After discovering the Italians with their fourth album 'Silence Between Sounds' , I passed next to the magnificent 'The Day Is Gone' in 2018 (for those who are like me, I advise you to immerse yourself in it) and I make up for it with the no less magnificent 'Room 101', released at the end of May 2021, which is inspired by the novel by 'George Orwell', 1984, published in 1948 and which has become a literary reference at this time (would the health crisis have highlighted what Orwell had written more than 70 years ago now?) and this reference to Room 101 is linked to the psychological torture inflicted on people to transform them into calibrated and docile beings. As much to tell you right away, 'Room 101' will undoubtedly be one of my albums which will be in the top 3 of the progressive rock albums of 2021, because this opus is of an extraordinary density and richness and contains everything what I'm looking for in this style with long developments containing multiple drawers in which it is good to lose yourself and go to the rhythm of the music with, ice on the cake, completely sublime vocal arrangements.
On the menu, 7 tracks for 70 minutes of listening and the album begins with 'Memory Holes' which shows at the outset an imaginative progressive with 'Sara Rinaldi' who is still in the game for this album and who we charm on this disturbing melody dotted with sound effects and electronic sounds with in the background, in opposition to the clear atmosphere, a slight flute accompaniment of 'Steve Unruh' ('The Samurai Of Prog', 'UPF') , then, after a remarkable final rise in power which ends abruptly, 'Drop By Drop' takes over with a ballad which begins calmly and which gradually gains momentum to alternate with quieter sections and which, after a moving stripped down part in the middle of the title, has a magnificent second part which gradually gains strength with vocal arrangements in the beautiful finale, which for me makes it one of the highlights of the album. 'Dark City' which follows, is a slow atmospheric procession which begins very calmly and which, at the end of 2.30, introduces an unbridled rhythmic section contrasting remarkably with the calm atmosphere, then, the finale picks up again with, first, saturated guitar riffs, then, with the short intervention to the vocals of 'Sara Rinaldi' (which would have deserved from my point of view a longer conclusion). With 'Zealous Man', we hold the longest composition which continues in this captivating atmospheric atmosphere, alternating tensions and relaxations throughout the title with yet another magnificent vocal performance by 'Sara Rinaldi' who remarkably adapts her singing according to the 'intensity of the moment and which moves us at every moment and we can also highlight the magnificent central guitar solo of 'Alex Massari' and a masterful finale. Follows 'Newspeak' which is undoubtedly the most cinematographic composition and which reminds me for my part of the musical atmospheres of 'Eric Serra' from 'Le grand bleu' which would have been mixed with the keyboard tones of the album 'Whish You Were Here' from the' Floyds'. The eponymous title of the album is very representative of the atmosphere of room 101 with this feeling of fear and anguish with vocals filled with reverberation which brings us once again to the atmosphere of the 'Floyds', this time with 'The Wall' and we are right in a imaginative progressive with a long instrumental part in the second part completely addictive. It is with 'The New World' which borders on 10 minutes that the album ends with a last completely memorable melody and which once again plunges us into a progressive taking us on a beautiful trip in which we let ourselves go to the multiple changes of rhythm and which sums up this magnificent opus, the instrumental and vocal parts alternating different intensities and holding the listener in suspense from start to finish.
In summary, no need to draw you a picture, this last opus of the Italians of 'Karmamoi' is certainly one of the most captivating albums of their discography and for my part comes directly to my ideal progressive collection and, I do not No doubt, also that of many amateurs and many amateurs of dense, imaginative progressive rock and conveying all kinds of emotions... | |
