NOSFERATU IL VAMPIRO

Nosferatu Il Vampiro is at present the one and only album from RanestRane. Although released in 2006 the roots of this album go back to the turn of the decade. The band started performing live shows using Werner Herzog's film Nosferatu The Vampire as a backdrop to their music and songs. They eventually got round to recording it as an ambitious, especially considering it's a debut album, 2 cd project which alongside their songs contains dialogue from the film.

The album sits largely at the symphonic side of Italian prog with a strong emphasis on melodic songwriting. For such a project it may have been expected that a more instrumental approach with lots of atmospherics may have been a more obvious way forward, so it perhaps will come as a surprise that although these elements are present it's an album based more on the song. The more atmospheric moments tend to occur more when underscoring the film dialogue and while this will no doubt work well in the live arena with the film projected in the background, I find myself feeling a little detached at these moments. Perhaps this is partially down to not speaking Italian and therefore don't know what is being said but I would have preferred to let the music do the talking at these moments. However, the dialogue parts aren't allowed to dominate and are few enough not to be a problem.

Overall the album has a fairly mellow vibe, though the guitars crank it up a bit occasionally. Largely though restraint is the order of the day but there's certainly some lovely playing going on here, particularly in the keyboard department as well as some tasty guitar solos. Generally speaking though, the music is not overly complex, but done with tasteful restraint with some pleasing vocals from Daniele Pomo, also the drummer of the band. Not the ideal place for a frontman behind the kit but I guess they get away with it live because of their strong emphasis on the visuals. If the album has a fault, then it's perhaps a little one dimensional, particularly for a double; a couple more powerful instrumental workouts would have worked well offering a change of tack as I find my attention wandering a bit at times, particularly on disc 2. Sometimes just as you think things are going to take off it turns out to be short lived and returns to mellower territory though L'assalto on disc 1 is a rare exception. Also at the end of disc 2 they do let go for a powerful climax, but these moments are not the rule.

Minor complaints aside there's no denying that this is still an enjoyable listen and a lovely album, but for me at least listening to the 2 discs back to back is not my preferred choice. Not an essential RPI album then but for those already well versed in the genre and looking for some newer bands give RanestRane a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.