FROM SILENCE TO SOMEWHERE

I will openly agree with Mr. Prog Traveller, not only does the prog music crafted in Norway nowadays is outstanding, but also that Wobbler is topping that Iceberg, simply the best. Rites at Dawn, which review I already posted some time ago, initiated the must-own symphonic prog trilogy by Wobbler, a journey through excellence that finds its peak with From Silence to Somewhere. The epic title track opens the album with majesty, with that uplifting symphonic tempo provided by a jazzy "on steroids" rhythmic section and accompanied by atoned guitar licks and Hammond? did I already said majestic? Acoustic enchanting melodies arrive to let the unique sounding vocals to make their entrance, and little by little, in the most evident 70s fashion the drumming breaks silence and prog rock kicks in with flutes and everything, craziness making sense? and back to the woods with the enchanting melodies and vocals, and flutes again? Ian Anderson must love this band, what an accurate rendition to classic progressive rock, with that modern approach, bravo! But the best of all? it has only been 9 plus minutes, still 10 more minutes of genius to come! Furious drum and bass display, brutal mellotron and flute playing with a guitar tone that needs to be emulated for the rest of their recording career! It finally hit me, it did? I get it, I understand now why this album is considered by the rock community to be the best prog album of the entire 21st century, so far? arpeggios bring me back to the listening, still 5 more minutes to go and of course, back to the woods again but this time with the preceding feeling that its going to be the last time? this time. And everything that happened in the first 3/4 of the track they blend it together with such perfectionism that is inevitable to crave for a new listen once the total 20 plus minutes are over. Chapeau! Rendered in Shades of Green comes like a dark angel to allow the listener to recover from the intense display of power previously devoured. Fermented Hours abruptly interrupts the little calm we had and brings the tempo even a little bit higher than with the previous storm, I love the title? fermented hours, genius? and that guy Lars he is quite a fantastic player, his experimentation and layers of textures and sounds are impeccable and so well suited to the rest of the musical structure, magical. Gnocchi Gnosis! I think that besides the incredible music that is being played by these gifted human beings the lyrical content is also a highlight here? a recipe? unique and mystical ingredients and very specific cooking instructions and procedures? I cook for a living so I immensely love this song! "Oh, barley the food of gods and men alike, grind it to dust and mix it with beaten eggs and the salt from a toad" Then the old man, the same one that's cooking in his tower decides to speak Italian, and just after that symphonic madness strikes again and welcomes the grand finale for the track? still loving the guitar tone on this album, grandiose. And then comes Foxlight, kind of bringing us back to the woods, those woods from the title track, but it is dark this time, dark and different. Flutes, pianos, far and almost hidden vocals allow the beautiful instrumentation to gain traction and peacefully redirect the the melodies into a brighter fairy tale-like atmosphere?but not for long, because the riffing is back, the drums, the fat bass, mellotron, flutes, more atoned guitar licks (the tone?) and even some medieval folky episode that relieves the listener from the most complex 45-50secs of the entire album, genius chaos indeed! "When the foxlight shines and tries to lure me into the wild, my compass I must find within the palace of my mind. Tell me, what is really light? What is the essence of dark? Forever must I trust the journey of man" Even the initial darkness of the song (and the album) is replaced by spectacular multi instrumental battle, a battle where every single instrument is a winner and the outcome an insuperable one. I still owe Dwellers of the Deep (the last of the Trilogy and last studio album by the band as well) a proper review? but I can't be more emphatic when stating that I'm looking forward to many many future albums from Wobbler to come in the near future. The End