ACT II: GALILEO

"Act II: Galileo is one of the few albums in my collection I really feel bad about buying. I read a review that praised Time Machine as the new Dream Theater and bought the album ( how many times have I read a prog metal review that said: " This sounds just like Dream Theater" ? Countless times I´ll tell you. This isn´t true of course. Time Machine plays prog metal, but the standard is not very good.

I especially dislike Folco Orlandini´s voice which I find imature and cheesy. Listen to a song like "Mother", it´s so pathetic that I grind my teeth when I hear this ( they say that the average age when Italien men move from their mother is 30. Think about that when you listen to this song). The lyrical concept is good though, describing the story of Galileo.

The production is really bad which doesn´t help this album at all. There are way too many soft passages for me here. The metal is well hidden.

All in all a really bad album. Nothing I would recommend.

This is a concept album about the trial and imprisonment of Galileo in 1633. Most of the lyrics here are the imagined words and thoughts of Galileo in the first person. I have to say that a lot of work must have gone into making this album. I feel like a broken record in saying this but like with a lot of concept albums some of the songs are sacrificed for the concept. In other words the concept comes first above all else including the music. There are 19 songs on here and over half of them are just over a minute or less in length.

After a short intro track we get "Stargazer" which is my favourite song on the album. The heavy riffs to open come and go on this one. A nice contrast with the mellow sections with synths and vocals. "I Hold The Key(Into The Void)" is another good song. Lots of atmosphere early as guitar cries out in the background. It kicks into gear 1 1/2 minutes in with some ripping guitar. Vocals a minute later. The tempo picks up before 4 1/2 minutes with some fat bass after 5 minutes. It's raining with thunder to end it. Then we get 5 short tracks before "Burning In The Wind" another good one. More atmosphere early before heavy guitar and drums come in. Guitar is blistering as vocals arrive a minute in."

Aperite!" is great if only for the drumming. "Dungeons of the Vatican" is all over the place with some orchestration. Not a fan. "Cold Flames of Faith" opens with piano as synths, orchestration and warbly vocals come in. It's not the best really until some heaviness before 3 minutes and especially 6 1/2 minutes in where they really let it rip for one of the few times. "White Collars" is another so so track. Some heaviness once it gets going but it's average at best. "Prisoner of Dreams" has some nice sax in it. "Black Rose" features pleasant guitar throughout. "I Can't Smile" is great for the first 1 1/2 minutes with some beautiful piano, then vocals come in.

Barely 3 stars for me. 2.5 stars is probably more accurate. It just doesn't work for me.