TALE OF A DARK FATE

This Italian instrumental band -- whose name means Poison Tree -- released their debut Le Radici del Male in 2013. Being inspired by European horror films, they share quite a lot in style with the classic act GOBLIN, which is not a bad thing at all. The new album has an English title, though most of the one-word track titles are in Latin. Curiously, Tale of a Dark Fate claims to be an "Opera in two acts". I find that a bit phoney and misleading for a totally instrumental work with no any other textual level than the pretty abstract track titles. But of course it doesn't matter either, and it may encourage listeners to form a dramatic whole of their listening experience. To imagine the "opera" inside their each individual minds. The leaflet contains black & red drawings for each track (in the style of the front cover), and they're very fine.

There's a brief prelude that somehow makes me think of the instrumental openers on The Alan Parsons Project's albums. The tracks follow each other seamlessly, which is nice (though the 14-second 'Interval' of silence is quite unnecessary. Didn't the band know there are operas in one act too?). Right away 'Morpheus', the second longest track (6:14) on the album, shows the band's strength in full steam. The highly democratic band sound is powerful and clear, just like in the case of Goblin. The compositions are dynamic and especially taken as one entity this work is full-blown progressive rock. Another good reference would be the instrumental concept album Halloween (1977) by the French classic band PULSAR.

It goes without saying that the atmosphere in this music is full of dark suspense. It indeed would suit perfectly to a horror film by someone like Dario Argento. I'm very glad that the music avoids stepping clearly into the heavy/metal territory. However, if I was to choose, there would be some more serene sections amidst all the intensity. Also I'd prefer to hear more of flute, since the flautist is one of the core quintet. A little more CAMEL-like softness here and there would have made this a masterpiece. But the whole is an excellent prog rock product anyway. Definitely I give my strong recommendation for listeners of instrumental prog with a dense atmosphere. Let's see... 4½ stars, why not round it up for the fine layout.

Italian group L'Albero del Veleno (The Poison Tree) released a well-received debut back in 2013 entitled `Le Radici del Male' (`The Roots of Evil'), a cinematic horror-influenced work of gloomy Goblin-styled pieces. It was a superb first effort from a talented bunch of young musicians, but now it almost seems like a mere practice run for what they've delivered here four years later! 2017's `Tale of a Dark Fate' is a fully instrumental rock opera told in two acts, conveying the stories of Hypnos and Thanatos, two siblings of ancient Greek mythology that reside in the underworld, and it holds all the moodiness and mystery of that legendary above-mentioned horror soundtrack group, but L'Albero del Veleno go much further. Eerie electronics have been grafted with the constant ravishing piano, sweeping classical flavours and darting flute of so many classic vintage Italian progressive acts, and that elegance and sophistication is even further enhanced by violin, viola, strings and choir.

The first act is a five part suite that conveys the story of Hypnos - the personification of sleep - and his three children Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos. After the opening prelude's spectral electric piano punctured by heavy staccato guitar blasts and bashing drum stop/starts, `Morpheus' (Shape) is a slinking Goblin-like theme of gurgling electronics, slithering bass and alluring violins. With snaking electric guitar soloing, infernal Mellotron choirs and elegant symphonic synth passages rising in dark majesty, there's an urgent and unexpected up-tempo sprint in the middle before a shadowy come-down in the climax. This sublime opening section sets much of the template for the rest of the disc, but there's still plenty of surprises to come.

`Phobetor' (Fear), the personification of nightmares, is a darkly reflective symphonic theme that grows in intensity and hair-tearing desperation, and `Interlude I - Momus' (a sharp-tongued spirit of unfair criticism and the embodiment of satire and mockery) is a creeping piano and viola/violin duet. The slowly unfolding spacey shimmering guitars of `Phantasos' (Imagination, Fantasy) and scratchy flute are laced with the lightest of dusty eastern flavours, but monolith-sized slab-like pounding primal drumming and grinding guitars in the second half remind of Antonio Bartoccetti's early Jacula albums (and yes, there really is a fourteen second `Interval' of silence on track 6 before the second act kicks in!).

