FATE OF A THOUSAND WORLDS

3.5 really

Gran Torino from Verona - Italy really impressed me with their first release from 2011, now is time for their second offer issued not long ago in agust 2013.

Fate of a thousand worlds is the name of the seconf album and is another worthy release in progressive/jazz fusion world. The music this time , is to my ears little more towards fusion then on previous album very similar with Plant X, Derek Sherinian solo albums, LTE, well not bad at all, the musicins playing with an amazing ease, all album is instrumental. Lots of keybords melted with guitar passages, quirky drumming, tight rhythmic section, definetly a winner in my book. A good album that desearves attention, but I do feel that I like little bit more their first one more then Fate, here the passages are more edgy more crunchy, but not bad at all, nice instrumental jazz fusion album with some prog elements thgrown in for a good measure. Excellent art work made by one of the most talented artist around Ed Unitsky responsable for art work from The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Azazello, Anima MUndi, etc.

Gran Torino are an instrumental band hailing from Italy. They have a really interesting, almost psychedelic style, but they are definitely Rush-influenced in their guitar style and tone. Sometimes I have trouble connecting with instrumental albums, but I feel that I did pretty well with this one.

A hard-edged guitar tone combined with an atmospheric, key-driven ambiance is a tough thing to achieve at times, but these guys really seem comfortable in this type of composition. They utilize quite a bit of piano, but it is often a wackier style. In fact, I would venture to say that the piano leads the music while the guitars provide a background texture. The keys are certainly fast-paced, while the guitar is usually slow and soulful when it is in the spotlight.

I think the overall goal of this band on "Fate of a Thousand Worlds" is to transport the listener to another place. I feel that they have achieved that goal, as the sound is ethereal and filled with organs and synth. The tone is also very serious and somber, which has an especially strange effect considered the wackiness of some of the piano. But, it works somehow.

I think the essential tracks on this album are "Empty Soul" (the best), "The Battle of Velasquez", and the epic tracks "End of a Planet" and "Fate of a Thousand Worlds". The album becomes progressively more ethereal and otherworldly, and it closes with a psychedelic, dreamy, synthy journey. Indeed, this album seems to be very good at story-telling in its own way, and I'm very glad I chose to experience it. I can't say it is a modern masterpiece, but I will say that it is exceptionally good and definitely worth any prog fan's time.

Fate Of A Thousand Worlds is the second album by Gran Torino, an interesting prog band from Verona. It was released in 2013 on the French label Musea Records, two years after the promising debut grantorinoProg, with a renewed line up featuring Alessio Pieri (keyboards, piano), Gian Maria Roveda (drums), Fabrizio Visentini (bass) and Leonardo Freggi (guitars). According to the band's website, this is a conceptual work about a man who travels in space and in real time throughout the universe that is based on a short sci-fi story written by one of their friends, Paolo Gadioli, that you can find in the booklet and that's also mirrored in the beautiful art work created by Ed Unitsky. The music was conceived as a soundtrack to describe the adventures, emotions and torments of the protagonist...

The opener, "Child of the Stars", sets the atmosphere and introduces the protagonist, Velasquez, a kind of super-hero created by a superior race whose mission is to conquer the whole universe. His birth required a huge amount of energy that was obtained by destroying a planet... The music starts softly, then the rhythm gradually rises, calms down for a while and rises again, powerful and threatening...

Then comes the frenzied "Absolute Time". Here every now and again I'm reminded of bands such EL&P and Goblin... The merciless protagonist can travel through space and time and when he finds a planet inhabited by a superior race he can go back to an era when that civilization was not so evolute and can't resist to his powers...

"The Battle of Velasquez" is a dark, powerful track that could recall some passages from Darwin! by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. It's a perfect score for the destructive actions of the protagonist who defeats powerful armies and ravages fortified cities. It leads to the following "Dead Suns" where you can hear the great poem of the extinguished suns and the last pulses of the worlds swept away by Velasquez...

The melancholic "The Fog of Time" describes the feeling of loneliness and deep sadness of the protagonist. Velasquez can't find anyone who can match him. They call him just the child of the stars, they fear him, they hate him... Next comes "Empty Soul" that tries to capture in music the strange feeling that the protagonist experiences by approaching a new planet: it's just like a deep emptiness in his soul. So, he begins to observe this new planet, to explore it from above...

The delicate, romantic "Arìda" is a piano solo track that describes the meeting between Velasquez and a beautiful woman called Arìda who lives on the mysterious planet. The heartless protagonist finally falls in love and the following "The Short Dream" describes in some way this complicate, unsettling romance...

"End of a Planet" breaks the dream, the rhythm rises suggesting an impending danger, something is going to happen. Suddenly Velasques has to go back in his spaceship, there's something wrong... As he gets on board the planet blows up and his love is lost forever... Here the music reminds me slightly of other two planets in a distant solar system, hidden behind the jewellery of a thousand stars and forests of coral...

The title track, "Fate of a Thousand Worlds", ends the album describing the dark thoughts of the protagonist, condemned to live alone in his immense spaceship, master of time, master of the universe... Master of nothing!

On the whole, this is an excellent instrumental album and the music is really worth listening to. Have a try, even if you don't like the storyline!