Italian band Kingcrow made their big step forward on the 2010 album Phlegethon, when the band introduced their new vocalist Diego Marchesi, whose intense and emotional vocals appeared to be the perfect combination to the intriguing compositions of guitarist Diego Cafolla. Their 2013 release In Crescendo (see review) was an absolute highlight for me regarding progressive music and remains an album that frequently can be heard in my house. Besides the two Diego's Kingcrow's now steady line-up sees Thundra Cafolla on drums, Francesco D'Errico on bass, Christian Della Polla on keyboards and Ivan Nastasi on guitar. Now in 2015 Kingcrow returns with their sixth album and again the band has raised the barrel for themselves, to create new fresh material. Eidos absolutely succeeded in bringing new elements in to Kingcrow's music and Diego Cafolla wrote a number of super compositions, where some of them can be qualified as recognizable Kingcrow songs, others are taking you to new dimensions Kingcrow hasn't gone before, resulting in challenging new music. New, slightly different, but again intense and high quality. Eidos starts with The Moth; a song that immediately grabs you by the throat, combining Opeth style structures with powerful vocals, super sounding drums and recognizable guitar riffs. Here the combination of heavy and acapella vocals and acoustic guitars has to be seen as an absolute highlight in their song writing so far. The next song is Adrift; new, distinctive and amazing. Diego's vocals do sound a bit different from what we are used to and for me this unpredictability in the compositions is something that appeals to me. The strong point is the song still is so recognizable as Kingcrow, including a powerful part, reminding me of Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree recordings. A bit more laid back is the beginning of Slow Down, focussing on electronics and vocals, but when the guitar riff takes over, the song gains crescendo and builds its way up to a strong heavy part, even inserting some jazz to the tune. Open Sky shows emotion, this slow and intense composition sees Marchesi at his top, lending his vocals to a brilliant melodic song where Ivan Nastasi shines with a fabulous solo. Fading Out Pt. IV is the continuing story that began on the Timetropia rockopera ( Parts I and II), Part III was presented on the Phlegethon album and now the story goes on. Part IV has strong oriental influences, reminding a bit of acoustic passages of Orphaned Land, but I prefer our Italian friends' music. The album continues with The Deeper Divide, a more theatrical composition where multiple vocals create a nice atmosphere. A strong bass line in combination with subtle drumming show the influences of Riverside and Steven Wilson's music. On The Barren Ground is a fine up tempo song; powerful and filled with strong riffs and double bass drumming. A typical Kingcrow composition that shows the intensity and craftsmanship of the band. Diego's vocals highlight during At The Same Place again, a swinging song that will make sure everybody will make some kind of dance moves, at least they will try to, during the live concerts. At the Same Place is a brilliant song for live performances, fine solos, strong vocals and an audience that has to move one way or the other, standing still during this song is no option. The album's title track Eidon is an over eight minutes lasting epical composition, starting slow and gently building, gaining power towards a powerful apocalypse and returning to an almost acoustic end. As a fellow Rush fan I recognize some resemblance in the final composition If Only; percussion, guitar; subtle hunches to the Canadian masters. If Only is a theatrical highlight of the album, once again a strong combination of influences that have resulted in what I have to call Kingcrow's own recognizable style. Eidos is the result of new ideas, combined with their now recognizable style. An album that is the highlight in their career so far, an album were all the parts fit and come to life. One hour of brilliancy with a beautiful cover. ***** Pedro Bekkers (edited by Astrid de Ronde) Where to buy? |
