich atmosphere and taking the sound well beyond hard rock. The tracks can be mysterious and classically tinged one moment and driving riffage the next, then off into a dreamy break. The last track is a 9-minute, 4-part suite which will please any fan of heavy keyboard embellished art-rock.

While there is always room for improvement I have to say I was truly charmed by Oberon. These days, I find I appreciate these kinds of passionate homemade projects over the sprawling and stuffy 80 minute, super refined, over-produced monsters. Instead of it being a chore to get through, this album is a joy. In the HamelinProg blog Yuri speaks about his pride in the finished work, where two young men punched through their dream without allowing the inevitable obstacles stand in their way. I can hear their heart beating throughout this work.

I wish them the best on their next album coming in 2017. Kudos to Salus Art for the enchanting album cover.