GENIUS

GENIUS is the fruit of an unique musician called DANIELE LIVERANI,the mastermind of some numerous projects like EMPTY TREMOR,KHYMERA,TWINSPIRITS,COSMICS,a true heavenly gifted musician which made this fabulous musical trilogy ,the rock opera called GENIUS!It's a true musical challenge,something like a lifetime achievement ,the work of a true musical genius,but it's not at all about Liverani himself,it's a solid and attractive story,with an intriguing subject .Musically speaking,when we think that everything we have here is the fruit of the work provided by a single musician,helped only by a performant drummer-companion Dario Ciccioni from Khymera and Twinspirits,that's even more unbelieveble!The amazing diversity and brilliant musical performance of this 2 brilliant musicians is absolutelly stunning-we can hear power metal songs,wonderful ballads,midtempo superbe compositions,all in a very modern and attractive presentation!But,overall is the stunning list of the characters-the vocalists present on this album are simply breathtaking!All are top class,and their performances are majestic!We feel the passion and involvement,commitment in their interpretation,and the fact that they gave 200 % of their talent for this masterpiece!!!From JOHN WETTON to MIDNIGHT from Crimson Glory-a surprisingly appearance,continuing with the lady of prog metal LANA LANE and the unique DANIEL GILDENLOW from PAIN OF SALVATION , not to forget to mention rock legend STEVE WALSH from KANSAS..and the perfect MARK BOALS from Yngwie Malmsteen and ROYAL HUNT ,OLIVER HERTMANN from AT VANCE and EMPTY TREMOR,among others,all this top class vocalists have some fabulous performances here and the final result is more then sensational!This GENIUS rock opera is a modern legacy of a fantastic musician ,a true masterpiece which can be put with pride in the Pantheon of trully historical rock moments! Almost 80 minutes of pure musical delightment and enchantment a fantastic journey,an invitation to pass some wonderful moments with DANIELE LIVERANI's genius-the timeless valuable GENIUS- A ROCK OPERA! 5 STARS and no more comments,please!

Final part of the trilogy issued at Frontiers records in 2007 like the other parts named The final surprise was indeed a pleasent surprise for me, because is from all 3 the best album. The sound, musicianship, the vocal arrangements are better then on previus works, and here everything is sounds like e true band not a project of Liverani. The main man behind the band - Liverani took his ideas to a new level and the music and the instrumental passages are brilliant this time. Some very inventiv guitar parts, realy impressive like on Let Me Live, No More Chances, Alive and Safe or Jump Off This Train makes Liverani one of the best in this genre. The drume is again top notch, much better then on previous part, more confident in his posibilities and much more up tempo with nice breaks and strong beats. The guest musicians, the vocalist did a good job again, but this time they realy sound like a tight unit here, storytellers moments on each piece shows that this is realy a rock opera. I will give 4 stars this time, maybe the best from all 3, at least for me. Similar with Avantasia, Ayreon.

Second part of this acclaimed rock opera named In search of the little prince from 2004 is a natural follow up of previous work. Spearheaded by Daniele Liverani , his band Genius did again a good job here, the music who is in my opinion something between melodic power metal with prog metal leanings has some fantastic characters here like Mark Boals (from Ring of Fire, ex Malmsteen), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation),Russel Allen (Symphony X),Edu Falaschi (Angra),Rob Tyrant (Labyrinth),Eric Martin (ex Mr. Big), Johnny Gioeli (Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell),Liv Kristine (ex Theatre Of Tragedy) and the excellent drumer of Twinspirits - Dario Ciccioni +of course the main man Daniele Riverani. All these musicians , more specific the vocal department, (because the instrumental passages are provided only by Liverani who handle keys, guitar and bass and Ciccioni the drums), is very good, each vocalist has it's own range, own unique voice, but the album sount very strong and very tight. When I first listen to the album I was a little surprised to see Liverani in this light, because I know him from Twinspirits and Cosmics, and each band is diffrent from each other, is an example that Liverani musical horizon is very large, with great potential , from jazz fusion in Cosmics, prog metal in Twinspirits and melodic power metal in Genius. From all 3 parts this one , the second episode seams to me the weakest as a whole, I don't know but sometimes I have the feeling I'm listning to some chessy power metal band from the '90's, no every time, but some pieces falls in this category like the opening track He will die or You won't escape, even the cover art is very unintristing. From all the tracks I prefer the one where sings the guy from Mr Big - My dear son - is an excellent mid tempo piece whre Eric Martin shines. What was another surprised, was the fact Liverani use the keyboards very sporadic, only in back ground, just to keep the atmosphere right of the piece, no solos, no improvisations either. The guitar he handle here sounds very strong, very calculated guitar player, with many solos, twists and breaks, just to the spot when we wanted to hear this kind of music. The drumer of Twinspirits is excellent, and on their next release is even better, great and yet very unnoticed musician. I'm not gonna tell the story behind the release, the one's who wanted to discover their work will find what is going on here. So for this second part I will go with 3 stars, good album, but overall nothing realy groundbreaking. Similar with Avantasia or some Ayreon works.

