THE WHITE SNAKE AND OTHER GRIMM TALES II

For those new to them, The Samurai of Prog is a multi-national symphonic prog rock project dating back to 2009, led by Finland-based, Italian composer and bassist Marco Bernard, with permanent members Steve Unruh on vocals, violin, flute and guitars, and Kimmo Pörsti on drums and percussion ? along with a raft of guest musicians and vocalists.

I reviewed The Lady and the Lion ? volume one of a new series of albums based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm ? a few months ago. The White Snake is volume two, and I was interested in seeing how the series has developed and how it compared with the first album.

I am pleased to say that the quality of the instrumental symphonic prog produced by the project remains of a high standard. The solid foundation that Marco, Steve and Kimmo create is enhanced by the talented guest musicians they have employed ? especially on keyboards and electric guitar. The music is dynamic and diverse and full of invention that would please any followers of the genre.

However, whether you take to the album or not will largely depend on the lyrics and vocal approach. This is fairy tale storytelling prog style! It can often feel like a commentary over a local theatre group's Christmas pantomime. However, on this occasion, the vocals are much less melodramatic and integrate better with the musical flow and structure of the longer, narrative-led tracks, compared to the last album.

The first two tracks are instrumentals and work well. The Tricky Fiddler is a brisk and busy track, not surprisingly dominated by Steve's violin, which combining playfully with lush retro-keyboards, flute and lively electric guitar creates a Kansas/Tull hybrid at times. Searching for the Fear is more of an ensemble piece, with each musician seemingly allowed to take the lead as the track ebbs and flows ? all propelled by Kimmo's drumming ? with prog noodlings a plenty, especially from the guest keyboards and guitar of Alessandro Di Benedetti and Marcel Singor, respectively.

The three, longer, storytelling tracks are each composed by a different guest keyboardist, and the four-part The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs by Mimmo Ferri fares least well. The promising instrumentation (including some nice guitar soloing) is often swamped by the densely-packed lyrical content, and although the vocals are slightly less theatrical than the first album, they are still overdramatic at times. The Travelling Musicians, by Luca Scherani, is better, however, lyrics and music well integrated and it flows more easily, and whilst you still feel you are listening to a stage musical at times, the vocals are stronger ? especially Elisa Montaldo as the cat and Alessio Calandriello as the rooster (just wish I could understand Italian!)

The five-part epic The White Snake has music composed by Oliviero Lacagnina, and is rather good. Fans of ELP/Triumvirat will enjoy the retro keyboards and synthesised orchestration of the Prologue onwards. At times there is a theatrical grandeur similar to ELP's Pirates. The narrative content is stronger too, with Camilla Rinaldi's vocals easy on the ear and Massimo Gori's lyrics never dominating the instrumentation. Violin, keyboards and guitars utilise the additional space given to them more effectively, and there is even some nice Irish flute playing before the proggy conclusion. The final, short instrumental The Tricky Fiddler ? Reprise rounds off the album with a more restrained, stately return to the original opening theme before a final swirl of violin.

A step up from the previous album, although despite the impressive prog instrumentation, it will largely be your liking of musical theatre and lyrical storytelling which will decide if this album, the previous one or any future releases to come from The Samurai of Prog are for you.

(from THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT)

I've been reviewing new albums of this multi-national recording project for many years, and I'm glad to notice that finally there have been also other reviewers around lately. TSOP certainly are a force to reckon in the retro/classic prog styled department of the international prog field, despite not being a band in the traditional sense. The incredible pace of their releases, approximately two albums per year, may indeed be more than the listener really needs, but nevertheless the production team (Marco Bernard, Kimmo Pörsti and Steve Unruh) has always kept the artistic level very high, and the invited composers, usually simultaneously the keyboard players, seem to give their 100% dedication to the collaboration, as well as all the guest musicians.

I was somewhat disappointed with the first album based on Grimm tales, The Lady and the Lion, and had certain reservations for this sequel as well. Will the theatrical approach of story-telling -- and not just any stories but the imaginative fairy tales from roughly two centuries ago -- irritatingly over-dominate these compositions too? The answer is no. The White Snake is in my opinion way better than its sister, starting from the structure of the album whole.

I appreciate the way the opening instrumental piece 'The Tricky Fiddler' makes a brief return in the end to wrap it all up neatly. It's a fine piece featuring Unruh's violin in a lead role. The composition of Marco Grieco (a.k.a. MacroMarco as a ProgArchives included artist) has a flavour of classically inspired vintage Rock Progressivo Italiano, bands such as Quella Vecchia Locanda or New Trolls. The symphonic instrumental bliss only improves with the nearly ten-minute 'Searching for the Fear' composed by Alessandro Di Benedetti (Mad Crayon, Inner Prospekt), which is probably my favourite track. There are lots of solistic moments for various instruments, ie. keys, violin, flute and electric guitar, all proceeding with an elegant and dynamic flow, and the cherry on the top is the beautiful wordless vocalisation by Paula Pörsti.

'The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs' does have the theatrical roled vocals (Unruh and three guests) but thank god not narrative parts the way the previous album had. In the picture Marco Vincini has a Fish-reminding face paint and he certainly puts a lot of drama in his vocal parts. Elisa Montaldo's vocals function beautifully as a softening element. Mimmo Ferri's composing style is undoubtedly heavily influenced by Nursery Cryme /Foxtrot era Genesis without reminding too closely any particular song. The following, equally lengthy track 'The Travelling Musicians' composed by Luca Scherani is basically rather similar in its dramatic, multi-vocal structure. interestingly the lyrics mix English and Italian. Perhaps here the vocals dominate a bit too much; even though the backing music is fine, it is very subsidiary to the story-oriented vocals.

The title track is the longest (17:37) and the most ambitious piece as a full-blown, multi-part prog epic. The French horn and trumpet of Marc Papeghin add a tonal sharpness, and composer Oliviero Lacagnina's organ sound is pretty tight too, but there are also beautiful calmer sections featuring vocals of Camilla Rinaldi, and later also Irish flute of Rafael Pacha. Three rather vocal-centred long pieces in a row demands a lot from the listener, and therefore the instrumental reprise is a perfect way to close the album. An excellent addition to a prog collection for those who fancy dramatic symphonic prog with vintage flavour.