ROOM 101

Review - #15 (Karmamoi - Room 101)

Firstly, I want to thank Karmamoi for allowing me to listen and review Room 101 before its official release date on May 28, 2021. Karmamoi is an Italian prog band formed in 2008 by drummer and composer Daniele Giovannoni. Since then, the band has incorporated various lineups of bandmembers and guest musicians while creating new albums. Their newest album, Room 101, is no exception. The band consists of Daniele Giovannoni on Drums, Keyboards and BV, Alex Massari on Guitars, and Alessandro Cefalì on Bass. If you are in any way accustomed to the world of progressive rock, you will surely know the name of at least a few of these guest musicians. The album features guest appearances from Steven Wilson keyboard player Adam Holzman and United Progressive Fraternity's Steve Unruh on violin and flute. In addition, Sara Rinaldi provides some truly wonderful vocals throughout the album. Strings on Drop by Drop were arranged by Emilio Merone who also plays piano and keyboard on The New World. The tracks Zealous Man and Newspeak were arranged by Valerio Sgargi. These are only a few of the extremely capable musicians found on this album.

Room 101 is inspired by George Orwell's novel 1984. The band discusses how the album "revisits some of the novel's themes and concepts, adapting them to the present day and focusing on the human mind and its weaknesses.". The albums concept is skillfully interwoven into the music to create a truly cohesive listening experience. After listening to the album, I was genuinely impressed by what I had heard. The band combines classic progressive rock influences with a new darker sound that is noteworthy. The music found here is most similar to the bands Airbag and Pure Reason Revolution while containing their own style and spin on the genre. Moments vary in heaviness from track to track, but Room 101 certainly contains an overall heavier feel when compared to the bands previous albums. The highlights of the album for me have to be Drop by Drop and The New World. Drop by Drop contains some of the best vocal work throughout the album while incorporating atmospheric yet explosive instrumentation. The New World on the other hand is one of the most most energetic songs on the album with a wonderful keyboard solo from Emilio Merone appearing near the end of the track. Overall, this a particularly solid album that displays the band playing some of their best material to date. Definitely recommended! "Silent Waves are tracking us. No need to hide, no need to run."

Italian band Karmamoi are back with their fifth album and are to a trio with Alessandro Cefalì (bass) now back as a full member alongside Daniele Giovannoni (drums, keyboards, backing vocals) and Alex Massari (guitars). The line-up is completed with many guests, including Sara Runaldi who is back on lead vocals for her third album yet is still to be credited as a full member of the band. As one may have guessed from the title, this is a concept album based on George Orwell's idea of a room where the prisoner is subjected to their worst nightmare to break them. One might think that this would mean an album full of angst and drama, yet there are huge parts where it is quite dreamy, and in many ways, it feels quite disjointed. I would have much preferred more aggression, as the few times they come through in that manner the album is quite transformed.

Although I did not hear their debut, I have reviewed all their releases since then and it is safe to say that the band has yet to fully resonate with me, and although I felt their last one was a step in the right direction this album feels like there are elements which are simply wonderful and others which just drift too far into the background. Possibly the time is right for the guys to set themselves up as a proper band as opposed to a few people with guests and see what happens when they work consistently in that format. There are definitely parts of this album which are sheer delight, but as a whole it never transcends to the levels I am sure they can reach.