This album has had two completely different effects on me. The first time I heard it, I was riding back to my school in the dark, and I fell asleep. I kind of half listened and wasn't very excited or interested. I recently gave the album a second chance. Wow was my opinion changed. If you are a fan of the progressive metal genre of music this is one of the better albums out there. The story is very interesting and quite original. The music is nothing you haven't heard before, but is a perfect example of what I like to get out of the genre. The lead vocals are powerful, but get slightly annoying after a while, due to the extremely high range. My main complaint with this album is with how quiet the story's narrator is. I had to continuously turn up my stereo just to hear it, and then turn it back down again. It doesn't help that the narrator's voice is very low and sounds like Aku-Aku from the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. I have not heard the next installments in the series, but I cannot wait to continue the exciting story. The album ends, leaving you hanging. This is an album I am sure I will be listening to many times again in the future, and I am sure it will be just as exciting each and every time.

I stumbled onto Daniele Liverani's Genius Trilogy while looking at Daniel Gildenlow's Wikipedia page. A Human Into Dreams' World, being the first of the trilogy, shows some incredible composing and performing skill by Daniele Liverani, who plays all the instruments on the album except for drums, played by Dario Ciccioni. The vocals on the album are done by 9 guest singers. They are, in order of appearance, Mark Boals as "Genius," Lana Lane as the "Doorkeeper," Daniel Gildenlow as "Twin Spirit #32," Chris Boltendahl as "Stationmaster," Joe Vana as "McChaos Consultant," Steve Walsh as "Wild Tribe King," John Wetton as "McChaos King," Oliver Hartmann as "Wild Tribe Consultant," and Midnight as "Maindream." Narration is done by the "Storyteller" Philip Bynoe. Let me break it down track by track.

1. "Without me today" is a great opener. It begins with a brief narration from the "Storyteller." It is a long track with some really powerful instrumental parts and also sound vocals by Mark Boals. This track features some great riff-writing that is original and catchy. The feel is kind of like Dream Theater's "Scenes From a Memory", due to some epic chord changes. It ends with more narration from the "Storyteller," as does every song thereafter.

2. "The right place" is a short ballad. It is a conversation between "Genius" and the "Doorkeeper" (Lana Lane) that flows nicely with a short guitar solo in the middle. It basically has the same melody throughout until the end when it changes direction a little.

3. "Paradox," my favorite track is another conversation; this time between "Genius" and "Twinspirit #32" (Daniel Gildenlow). It has a frantic feel to it, as both characters are very confused. There are many different sections on this track and each moves to the next very well. WIth very flavorful guitar and drum parts, not to mention the vocals, it keeps you interested to the end.

4. "The glory of our land," is dark and has some frightening vocals by Chris Boltendahl as the "Stationmaster." There is also a scary choir section chanting after the chorus. The guitar solo here shows that Liverani can shred, with some fast sweep and alternate picking and quick fingers.

5. "All of your acts" has more of a happy mood to it and reminds me of Van Halen or something. This song advances the story well, but is a pretty straight forward track with some catchy guitar riffs and more great writing by Liverani.

6. "Dreams," one of my favorites, is very classically written and makes me think of Yngwie Malmsteen. I really love the instrumental section in the middle. It sounds like a tango or something. The chorus is possibly the best on the album and there are some really epic guitar and keyboard licks as well as a lot of double bass pedal action. The song ends with a powerful scream by Mark Boals.

7. "My pride" is another conversational piece, this time between "Wild Tribe King" (Steve Walsh) and "McChaos King" (John Wetton). It is very happy and has kind of a jazz feel to it. This song consists of possibly the best solo section on the entire album, as it is well thought out and displays some great playing.

8. "There's a human" is another power track. The vocals are gritty and raw, done by Oliver Hartmann as "Wild Tribe Consultant." There is also more chanting following the chorus on this one. Overall, it has an angry feel to it.

9. "Father" is another ballad with John Wetton giving his all with an emotional and strong vocal performance. This song builds up to a bell part followed by a guitar solo that shakes your soul.

10. "Terminate" is similar to "Paradox" in that it is very frantic. Midnight delivers a vocal performance that scares the heck out of you. Another incredible instrumental section on this one and ends very angrily.

11. "I'm Afraid" is another one of my favorites. Daniel Gildenlow stars on this track and delivers soaring vocals. It almost sounds like it could have been written by him. As the last track, it is one of the longer ones and concludes the story for the album, but opens up another chapter for the next album. It ends with the "Storyteller" giving a brief concluding narration followed by the statement, "To Be Continued . . ."

A Human Into Dreams' World takes you on a journey from start to finish and leaves you with a great feeling as it ends. It would be an excellent addition to any music collection.