Moto Armonico, (Harmonic Motion in English) is an Italian progressive rock/ metal band that has its roots way back in the eighties. Founder and guitarist Uccio Ghezzer gained fame playing in Italy. After many projects, he gathered with vocalist Patty Simon somewhere in 2010 and the result was the birth of Moto Amonico. The duo found a bass player in Giampi Tomezzoli, a keyboard player in Christian Pasin and a drummer was found by the name of Alessandro Veronesi. A debut album was released containing Italian vocals, blending rock, metal and symphonic atmospheres together. Last year the band changed their line-up; vocalist Luca Adami replaced the original member and with his English vocals, pushed the band towards a more progressive metal direction. To be honest, I have no references to the debut album, so comparison is no option. But what I get is a really interesting album. Down To Timavo's music slightly goes into the direction of the style Dream Theater plays. Especially when you listen to the song The Shadow; fierce drums, brutal riffs and tons of keyboards sound recognizable. At some points, vocalist Luca's voice sounds like James LaBrie, other times Ray Alder comes to mind. Other references are bands like Kansas and Fates Warning in their keyboard-minded period. The compositions are based on solid melodies, strong riffs and outstanding bass parts. I think the band cleverly uses the capabilities of keyboard player Christian, whose parts play a huge role in the complete picture as every song has impressive keyboard parts and solos. A strong composition is Sand Holder which shifts from a brutal opening to a softer middle section where the vocal parts show emotion, returning to power at the end of the song. The album sees a well-balanced combination of powerful compositions and more laid back; call it passionate parts. With three lengthy compositions; the aforementioned Sand Holder, the title track Down To Timavo and the final composition Cracks; the band shows they are very capable to create an epic that is interesting and challenging to the end. For me, those are the absolute highlights of the album although I would not want to forget mentioning fine compositions like Hypnotic Snake, Spring Time or Life, which are both exciting and intriguing. For a relatively unknown band-at least to the world outside Italy-Moto Armonico has delivered a stunning album, which definitely will put them on the map. The compositions are very pleasant to listen to and the overall sound is more than satisfying. I guess the band made the right choice when the new vocalist was added to the line-up. I see a band that made the perfect album for them to gain new fans all over the world and it just will be a matter of time before you can watch them in your favourite venue. Try it because this band really deserves to be heard. **** Pedro Bekkers (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
