OVERLOADED

Overloaded is the fourth solo album by Alberto Rigoni, a talented bassist and composer from Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso. It is dedicated to the memory of bassist Randy Coven and during the recording sessions Alberto was helped by Denis Novello (drums), Federico Solazzo (keyboards), Simone Mularoni (guitars), Marco Sfogli (guitars) and Fabrizio "Bicio" Leo (guitars). The album was self-released in 2014 and features a nice artwork by Chris Van Der Linden that in some way tries to describe its musical content. In fact, Overloaded was conceived as a conceptual work inspired by some issues of the contemporary society: "I think that everything is going too fast today and one of the reasons is technology: hyper fast communications (mostly through social networks), multitasking activities, tons of information as well as misinformation, products, services? In a couple of words ? we are OVERLOADED! The Internet has changed our lives, and even though it is indeed a great tool we have to be careful and use it judiciously. Excessive use may cause several diseases such as stress, depression, and social isolation", explains Alberto Rigoni on his website. Anyway, there are no liner notes nor lyrics to explain the concept behind the music and the storyline is completely up to your imagination...

The short, hypnotic opener "What's On Your Mind?" sets the atmosphere with a question and pulsing bass lines in the background evoking strange psychoanalytical sessions. Then, with the title track the rhythm rises and you're drawn in a vortex of energy: "Overloaded" is an excellent track, very rich in ideas and with a touch of exoticism.

The following "Chron" is frenzied and conjures up the images of a wild race against the clock that never stops... Next come the calm, dreamy "Floating Capsule", where you get lost in space and time, and the aggressive "Corruption".

The title of the following "Ubick" recalls a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick that takes place in a world where technology has advanced to the extent of permitting civilians to reach the Moon, and psi phenomena are common. In the novel Ubik is the name of a powerful substance but can be also considered a metaphor for God... Well, the music here is absolutely sparkling and I think that it would be a perfect score for a sci-fi film or a technological thriller!

"Multitasking" is a short track where the bass plays all the multiple roles and leads to the powerful, vibrant "Liberation" while the reflective "Glory Of Life" concludes this interesting album where there's no room for boredom. Anyway, have a try and judge by yourselves: you can listen to the complete album in streaming on bandcamp.

Italian composer and bassist Alberto RIGONI has an established career as a band musician in ventures such as TwinSpirits and Lady & The Bass, and as a live musician for other established artists. In addition, he has established a solo career, which so far has seen him release four full-length albums. "Overloaded" is the latest of those, and was self-released in 2014, but through the use of the Any And All Records project: A venture put up so that any artists releasing their own material could point towards a record label affiliation.

While Alberto Rigoni does explore a small handful of styles on this CD, it is dominated by his take on instrumental progressive metal, which he does in an engaging and traditional manner, although perhaps with a bit more emphasis on the bass guitar than some others. Those who tend to enjoy albums dominated by this type of music should most likely find Rigoni's take on it to be worth a listen, alongside those who tend to enjoy instrumental albums with hard rock and metal as the dominant styles in general.