Daedalus - Motherland

(CD 2011, 57:24, Galileo GLR102CD)

The tracks:
  1- What A Challenging World(2:20)
  2- Your Lies(3:55)
  3- Until You're Here(4:54)
  4- Perspective Of The Moon(4:58)
  5- For Aye(6:19)
  6- Motherland(6:53)
  7- Sand(5:06)
  8- Weather The Storm(5:39)
  9- Underground(4:25)
10- A Tale(6:11)
11- Empty Rooms(6:43)

Daedalus Website        Gonzo Multimedia


Daedalus is an Italian prog metal band that started back in 2002. They were inspired by bands like Arena, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden and Rush. In 2003, the band released their debut album Leading Far From A Mistake. A year later two band members left to be replaced by guitarist Andrea Torretta and singer Davide Merletto. They contacted classical musicians and the well-known singer Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth) to record some tracks. In 2007 they came in contact with guitar player Roland Grapow (ex- Helloween and Masterplan), who mixed these tracks and gave the band a new, fresh and heavy sound. This can be heard on the second album The Never Ending Illusion (2009). Grapow also mixed the new album Motherland, which again resulted in a rather heavy sound.

The album starts with the instrumental track What A Challenging World, a rather bombastic song filled with lots of raw guitar riffs and piano passages. Another great song is Until You're Here, an up-tempo prog metal track with a great diversity and a nice jazzy part as well. However, the songs in the middle of the album being For Aye, Motherland and Sand are rather tiresome and predictable. These are typical Italian prog rock pieces wherein actually nothing new can be discovered... Then it's time for another great instrumental piece called Weather The Storm, a track with excellent changes of tempo and a marvellous guitar solo. The album ends with the semi-power ballad Empty Rooms, once more a rather non-original mediocre prog rock track that I heard a thousand times before. Some musical characteristics of Dream Theater and Vanden Plas can be heard throughout the album, however one can say that Daedalus certainly have a style of their own. All in all, I would say, listen carefully before buying this album. On the other hand lots of bands out there will never reach the musical ability and skills of these Italian prog rockers!

**+ Martien Koolen (edited by Peter Willemsen)

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