GATHERING OF SOULS

The Guildmaster could be seen as a folk-spirited little sibling of The Samurai Of Prog, likewise an international progressive rock project by mostly the same production team, but (unlike TSOP) relying on the original compositions of its core members. They are, since the second album Liber de Dictis (2022), Spanish folk expert Rafael Pacha, Finnish drummer Kimmo Pörsti, Italian-livng-in-Finland bassist Marco Bernard and Italian keyboardist Alessandro Di Benedetti.

With the preceding albums I occasionally felt that the Medieval/folk elements and the modern prog rock production were having a tug of war, making me wish for a purer folk approach on some pieces. Now everything is more coherent and unified, rooted on the symphonic prog -- with the blessing of the rich, folky sonic pallette due to the various folk instruments played by Pacha. But what really makes this album my fave of the three is the excellent level of compositions. Being almost as lengthy (64:20) as the 12-track Liber de Dictis, Gathering of Souls has eight tracks, four of them a bit longer.

Pörsti's opening instrumental 'The Crusade of Earl Birger' is inspired by the historic events that took place in the Finnish soil in the mid-13th century and it has a wonderfully dynamic and colourful arrangement. Pacha's long instrumental 'Where Are You?' still improves from that. One moment you may think of Ommadawn-era Oldfield, the next moment has a Wakemanesque synth run, and the cherry on the top is the beautiful wordless singing of Paula Pörsti. Also the third piece is a colourful folk prog instrumental, composed by Pacha.

Di Benedetti's sole composition, epic 'Blood and Oblivion' is an outstanding emotional highlight sung by Yogi Lang of RPWL. Then one more fine Pacha instrumental, after which the album takes a bit more vocal oriented course. Nick Markham (neverheard) sings with his smoky voice the ambitiously proggy 'Mary the Jewess' which however is not among my highlights. Also composed by Pacha is 'Luonto puhuu' where Paula sings in Finnish. This piece has a peculiar atmosphere. Pörsti's second composition 'Sea and Sky' features the mid-70's Phil Collins reminding vocals of John Wilkinson, and a lovely flute contribution of Giovanni Mazzotti.

Now I only need to decide how to round my 4,5 stars. Ok, let's round it up because, as I said, this is the most solid and symphonic Guildmaster album this far. Hats of especially to Rafael Pacha who's at his strongest here.