RØSENKREÜTZ

A few months ago I belatedly reviewed this band's 2014 debut album, most annoyed with myself for not writing about it earlier, but after I sent it to Fabio he asked if I would also like to hear their 2020 release (and told me there is a new album due for the end of this year). Although there was six years between the first and second, the core of the band stayed the same with Fabio Serra (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Gianni Brunelli (drums, percussion), Gianni Sabbioni (bass, Chapman Stick), and Massimo Piubelli (lead vocals) all still there but they have been extended from a quartet to a sextet with the addition of Carlo Soliman (piano, keyboards), who actually guested on two tracks on the debut, and Eva Impellizzeri (viola, keyboards, vocals).

As with their debut, Røsenkreütz do not sound Italian as they are a long way removed from the RPI prog scene we all know so well, but instead are mixing together 80's style melodic rock and prog in a way which is commercial, immediate, and so much damn fun to listen to. It is obvious they have been heavily influenced by classic Spock's Beard (such a strange thing to write, I can remember raving over their debut when they were unknowns), while there are also some elements of Eighties' Kansas, with the viola being very much part of that. Their music relies on hooks, melodic vocals and plenty of harmonies with complex interplay between all the instruments. The arrangements are bouncy and drive the listener along with a smile on their face. They can bring it down of course and do on tracks like "The Candle In The Glass", but this is primarily a crossover progressive rock band who do not forget the importance of rock in what they are doing but looking to melodic as opposed to metal.

The album ends with the longest track, "The Collector" (not the Twelfth Night song) which is more than 15 minutes in length. This tells the story of a psychopath, and contains the most complex interplay of the album, with dynamic keyboard runs, punching drums and plenty of guitars with Piubelli living every moment as he puts everything into his performance. It is a wonderful climax, and there is no doubt that anyone into this style of progressive/melodic rock will find this essential.

Back in 2014 I started working on collating material for my books, which meant anything that had been sent to me for review was put to one side as I would get to it when I was done. I never expected it to take anything like as long as it did (writing books is bloody hard work), and since then I have been playing catch up, and 2023 is the year when I have committed to not only getting my fifth book out but also catching up with everything on my review list. I came across Røsenkreütz when I was part of the crossover team on PA, and once they were approved I entered them onto the site, so it is rather embarrassing to realise some 9 years later that I never actually reviewed the debut myself. In fact, I did have to check that I had not, as this album is incredibly familiar to me, so I must have played it a great deal when it came out, just never committed to putting my views down in words.

The man behind the band is Fabio Senna, and in many ways, this started when he wrote some songs with singer Alex Brunori (Leviathan), yet due to them being so far apart the project was stopped, only for Fabio to rediscover the demos some time later and decide to do something with them. He brought in Gianni Sabbioni (bass) and Gianni Brunelli (drums) to further develop the material and write new songs and the final piece of the puzzle was the addition of singer Massimo Piubelli from Methodica, whose debut album had been produced by Fabio some years earlier. The result is an album which many would not deem to be Italian, as there is little or nothing from the pervasive RPI genre, but instead mixes together prog with AOR, throws in plenty of Eighties influences and sounds to create something which is fresh, vibrant and definitely crossover in its truest state, although there are a few times when it comes closer to neo.

So much prog expects the listener to sit there and be impressed, instead Røsenkreütz expect people to be jumping up and down and enjoying themselves as this is packed full of fun and a style which makes the listener smile. Fabio provides keyboards, guitar and vocals, and is at the heart of what is going on, which can include elements of pop rock here and there. All one must do with this is sit back and enjoy it as it is a blast from beginning to end. I was somewhat surprised at the one cover as the swirling atmospheric take on "I Am The Walrus" is quite different to the rest of the album, although it is certainly interesting, but they end with their most progressive song, the title cut which is more than 17 minutes long. It goes between melodic vocals accompanied solely by piano to something far more dramatic and multi-layered, with nods back to the bombast of the Seventies, yet there are sections which could be taken out as commercial rock single, such is the diversity,

There has been just one more album since this release, 2020's 'Divide et Impera' which has seen the original quartet extended to a sextet, and I can see myself looking out for it as this really is a fresh and exciting delight.

