{"id":19739,"date":"2012-04-19T06:49:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T11:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19739"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:13:17","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:13:17","slug":"lalba-di-morrigan-the-essence-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/lalba-di-morrigan-the-essence-remains\/","title":{"rendered":"L\u2019Alba Di Morrigan | The Essence Remains<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"More and more interesting rock of all sub-genres is coming out of Italy these days, and fans of flowing and melodic progressive rock are in for a treat if they pick up the debut album from the Italian 3-piece, L\u2019Alba Di Morrigan. The Turin-based trio has just released The Essence Remains<\/em> on the My Kingdom Music label, and it is a solid debut in every respect.<\/p>\n

The band consists of vocalist \/ guitarist Ugo Ballisai, bassist Alessio Caruso, and drummer Luca Costanzo. Together since 2008, this trio plays like a group with a much longer history. They excel at setting mood, and their performances have real depth and numerous complex layers that manage to blend seamlessly into a cohesive and melodic whole. There are plenty of vocal harmonies and instrumental subtleties, long atmospheric passages and moody melody lines, and just enough variety of tone and tempo to make it all interesting. As is the case with many \u201cpower trios\u201d there is not a single standout performer \u2013 each member of the band does a fine job and contributes greatly to each and every track. The vocals, guitars, bass and drums are all equally important to L\u2019Alba Di Morrigan\u2019s music.<\/p>\n

\u201cSnowstorm\u201d opens the album with smooth, flowing vocals, nicely done guitars, slick bass and almost tribal drums. This track carries a good deal of warmth and pretty much sums up the sweeping and melodic sound that is the band\u2019s keystone. Progressive tempo changes make it a fine tune, and signals great things to come. Thick and chunky guitar \/ bass riffs open \u201cThe Fairies Circle\u201d before leading to a very mellow and hypnotic vocal line by Ugo Ballisai. Drummer Luca Costanzo seems to keep everyone focused and handles the tempo changes and subtle elements deftly. Alessio Caruso\u2019s bass work drives a number of the more ethereal passages with grace and delicacy. Layered guitars, lush vocals and amazing keyboards make \u201cSilence\u201d one of the stronger songs on the album. \u201cLilith\u201d is a very modern rock track featuring some great bass and drum work, and it is sung in the band\u2019s native Italian making for a totally immersive sonic journey if you don\u2019t speak the language.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly Mountain pt.1\u201d and \u201cHoly Mountain pt.2\u201d feature a powerful and pulsating bass opening and some interesting guitar dissonances. Ballisai\u2019s vocals are much simpler on this epic journey and allow the music to be the driver. Both parts of the song showcase the underlying instrumental talents of the entire band. \u201c24 Megatons\u201d is the most \u201cmetal\u201d and energetic track on the album and this instrumental features some incredible bass guitar hooks. \u201cEquilibrium\u201d is a very low key instrumental and a long track at almost 8 minutes. It is well-executed, but a little drawn out and breaks some of the momentum of the album as a whole. \u201cThe Essence Remains\u201d wraps the release in melancholy (but not depressing) style \u2013 great bass and drums here.<\/p>\n

Fans of progressive rock or metal will without a doubt enjoy this solid debut. It is creative, imaginative and well executed. There are few weak spots anywhere on the release. The only one worth mentioning is the occasional burying of the vocals under the instruments \u2013 just a bit more volume on the voice would help in some of the more subtle moments. The raw talent of the band is obvious, as is the level of care and creativity they put into their music. Highly polished and very well done, The Essence Remains is hopefully the first step on a long and successful road for L\u2019Alba Di Morrigan.<\/p>\n

Italy is musically much more than just the home of Lacuna Coil. Perhaps this is another sign that the NWOIHM is upon us\u2026<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nUgo Ballisai (guitar, vocals)
\nAlessio Caruso (bass)
\nLuca Costanzo (drums)
\nGuest musician – Frank Default (keyboards, programming on “Snowstorm\u201d and \u201cSilence”)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tSnowstorm
\n2.\tThe Fairies Circle
\n3.\tSilence
\n4.\tLilith
\n5.\tHoly Mountain pt. 1 (The Alkemist’s Frode)
\n6.\tHoly Mountain pt. 2 (The Rebirth)
\n7.\t24 Megatons
\n8.\tEquilibrium
\n9.\tThe Essence Remains<\/p>\n

Label: My Kingdom Music<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/lalbadimorrigan<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis Staff Writer — More and more interesting rock of all sub-genres is coming out of Italy these days, and fans of flowing and melodic progressive rock are in for a treat if […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[3456],"class_list":{"0":"post-19739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-progressive-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}