{"id":22274,"date":"2012-09-19T09:24:40","date_gmt":"2012-09-19T14:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=22274"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:25:34","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:25:34","slug":"alberto-rigoni-three-wise-monkeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/alberto-rigoni-three-wise-monkeys\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberto Rigoni | Three Wise Monkeys<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"AlbertoThree Wise Monkeys<\/em> is the new release from well-respected bass player, progressive rock composer and producer Alberto Rigoni. Perhaps better known for his work with the Italian band Twinspirits and the electro-pop duo Lady and THE BASS, Rigoni has built an all-start lineup of musicians to help deliver his unique vision. And deliver he does, presenting a nice genre-blending mix of five instrumental tracks and five with vocals.<\/p>\n

For those not familiar with Alberto, he is a native of Montebelluna, Italy. He joined Twinspirits in 2003, and released three solo albums: Something Different<\/em> in 2008, Rebirth<\/em> in 2011, and now Three Wise Monkeys<\/em> (available 01-October-2012). The prolific bassist has gathered an impressive roster of special guests to assist, including vocalists Jonas Erixon (Alicate) and G\u00f6ran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum), guitarists Tommy Ermolli (Twinspirits) and Simone Mularoni (DGM, Empyrios), keyboardists Mistheria (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Rock) and Kevin Moore (Dream Theater, OSI, Chroma Key), and drummers Mark Cross (Outloud, Helloween, Firewind) and Paco Barill\u00e0 (Daniele Liverani). The roster alone shows the respect Rigoni\u2019s name carries in the music world.<\/p>\n

Three Wise Monkeys<\/em> is based upon the Japanese folk legend of the \u201cThree Wise Monkeys,\u201d which embodies the proverbial principle of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” The three monkeys are named Mizaru (who sees no evil), Kikazaru (who hears no evil), and Iwazaru (who speaks no evil) \u2013 and each gets his own instrumental on the album. The source of this legend is a 17th century carving over a door of the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan (the shrine also gets its own track). <\/p>\n

Rigoni wrote and produced all tracks except for “Coming Home” and “Believe,” which he co-wrote with Jonas Erixon. Musically this album spans many genres, from progressive metal to jazz to rock to ambient and atmospheric. Alberto\u2019s bass is the keystone to the music, tying each track together. Despite this fact he manages to keep the bass from hogging the spotlight, allowing his many guests to step to the front as needed. Each performer is allowed to shine, and the music moves from genre to genre without abrupt or jarring transitions making it a true \u201calbum\u201d and not simply a collection of songs. Like its predecessor Rebirth<\/em>, Three Wise Monkeys<\/em> is not just an exposition of fine bass work; rather it is a solid musical release. Nicely balanced and well-engineered, the music manages to dazzle the listener without making it a \u201cbass guitar\u201d album.<\/p>\n

Soft temple bells provide the meat of the opening track \u201cToshogu Shrine,\u201d leading nicely into the varied tempo changes, driving rhythms, and intense Kevin Moore supplied keyboards of \u201cMizaru.\u201d \u201cThree Wise Monkeys\u201d is an up-tempo rocker featuring the warm and unique tone of vocalist G\u00f6ran Edman and some fine drumming by Paolo Valli over Rigoni\u2019s slick bass. The soft and moving \u201cKikazaru\u201d is Rigoni\u2019s bass expo, and he proves just how much emotion and feeling a well-played bass guitar can produce. Jonas Erixon contributes fine vocals and Tommy Ermolli plays some amazing guitar breaks on the intense and heavy prog rocker \u201cBlackened Tornado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rigoni makes his bass sing on the instrumental \u201cIwazaru,\u201d laying out some interesting patters and getting almost bell-like tones from the instrument. He is capably backed by the ethereal keyboards of Federico Solazzo and complex patterns of drummer Sebastian Persini. A bluesy and gritty rock-jazz tone drives \u201cFree Falling,\u201d another vocal track that features the fine guitars (and very metal solo) of Simone Mularoni. \u201cBetween Space and Time\u201d is a soft, almost ambient instrumental, driven by the gentle and distinctive keyboards of Mistheria. \u201cComing Home\u201d is a very good mid tempo rock ballad, and it allows vocalist Erixon to take the spotlight. The album wraps with the slow and emotional \u201cBelieve.\u201d Erixon\u2019s vocals again shine, but the track is fully anchored by Rigoni\u2019s bass and Barill\u00e0\u2019s drums.<\/p>\n

Bass players everywhere could learn a lesson from Alberto Rigoni. His eclectic mix of influences and styles proves him to be a complete musician who fully explores the limits of his instrument of choice. He is an outstanding performer whether delivering simple rhythms or pounding out complex riffs. He never neglects the melodic elements of songwriting and plays with his heart, not just his fingers. Three Wise Monkeys<\/em> should be seen as a solid progressive rock-fusion \u201cjourney,\u201d and NOT a bass player\u2019s ego trip. Very highly recommended!<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAlberto Rigoni – bass
\nG\u00f6ran Edman – vocals on track 3
\nJonas Erixon – vocals on tracks 5, 7, 9 & 10
\nKevin Moore – keyboards on track 2
\nFederico Solazzo – keyboards on tracks 5, 6 & 9
\nMistheria – keyboards on tracks 8 & 10
\nAlessandro Bertoni – keyboards on track 3
\nTommy Ermolli \u2013 guitars on tracks 2, 3, 5, 9 & 10
\nSimone Mularoni – guitars on tracks 7
\nMark Cross – drums on track 7
\nPaolo Valli – drums on tracks 2 & 9
\nPaco Barill\u00e0 – drums on track 3 & 10
\nSebastian Persini – drums on tracks 5 & 6<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tToshogu Shrine
\n2.\tMizaru
\n3.\tThree Wise Monkeys
\n4.\tKikazaru
\n5.\tBlackened Tornado
\n6.\tIwazaru
\n7.\tFree Falling
\n8.\tBetween Space and Time
\n9.\tComing Home
\n10.\t Believe<\/p>\n

Label: Any And All Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.albertorigoni.net<\/a>, www.facebook.com\/albertothebassrigoni<\/a> <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Columnist — Three Wise Monkeys is the new release from well-respected bass player, progressive rock composer and producer Alberto Rigoni. Perhaps better known for his work with the Italian band Twinspirits […]<\/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":[336,1605,1554,3456,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-22274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-goran-edman","9":"tag-mistheria","10":"tag-progressive-rock","11":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22274","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=22274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}