The remaining five pieces that comprise `Act II - Thanatos' encompass the goddesses of fate and destiny, the Three Fates (or Moirai) who spin (Clotho), draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) the thread of Life. `Clotho', authority of major decisions and essentially controller of people's lives, rumbles with stalking relentless bass behind floating ambient synth washes before being thrashed with lively drums and gleefully malevolent piano stabbings, and the piece eventually reveals two ghostly swooning reprising themes and some restrained orchestration. `Lachesis', who determines destiny, is predominantly frantic, aggressive and full of momentum. `Interlude II - Ananke' opens with aching classical violin and a touch of reaching Post Rock-flavoured slivers straining in the background before lifting with pulsing bass and strangled guitars to convey the inevitability and fate that the title of the piece conjures up.

One for the older prog fans, `Atropos', who brings an end to life, is a delirious whirl of driving Hammond organ soloing, huffing flute, wild guitar tantrums and sauntering dirty grooves that call to mind so many proper RPI groups of old! The `Postlude' for `Moros', a being of impending doom who drives mortals to their ultimate fate, then closes the set on a starkly beautiful and confronting piano, violin and viola reflection that is quite a daring and sobering way to end the disc. It's perhaps a shame that the piece was emulated on an electric piano instead of using the real thing, but the unexpected off note at the very end leaves quite an unnerving unease in the air...

`Tale of a Dark Fate' runs a welcome vinyl length that makes it easy to replay, retains a strong melodicism in its instrumental themes, and proves to be exactly the kind of richly detailed and grand work that benefits from further study and reading into the inspirations and backgrounds to the music presented. If a mix of the darker bands from Italy like the Goblin-related families, Three Monks, Il Segno del Comando and Antonius Rex (as well as similarly influenced worldwide acts such as Zombi and Zoltan) crossed with the most glorious classical-laced Italian progressive music sounds intriguing, this lavish and wildly ambitious spectral pantomime is one of the Italian progressive music highlights of 2017 for those who like to walk in the darkness, and is ample proof of L'albero del Valeno stepping up in a big way.

Five stars.

Proficient instrumental prog that is not as well well engineered as one would hope--especially with the acclaim it's been receiving. The fact that this music is being marketed as "horror" "soundtrack" music is quite surprising to me as the songs are mostly very pretty, even calming. The tempos and time signatures are fairly laid back and straightforward and the the musical arrangements are quite simplistic and often feel too bare or sparsely populated. The beginning of "Phantasos" was the first time I felt any kind of eeriness or feelings of uneasiness, and even this gets nowhere near as heavy as, say, a KARDA ESTRA song from the Naughties. It is also my opinion that this music is really screaming out for lyrics--for its story to be told in more than saccharine symphonic prog music. The drums are recorded raw and untreated (no gating!)--which is nice--but something is off-feeling about them--as if the equipment is too loose or cheap. Still, the drumming is, for me, often a highlight (especially on "Phobetor," "Clotho," and "Lachesis").

Favorite tracks: 9. "Interlude II - Ananke" (3:48) (8.5/10); 3. "Phobetor" (3:18) (8.5/10); 7. "Clotho" (7:10) (though it runs a little long) (8.5/10); 5. "Phantasos" (5:51) (8.5/10); 8. "Lachesis" (4:09) (the second half) (8.5/10); 10. "Atropos" (5:36) (8/10), 2. "Morpheus" (6:15) (8/10); and; 11. "Postlude - Moros" (4:56) (held back by the computer-generated piano) (7.5/10).

3.5 stars; a good album from an artist whose progress and growth I will eagerly watch. Listening to this album I am reminded of the first BATTLESTATIONS album I heard back in 2011. Great ideas, great sounds, great potential, room to grow!

Sparse post horror release missing suspension and darkness.

The good things about this are the vintage keyboards, the flute and the viola. The keyboards especially evoke a Gobin-like atmosphere without being too cheesy. The bass is quite prominent and worth a listen. I like the overall sound of the instruments.

On the other side, the album plots along rather politely for a "horror" release. The atmosphere is mellow, soft, relaxed and in parts even ambient. Of course, some listeners may like this. Just be warned that there is no suspension here. All tracks are pretty much one tempo, one volume and one level of excitement throughout. Maybe sometimes it could be called slighty eerie. (But to be honest it seems like a stretch to me.)