"Divide et Impera" is Rosenkreutz's second studio album and was released in 2020 on the independent Andromeda Relix label with a renewed line up featuring Fabio Serra (guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Gianni Brunelli (drums, percussion), Gianni Sabbioni (bass, Chapman Stick), Massimo Piubelli (vocals), Carlo Soliman (piano, keyboards) and Eva Impellizzeri (vocals, keyboards). It confirms all the good qualities of the band's debut work, "Back To The Stars", with its excellent blend of melody, AOR and more complex passages that every now and again could recall Kansas or The Spock's Beard. All the pieces seem to have a common thread as they in some way describe the subtle line between what we perceive and what's real and, in my opinion, the beautiful art work by Christophe Dessaigne gives a good idea of the album's content...

The opener "Freefall" starts with a jump into eighties soundscapes, then takes a different direction maintaining a strong melodic approach. The music and lyrics tell about a dangerous descent into a vortex of desires, mislead by cheating smiles and kind words. Sometimes a particular glance can change the balance between the things you really need and what you feel necessary and make you fall into a dangerous, deceitful daydream, cradled by the sound of little, seducing lies...

The sarcastic "Imaginary Friend" every now and again could recall Queen and is an excellent piece about religious ideals that turn into business and terrorism. The imaginary friend of the title is a kind of hand tailored, bloodthirsty god created by merciless pseudo-religious leaders and exalted preachers to rip you off and make you kill other people with the joy in your heart...

Then comes "The Candle In The Glass", a disquieting melodic ballad depicting a wicked game where the protagonist falls under the spell of the images he can see in a looking glass lighted by the flickering flame of a candle. The refined arrangement features a string quartet (the guests Evequartett) that add a touch of romantic colour to the crepuscular tableaux...

"I Know I Know" is an aggressive, nervous track that features even a short passage with rap vocals delivered by the guest Flamma. It evokes an inner demon taking the lead, a dream driving you insane as reality becomes more and more blurred... Next comes "Aurelia", where the rhythm slackens and eerie melodies soar from nocturnal passages and nightmarish atmospheres. It tells a dark story of love and betrayal, murder and regret, a story where the perfect life of a glamorous woman suddenly turns into madness...

The catchy "True Lies" could recall Toto and is about the dangerous, deceiving power of media, fake news and television preachers, overwhelming advertisement policies and true lies running over and over the screen making of you just a kind of fool to exploit while the following "Sorry And..." describes in music and words a very hard letter to write and evokes suicidal thoughts under the moonlight, when autumn turns into winter and hell seems a welcoming place...

Then the long, complex "The Collector" ends the album by telling the story of a psychotic collector of human eyes, an insane serial killer that eventually realizes what he's done and takes off his own eyes to complete his macabre collection. Well, his story is long but it's worth listening to...

On the whole, a very good work!

Interesting new Italian prog.

R'senkre'tz is a solo project from Fabio Serra, a multi-instrumentalist and producer with more than 25 years experience. Between the early Eighties and now he played in several bands, including a Genesis tribute band named Yellow Plastic Shoobedoo, along work as a producer, sound engineer and composer. In 2014 R'senkre'tz released its debut album entitled Back To The Stars featuring Christiano Roversi (Moongarden, Mangala Vallis) on the Chapman stick. And in 2020 the band released its second effort Divide Et Impera, as a six-piece formation, including 3 musicans who play keyboards. I am not familiar with the first CD, listening to this new album I notice that this band sounds as a tight and experienced unit, delivering powerful, dynamic and varied prog.

Very pleasant sounding Neo-Prog (with hints from Pendragon and IQ) featuring flashy synthesizer flights in Free- Fall.

