LIFESTREAM

LIFESTREAM was born in 2006, influenced by dinosaurs such as PINK FLOYD, YES, KANSAS and MARILLION for the 80s. A varied sound in the neo and prog of yesteryear on a melodic slope and heavy incursions at the turn of well-driven breaks; an album, their 2nd, concept in 3 parts on two worlds in decline which want to seek in the other a better, utopian in view of the confrontation between two worlds without real exit for one and the other. The singing in English to report, no RPI in short, let's go, I'm tempted to 'leaf through the pages of this opus'.

Ego "Landscape of Loneliness" progressive intro, just to say that we are in the right place; it takes off all of a sudden with heavy riffs and very juicy keyboards on the neo 80 period, beautiful toned voice forward; it continues on a heavy AOR with tempo changes that do not leave you alone, especially through the use of keyboards and other synths helping us navigate the 70s, 80s in a few seconds; title fresh, engaging and varied despite this; the finale gives pride of place to Alberto's guitar on a floydian register before folk choirs à la JETHRO TULL come to pack this river title. "What Went Wrong? » continues and engages on CAST, JETHRO TULL for the riff, for this nervous, rhythmic, hard'n'heavy prog side without naming it; the softer break, very airy and this guitar which distills pleasure, which brings back to a sound of the new millennium. "Habitat" spatial interlude on a LIKE WENDY, a SOLAR PROJECT with narrative voice-overs and fat synths, flooding... the space; monolithic in fact with this accented bass. "The Long Way Home" goes on a latent ballad, melodic sweetness rhythmic with a Hammond behind, coming to flirt with the great slows of yesteryear, Paolo's voice also having something to do with it; those who made your bride melt in your arms. Choirs and a guitar solo ignite the second part, Alberto is really very comfortable in this part. "Rebirth" continues on a melting-pot track with choirs, AOR prog riff for those who couldn't stand this drawer which has its qualities; a station wagon with a musical saw? an air in crescendo which allows a guitar solo after those of the keyboards on the MARILLION era. "Cryosleep" closes this first part with an instrumental piano at the base supported by Alberto before Andrea puts her synths in COLLAGE mode to note the typed "fat" of the synth notes.

Omnis 'Out of the Caves' change of atmosphere for the second act with drops of water, percussion and oriental sound as a preamble. "Pillars of Creation" continues, screaming voice, heavy riff, new-wave electro synths; jerky rhythm; cymbal then cavernous didgeridoo introducing a surprising folk tune, limited to dancing to it, if possible then it starts again on a muffled tune, on a finale of the thousand and one nights, the most innovative and progressive (10/10). "Cradle Lullabuy" bells in the distance, a choir, birds, bucolic. Acoustic folk title like I think of CANDICE NIGHT all of a sudden, scratched notes and dreamy voice for the interlude. "Seasons Passing By" continues on the interlude for this simple but effective piano ballad, quite mysterious, latent, dreamlike. "Losing Control" comes to end this second act with a title stamped 70, used, choirs and rhythm on carabineer and complex GENTLE GIANT, on the rock and jazzy border; old-time title for voice; break pads with xylophone then a spleen guitar à la MARILLION in the final, surprising and explosive.

Echo "Awareness" on a piano ballad at the start, supported by the narrative limit voice which distills a soft, has-been, acoustic guitar melody then jazzy variation again with a final sax giving a dreamy atmosphere, title which passes into a concept if not surprising, in short bringing "Alter Echo" which concludes the third act and this album with the 2nd long title in the western intro, à la MORICONE; snub to JETHRO TULL just for the warm, rising voice; slow warm evolution, soft and fat keyboards, those that fill the air, like those of ANGE too. The metronomic tambourine launches a crescendo in slow motion, ideal in fact to give room for Alberto to release a dithyrambic solo which makes your hair shiver, your hair, what's left of you; and the cry of Paolo half-warrior, half-archangel comes to end the title.

LIFESTREAM sent us on an exciting journey, full of guitar-keyboard intertwining and evocative atmospheres; a concept album about two worlds divided by time, a music separated by time from the dinosaurs that she took as a basis and in which she puts her stamp to make it more captivating; a new sound paradoxically between jazzy melody, heavy prog rhythm and instrumental luxuriance. It's not a joke, without having it chronicled I would have missed it, being on it I applaud the one who gave me the opportunity to chronicle it.

Lifestream came to life in Prato, Tuscany in 2006, influenced by bands such as Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Kansas, Pain Of Salvation, Porcupine Tree or Marillion. After a first demo Ep and some line up changes, in 2018 they released an interesting full length debut album entitled "Diary" on the independent label Lizard Records with a line up featuring Alberto Vuolato (guitars), Andrea Cornuti (bass, backing vocals), Andrea Franceschini (piano, keyboards, backing vocals) and Paolo Tempesti (lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion). According to the band, it's a concept album "sui generis" where all the tracks follow a common thread drawing the listener inside the lives of different characters like a wind flipping through the pages of a book. The art work by Alessandro D'Aiuto tries to give an idea of the subject matter...

The opener "Dreamer" starts by background keyboards, a strummed guitar and soaring melodic lines, then the rhythm section enters bringing darker atmospheres. It's a piece that depicts a man fed up with his daily routine and wants to break free following his dreams. At night he fills the blank pages of his diary with his plans and desires but the morning after the change is always postponed...

Next comes "Built From The Inside" that features the backing vocals by the guest Marta Guerrini and deals with a man who gets lost in the virtual reality of his self-made world. This piece fades in the following "The Shy Tree", a beautiful ballad with a Gothic flavour that conjures up sweet memories from the past, ghosts and regrets.

"Sound Of The Earth" deals with environmental issues and evokes a kind of call of the wild. It's the reflection of a man who wants to live in harmony with earth and nature. He feels like a grain of sand in the hourglass of life, a leaf beaten by the howling wind but he still stands up looking for the truth in an empire of lies... Then it's the turn of the long, complex "Discoveries" that is divided into four parts and tells of a man attracted by forbidden theories who tries a dangerous experiment to find a way to explore the afterworld and discover the truth of all things...

The soft, melancholic "Whispers" evokes spirits and voices from the past coming out from the pages of a diary and invites to not fear the changes because the road that leads to peace and harmony is full sacrifices... It is linked to "Over The Rippling Waters", an excellent, complex suite divided into five parts that every now and again could recall Marillion and tells of a nightmare where ashes dance in a mad, frozen reality during another journey through the unconscious... Then the beautiful title track, "Diary", marks the moment where the nightmare fades out and a new awareness rises. It depicts a diary where you can write down your sorrow and disappointment, a diary that can have a therapeutic role...

A cover of Il Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, "E mi viene da pensare", closes the album with a tribute to the memory of Francesco di Giacomo and Rodolfo Maltese...

On the whole, a really good work!