A thing that should be mentioned, is the very high level of repetition. I am an avid Zeuhl and (Post)Minimalism / Totalism fan and therefore not inherently against repetition. However, here, phrases are repeated to death. It seems pointless most of the time, as repetitions are not used for suspension or to get the songs somewhere. In my opinion, Clotho could have been made three minutes shorter by cutting out repeated phrases and it would still be pretty much the same song. The repetitions give this a post rock/post metal like feel - it is post horror, if you will and listeners might appreciate it for this. A post horror approach is quite unique, as far as I know.

Another thing on this album, is that the band seems to be keen on a " one instrument after the other" approach. It seems like an exercise in 'now the keyboards play, and now it is the viola's turn after that, now the keyboards play again, now the flute plays for one minute...". If we are very lucky, maybe the bass might be allowed in at the same time as one of those instruments. I am exaggerating a tiny bit, but the music here is definitely sparse. Of course, this might be a plus for listeners who like their music not to be very busy. (To better decide if this might be for you, you should know that I personally quite like the concept of every instrument soloing at the same time. The Mars Volta, Koenjihyakkei and a lot of Free Jazz are just the right level of busy for me. So might look at this from a slightly extreme standpoint.)

To summarise: They shaped post horror and the instruments sound great. It is a bit unique, but also a bit frustrating because of missing suspension, too many repetitions, compositional simplicity and general politeness. Still definitely a band to watch out for.

"Tale Of A Dark Fate" is the second album by Florentine band L'Albero del Veleno and confirms all the good qualities of its predecessor from 2013, "Le radici del male". It was self-released in 2017 and was distributed by Black Widow Records. The recording sessions were carried out by a slightly renewed line up featuring Nadin Petricelli (keyboards, synth), Claudio Miniati (drums), Lorenzo Picchi (guitars), Michele Andreuccetti (bass) and Marco Brenzini (flute) plus the help of the guests Jacopo Ciani (violin, viola, strings) and Cesare Valentini (choir arrangement). The result of their long, painstaking work is an instrumental album conceived as an opera in two acts inspired by the legend of the venomous tree from which the band took its name. The storyline is simple: a man falls asleep under the tree to never wake up again. Although there are no lyrics nor specific liner notes, the art cover and the drawings you can find in the booklet by Stefano Matteoli give a clue about what the music is about...

The first part of the album, "Act I - Hypnos", is divided into six parts. It starts with the short "Prelude - The poison tree", where a nice piano pattern is backed by a threatening rhythm section. In the booklet the image associated with this piece portrays a tree resembling to a Medusa head, with poisonous snakes as branches... It fades out in the first part of Act I, entitled "Morpheus" after the Greek god of dreams, son of Hypnos, god of sleep. Here the influence of Goblin is apparent from the very first bass lines that paint the musical canvas with strong deep red brush strokes...

The music goes on with the dark, threatening atmosphere of "Phobetor", the personification of nightmares that appeared in dreams in the form of animals or monsters and resided in a part of the underworld. Then the tension eases for a while during the short "Interlude I - Momus" where comes in the personification of satire and mockery. This little scherzo or trick of destiny leads to the disquieting "Phantasos", named after the God of surreal dreams where, quoting Alexandre Dumas, "the breath of death reacts violently against life and darkness kills the light".

The track entitled "Interval" is nothing but fifteen seconds of silence, just a little pause before "Act II - Thanatos", that is divided into five parts and describes the passage from sleep to death. The first section is entitled "Clotho", after the goddess responsible for spinning the thread of human life. The music has a solemn pace, an obscure mood and every now and again could conjure up strange phenomena... Next comes the nervous section entitled "Lachesis" and related to the goddess measurer of each thread of life. Here, after a nervous start the rhythm calms down as to indicate the acceptance of fate. Then it's the turn of the ethereal "Interlude II - Ananke" where we meet the personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity, the mother of the Fates and the only one to have control over their decisions...

The following section is entitled "Atropos" after the goddess who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of mortals by cutting their thread. The Grim Reaper enters the scene wielding her scythe with a surge of energy underlined by fiery organ waves and raging flute notes, then boldly marches towards the unknown... The final section is entitled "Postlude - Moros", after the god of impending doom, the one who drives mortals to their deadly fate. This delicate and evocative part with piano and violin in the forefront is a kind of elegy of intense beauty that ends the album with a nocturnal atmosphere and a sense of infinite peace...

On the whole, a very mature work where the band showcase great compositional skills and musicianship mixing classical music and rock with extraordinary freshness and gusto.