Proloud - Rebuilding

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Sublime
Catalog Number: III-062002
Format: CD
Total Time: 52:34:00

Some time back I reviewed a demo by this Italian band, time passed by, and I actually thought they disbanded. I was very pleased to see the band finally got a deal and already put out their full blown debut album. The band was formed in 1996 and consists of Emi Pierro (Drums), Michele Zanni (Bass), Marco Donello (Keyboards), Christian Zezza (Guitar) and singer Giancarlo Mattei (ex-Abighor).

Proloud play prog metal the Italian way, like Arkhe, Scenario, Madsword, Zen, Crotalo, Stramonio, Empty Tremor, etc. Having that said, along with Madsword, Proloud is perhaps the most original band and although some elements have a clear reference to Dream Theater, they still manage to create music that both engages and sounds original. The musicians and band as a whole are exceptionally skilled and although the songs take some time to get into, this is great stuff. The music is full of variation. Through technical runs and passages, acoustic interludes, smooth atmospheric parts, heavier parts with elements of jazz, bossanova, etc. thrown in. Wonderful! Vocalist Giancarlo Mattei has a distinctive high-pitched voice which could put some people off, but he makes full use of his range with lots of variation and delivers an emotive, and in my opinion, very good performance.

Although the music is rather technical, they still maintain a melodic approach due to some wonderful melody-lines and themes. The songs are rich in detail and you discover something new every time you listen through the CD. Although a few themes lack better melody-lines, all songs are very good and fluent as a whole. Songs like "Leave It To Nature," "Island Lake," "Last Inhabited Planet" and "To Be On Fire" are definitive highlights.

The production is strong and the CD comes with a very impressive digi-pack, full of artistic illustrations. Probably among the most original digi-packs I've ever seen.

Rebuilding is fulfilling all the hopes I had for the band and then some! This is a classy piece of work and should keep prog metal fans happy. Do yourself a favor and check them out!

Similar To: Empty Tremor, Scenario, Stramonio

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Self-Destruction (0:31) / Fickle (8:11) / Leave It To Nature (8:41) / Island Lake (7:39) / Shooting Star (3:46) / Gethsemane (4:53) / Last Inhabited Planet (6:58) / To Be On Fire (9:00) / Rebuilding (Leave It To Nature Reprise) (4:15)

Musicians:
Emi Pierro - drums
Giancarlo Mattei - lead vocals
Christian Zezza - guitars
Marco Donello - keyboards
Mikele Zanni - basses

Guests:

Serena Ghinazzi - vocals (8)
Ketty Degli Esposti - spoken words (8)

Discography:
Fickle (demo) (1999)
Promo 2000 (demo) (2000)
Rebuilding (2002)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin IT

Added: January 15th 2005
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: welcome.to/proloud
Hits: 2397
Language: english