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Røsenkreütz - Back To The Stars CD (album) cover

BACK TO THE STARS

Røsenkreütz

 

Crossover Prog

3.90 | 65 ratings

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Second Life Syndrome
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Synth pads! Rosenkreutz hails from Italy, and they sure bring the style and the excitement! Honestly, as soon as I heard the amazing synth at the beginning of "Signals in the Water", I knew I was going to love Rosenkreutz's debut, "Back to the Stars".

The basic lineup includes Fabio Serra with his stylish, Floydian guitars and his in-your-face keys. Fabio is also a music producer, and you can hear it in the high production values and the amazing mix. The rest of the band is Massimo Piubelli with his melodious vocals, Gianni Sabbioni with his throbbing bass, and Gianni Brunelli with his energetic drums. These guys really bring it with a mix of 80's rock, prog metal, folksy violins sections, and an elegant classic progressive rock sound with meandering mellotron and emotive guitar solos. This great combination takes a moment to absorb, as there are some very different things going on here.

Again and again, I was impressed and my synth weakness was enabled. From the synth goodness of "Signals in the Water" to the proggier "Conditioning" to the towering epic "Back to the Stars". The latter is simply magnificent and is easily the best track on the album, as it revisits everything that I loved from earlier tracks, but combines them all into one track that is far more serious than the rest of the album. Freshness abounds, though, throughout the album.

In some ways, Rosenkreutz reminds me of a proggier, softer, more focused Seventh Wonder, but that's just a shot in the dark. This comparison is valid, though, as the level of technicality is there, but the sheer fun and energy is at the forefront. Indeed, the drama is at a high point on this album, with emotions running high in the music and the lyrics.

Speaking of lyrics, I think they are the only weakness of this debut. They aren't particularly bad or anything, but there is a boatload of cheese. I think much of this may be attributed to the band being native Italian speakers, but I can't help but roll my eyes a little on , say, "Sitting on the Edge of Heaven", a song so lyrically cloying but so phenomenal musically (especially the towering violins) that, in the end, I love it. That is the basic reaction I had on many of the tracks, and, overall, I loved the ride.

You know you want to hear this. This album is flashy, somewhat cheesy, but rich musically and serious where it counts. It explores both the deep and shallow end of the prog pool, but I think it comes out a winner in the end.

Second Life Syndrome | 4/5 |

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