EPISODE 1: A HUMAN INTO DREAMS' WORLD

I stumbled onto Daniele Liverani's Genius Trilogy while looking at Daniel Gildenlow's Wikipedia page. A Human Into Dreams' World, being the first of the trilogy, shows some incredible composing and performing skill by Daniele Liverani, who plays all the instruments on the album except for drums, played by Dario Ciccioni. The vocals on the album are done by 9 guest singers. They are, in order of appearance, Mark Boals as "Genius," Lana Lane as the "Doorkeeper," Daniel Gildenlow as "Twin Spirit #32," Chris Boltendahl as "Stationmaster," Joe Vana as "McChaos Consultant," Steve Walsh as "Wild Tribe King," John Wetton as "McChaos King," Oliver Hartmann as "Wild Tribe Consultant," and Midnight as "Maindream." Narration is done by the "Storyteller" Philip Bynoe. Let me break it down track by track.

1. "Without me today" is a great opener. It begins with a brief narration from the "Storyteller." It is a long track with some really powerful instrumental parts and also sound vocals by Mark Boals. This track features some great riff-writing that is original and catchy. The feel is kind of like Dream Theater's "Scenes From a Memory", due to some epic chord changes. It ends with more narration from the "Storyteller," as does every song thereafter.

2. "The right place" is a short ballad. It is a conversation between "Genius" and the "Doorkeeper" (Lana Lane) that flows nicely with a short guitar solo in the middle. It basically has the same melody throughout until the end when it changes direction a little.

3. "Paradox," my favorite track is another conversation; this time between "Genius" and "Twinspirit #32" (Daniel Gildenlow). It has a frantic feel to it, as both characters are very confused. There are many different sections on this track and each moves to the next very well. WIth very flavorful guitar and drum parts, not to mention the vocals, it keeps you interested to the end.

4. "The glory of our land," is dark and has some frightening vocals by Chris Boltendahl as the "Stationmaster." There is also a scary choir section chanting after the chorus. The guitar solo here shows that Liverani can shred, with some fast sweep and alternate picking and quick fingers.

5. "All of your acts" has more of a happy mood to it and reminds me of Van Halen or something. This song advances the story well, but is a pretty straight forward track with some catchy guitar riffs and more great writing by Liverani.

6. "Dreams," one of my favorites, is very classically written and makes me think of Yngwie Malmsteen. I really love the instrumental section in the middle. It sounds like a tango or something. The chorus is possibly the best on the album and there are some really epic guitar and keyboard licks as well as a lot of double bass pedal action. The song ends with a powerful scream by Mark Boals.

7. "My pride" is another conversational piece, this time between "Wild Tribe King" (Steve Walsh) and "McChaos King" (John Wetton). It is very happy and has kind of a jazz feel to it. This song consists of possibly the best solo section on the entire album, as it is well thought out and displays some great playing.

8. "There's a human" is another power track. The vocals are gritty and raw, done by Oliver Hartmann as "Wild Tribe Consultant." There is also more chanting following the chorus on this one. Overall, it has an angry feel to it.

9. "Father" is another ballad with John Wetton giving his all with an emotional and strong vocal performance. This song builds up to a bell part followed by a guitar solo that shakes your soul.

10. "Terminate" is similar to "Paradox" in that it is very frantic. Midnight delivers a vocal performance that scares the heck out of you. Another incredible instrumental section on this one and ends very angrily.

11. "I'm Afraid" is another one of my favorites. Daniel Gildenlow stars on this track and delivers soaring vocals. It almost sounds like it could have been written by him. As the last track, it is one of the longer ones and concludes the story for the album, but opens up another chapter for the next album. It ends with the "Storyteller" giving a brief concluding narration followed by the statement, "To Be Continued . . ."

A Human Into Dreams' World takes you on a journey from start to finish and leaves you with a great feeling as it ends. It would be an excellent addition to any music collection.