NEON KARMA

— First review of this album —

Neon Karma are a kind of supergroup based in Milan that gathers four talented musicians such as Marco Sfogli (guitar), Lorenzo Feliciati (bass), Guido Block (vocals) and Roberto Gualdi (drums) all also involved in other bands and projects. Their first collaboration dates back to 2012 but it wasn't until 2022 that they managed to self-release an eponymous debut album with their own original compositions. Their music, difficult to pigeonhole, crosses many styles and draws on many influences ranging from prog metal to AOR, from hard rock to touches of Mediterranean folklore...

The title of the opener, "The Frog", refers to a famous German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812, "The Frog Prince". It's a good piece full of desperate energy where the music and lyrics evoke the thaumaturgic power of love. The protagonist is a man who's going through a deep personal crises that somehow turned him into a frog, but this is no fairy tale and he's not a prince. What he needs to get out of this situation is a kiss from a woman in love, a kiss to set him free from despair. After the short, dreamy middle section, the tension rises again and we don't know if the protagonist succeeds...

"Rain" is a bitter-sweet ballad about a particularly painful relationship where love comes like pouring rain and makes you bleed... Then it's the turn of "Megapolis" that starts with pulsing bass lines and a funky rhythm. It's a good piece about urban alienation where the protagonist feels alone in the midst of millions of people, fed up with noises, smells and empty fashions. As the music gets more aggressive, he yells "no!" to conformism, fake colours, plastic sounds, pollution and deafening chatters. To break free you have to speak up...

"Run Into The Sun" deals with environmental issues and starts softly. The music and lyrics evoke dark omens for the future of humankind. Man seems incapable to learn his lessons, he can't understand what makes the world so precious. The countdown to ruin runs faster and faster, soon the point of no return will be reached and the silent rays of death will dry out everyone. We're recklessly running into the sun and eventually the heat will burn everything to the ground...

"Enemy Gate" is an almost completely instrumental piece. It starts by a nervous electric guitar riff while a voice in the background invites you to pay attention because you're approaching the enemy gate. The following electric guitar solos bring some Middle eastern flavours, the atmosphere is tense, the rhythm section thundering and threatening...

"Lullaby" is a very melancholic ballad. This is not a lullaby for a little child who can't sleep but for someone who will never wake up again and who is on his way for the afterlife. Everything is temporary and maybe death doesn't mean the end of an emotional relationship. All around everything is so silent that you could even hear the sound of the snowflakes falling on the ground under the moonlight...

"Time Is Cruel" every now and again could recall Yes and is about time passing by. The protagonist seems to be crushed by his daily grind, for him every day is worse than the other. Maybe one day or another a beautiful day will come, but when? No clue, time is merciless and cruel...

The closer "The Cavern" is an excellent track veined of Gothic shades and open to multiple interpretations. The music and lyrics conjure up the image of a man inviting you to visit the beautiful, comfortable cavern where he lives alone, surrounded by bats that he calls friends. The cavern is a safe shelter for him, a den to hide from the world and heal his wounds. There you might even see that peculiar man cry...

On the whole, a good work that deserves a try.