Twinspirits The Forbidden City
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
Now that he’s finally wrapped up the three-part Genius rock opera, Empty Tremor keyboardist/songwriter/producer has turned his attention back to Twinspirits, a band he formed to make some sort of profound statement in the progressive metal world. The fact that the guy behind the god-awful Genius albums thinks he’s qualified to make such a statement says something right there, but hey, Twinspirits is a totally different band that can be judged on its own merits.
Twinspirits also includes guitarist Tommy Ermolli and drummer Dario Ciccone of Liverani’s other (infinitely more enjoyable) band Khymera, as well as bassist Alberto Rigoni and Dimension34 vocalist Goran Nystrom, who is replacing Soren Adamsen.
The Forbidden City is a fairly typical progressive metal album. It sticks to the Dream Theater template with just a bit of Italian, Vision Divine/Labyrinth influence, and a fair amount of melodic elements. That’s one thing you can credit to Liverani; his tenure in Khymera proves he has a better than average ability when it comes to melodic songwriting, and he puts that to good use here. Melodies aside, the album feels a bit bloated and self-indulgent at times, though oddly enough not during the 10-minute opening and closing tracks (“The Forbidden City” and “I Am Free”), which end up being the album’s finer songs. The Forbidden City feels like a conceptual album, but that may not be the case. Certainly the songs on the album all have a similar atmosphere and overall vibe, though the downfall there is that they also tend to blur together and lose coherence after a few tracks.
The vocals on The Forbidden City are better than average, and Nystrom’s voice seems to suit the band better than Adamsen’s did on The Music That Will Heal the World. Musically, the band members are all quite technically proficient, and there are some impressive displays of guitar and especially keyboard pyrotechnics. A little of that kind of thing goes a long way though, and the excessive soloing wears thin about halfway through the album.
As talented as all the players are, it just isn’t easy to recommend The Forbidden City. Sure, if you’re a big Daniele Liverani fan or just really love (mostly) Italian progressive metal, you’ll probably want to check it out. Otherwise, just go spin the latest Dream Theater disc. It’s the same overall sound, only you’re getting it from the originals instead of the imitators.
Label: Lion Music
Track Listing:
1. The Forbidden City
2. Taste the Infinity
3. Number One
4. Everything
5. One of Us
6. BTR
7. Hide This Feeling
8. My Future
9. Reaction
10. I Am Free
Lineup:
Daniele Liverani – Keyboards
Tommy Ermolli – Guitar
Alberto Rigoni – Bass
Dario Cicconi – Drums
Goran Nystrom – Vocals
Online: www.twinspirits.net
HRH Rating: 5.5/10
Err…. really? This is completely different to the latest works from DT, oodles more melody, nowhere near as many notes in the instrumental segments, a vocalist who is actually “in key” instead of the LaBrie banshee wail, you mention excessive soloing? In relation to? DT? Its a fraction of whats on the last couple of DT’s releases. Its more focused and there for the song, not to show off the band chops… of which this band do have granted.
Twinspirits have their own sound going, is it the last word in prog metal – No.
Is it a well written, well played and an enjoyable album? Hell Yes.
Perhaps its best left at readers pondering their own take check out the numerous sound clips on the bands myspace profile… sadly the riff driven “One Of Us” is not there as yet….
I’ll grant that this is a well played and relatively enjoyable album, but it’s in no way original or all that different from any other prog metal album from the last decade. When it comes to this kind of music, “decent” just isn’t good enough for me anymore.
Oh, and I think James LaBrie’s voice is the best thing about Dream Theater.