Simone Cozzetto is an Italian guitarist/multi-instrumentalist and composer and so far, he has released two albums, namely: Wide Eyes and The Weight Of The Wind. So, Oblivion is his third album, and I can tell you right from the start that this is his best effort by far, although his previous album was certainly not bad. Oblivion is a concept album dealing with the inspirational figure of the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa and on this album, Cozzetto gets musical assistance from Kee Marcello, the former guitar picker of Europe and Easy Action, Ludovico Piccinini (Cherry Five) and Durga McBroom, “background” singer of Pink Floyd. The album kicks off with a short but very pleasant instrumental track called Where Was The Sentence Written?, followed by Carved In Stone, a glorious prog rock song in the veins of IQ, Pallas, and Genesis. Rice Fields is another instrumental one and here Cozzetto showcases his guitar talents and skills, while in Lucifer, also an instrumental track, the double bass and violins “dominate” that song. Absolute highlight of this album is the title track, a twenty-minute prog rock epic filled with amazing symphonic arrangements, multiple musical themes, lots of tempo twists and turns and even a drum solo. But most of all Oblivion, the song, is a guitar “monster” where not only Cozzetto plays huge guitar solos and melodies, but also Kee Marcello, Ludovico Piccinini (Prophilax), and Giacomo Anselmi (Goblin Rebirth) prove that they can handle their guitar for sure. Overall, Oblivion is a very good prog rock album and if you are already familiar with Cozzetto's work, then you will not be disappointed indeed. Listening tip: Carved In Stone. ***+ Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
