Italians of 'The Watch' already have quite a career behind them as 'The Art of Bleeding' is their 8th studio record (if you don't count 'Twilight' released in 1997 under the band's former name 'The Night Watch'), their first album 'Ghost' dating back to 2001 and their latest, 'Seven' being released in 2017. Led by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist 'Simone Rossetti', they carry on the influences of 'Genesis' from the 70s and 'The Art of Bleeding', released about a month ago is yet another perfect example. This time it's a concept album based on dark or disturbing themes like 'Abendlicht' which tells the story of a man who plans to commit suicide and the tracks were composed by 'Simone Rosetti' to be in line with the stories.
The short 'Intro' welcomes us into a calm atmosphere with 'Simone Rosetti's' soft voice taking us straight back a few decades, the resemblance to 'Peter Gabriel' being striking, and with a deep bass accompaniment accentuating the mysterious side, then, 'Red' (see video above) embarks on a track marked by a sense of urgency with ominous breaths and a scary scream in the middle of the track, with the catchy melodic lines supporting this atmosphere of danger. 'Abendlicht', despite the ominous theme, has a more upbeat rythmic and is completely in the style of 'Genesis', then 'The Fisherman' which was part of the 'Twilight' album, has been re-recorded in a shorter version and is a beautiful composition, more optimistic, that serves as a break between the darker tracks. We continue into the second half of the album with 'Hatred Of Wisdom' and its ominous theme music which is modulated in places by more serene parts, and then, 'Howl The Stars Down' (see the video here) is a cover of 'Steve Hackett' keyboardist, 'Nick Magnus' which was performed by both artists in 2011 (see video here) and which brings a melancholic mood. Introduced by a beautiful piano part, 'Black Is Deep' is an instrumental that features a beautiful guitar solo and an imaginative keyboard section taking us back to the 70's, then, 'Red Is Deep' concludes this beautiful album with a long track that picks up on the starting theme and continues with inventive progressive leaving plenty of room for a long instrumental section in the second half of the track ending in a climax with dazzling keyboards.
In summary, the Italians of 'The Watch' release a quality album that continues to ride the wave of 'Genesis' with refined and imaginative compositions, which destines 'The Art of Bleeding' to an audience that fell into the progressive rock pot in the 70s... | |
