A ROOM OF FAIRY QUEEN'S

The man behind this project Mauro Montobbio used to play in ERIS PLUVIA (a couple of the guest musicians here are from that band too) and I must admit I wasn't really a fan of that project or THE ANCIENT VEIL another off shoot of that band. So I went into this album not expecting much but soon found myself giving this record a lot of respect. I still wish the vocals were in Italian, but at least the singer here is excellent. He's the singer for LA MASHERA DI CERA. Another negative for me is the Celtic flavour. And while i'm a big IONA fan it's because they do Celtic like no one else. They soak it in atmosphere and make it spacey.

"Earth (Je Cherche La Vie)" is orchestral-like early then it kicks in before 2 minutes. Lots of keyboards. A calm with spoken words before 4 1/2 minutes as the birds chirp. "A Room Of Fairy Queen's" is very Celtic flavoured. Female vocals too. I like the nimble bass before 2 minutes. Flute a minute later. A pleasant track. "Lord Of The Headline" has lots of keyboards and drums as male vocals join in. Nice guitar before 2 minutes and later before 6 minutes.

"The Lake" is the first of three straight instrumentals. It opens with gentle guitar and flute. Bagpipes after 2 1/2 minutes then the guitar comes in ripping it up. It settles again after 4 minutes. It's raining late to end it. "Coming Off My Shadow" opens with synths, bass, drums then guitar. A vibrant track. "Desert" features bass,drums and guitar as synths wash over top. The tempo picks up before 3 minutes with guitar out front. The contrasts continue. "Wake Up" has male vocals early with sax. Guitar takes the lead before 2 minutes. Sax after 4 minutes. "Into The Light" is pastoral with reserved vocals. Female vocals too as they continue to trade off. It kicks in after 4 minutes with guitar.

This is really good. Not 4 stars though because of the Celtic influence and female vocals, but the parts I like, I really like.