The Holy Trinity of fiery guitar, powerful violin and swirling Hammond like Kansas in the heavy Imaginary Friend. A fine rock ballad with tender piano, lingering vocals and howling guitar runs in The Candle in the Glass.

A heavy and bombastic sound with rock guitar, Hammond and prog metal riffs in I Know, I Know.

An excellent build-up from dreamy with twanging acoustic guitar, warm vocals and soaring Mellotron violins to tender piano play with powerful drums and bass, and finally sumptuous and compelling featuring strong vocals and orchestral sounding keyboards in Aurelia, one of my highlights.

True Lies is in the vein of AOR with rock guitar, emotional vocals, a tight beat and halfway a biting guitar solo, it sounds pleasant but pretty smooth.

The track Sorry And starts dreamy with rhythm guitar, warm vocals and mellow organ waves, halfway a fiery guitar solo with powerful vocals, and finally slow and bombastic. Another example how this band alternates between heavy and mellow moments, thus creating tension.

This new album ends with the exciting epic The Collector, it contains a lot of dynamics and tension. In the first part the moods shift between a prog metal atmosphere (with swirling violin, flashy synthesizer flights, powerful vocals and lush Hammond) and dreamy (with soft synthesizer bleeps and mellow vocals). Then a build-up to more heavy and bombastic with majestic Mellotron violins and a deep bass sound. Now the distinctive Hammond organ joins, followed by a fiery guitar solo and a fat synthesizer sound (like Van Halen). Next the music turns into dreamy with violin, piano and warm vocals. Suddenly a heavy and bombastic eruption, with a prog metal up-tempo, heavy guitar solo, powerful and dramtic vocals, simply sensational! The final part sounds like the conclusion of a rock opera, first dreamy with piano and vocals, then bombastic with majestic keyboards, a powerful rhythm-section and great vocals, what an awesome interplay, I am blown away!

If you are up to varied and dynamic harder-edged prog, I highly recommended this album to you!

A lot of the new prog bands that emerged in the 1990's were accused of retreading the 1970's. In the last two decades, however, I think there are many bands who are more inspired by bands of the 1980's. Italy's Rosenkreutz is a band who seems to wear its 80's influences on its sleeve. I once bought an album back in the late eighties by a German eighties hard rock band name Stone Fury, whose second album combined eighties pop sounds with the heaviness of a rock band - heavy guitar and powerful, full on synthesizer chords. Rosenkreutz captures a lot of that aspect.

"Freefall" is the opening track which is a bright uplifting eighties-ish track that sounds modernized. It's a deep, warm song with lots of punch and plenty of strong vocal melodies. "Imaginary Friend" features some heavy organ and exciting violin playing. It's a hard- hitting, charger of a track that still delivers fine vocal melodies.

Over the next three tracks, Rosenkruetz, impress us with gentler acoustic parts, more powerful guitars and vocals, and more of that eighties-sounding playing style. Especially the chorus in "True Lies", that eighties pomp kicks in big time! "Aurelia" is one of the big tracks on the album that takes you on a journey as it grows in power and drops a terrific piano solo before becoming tense and heavier.

Finally, "The Collector" is an action-packed 15-minute plus track that might sound to you like 1990's Dream Theater with once again more heavy guitars and also strong keyboard playing. It's a song that keeps changing direction much like how the title track from their "Back to the Stars" was always changing. Yet while "Back to the Stars" had about as many changes as "Super's Ready", "The Collector" reins in the multitude of twists to a more sensible number. There's enough action to keep you surprised yet not enough to spin your head round. And there are once more those fantastic vocals and their melodies.

I really loved the debut album, "Back to the Stars"; however it was mostly for three tracks that really stood out above the others. "Divide et Impera" doesn't have that incredible pinnacle that was the title track of the first album, but I feel the thrills on the album are more consistent and frequent.

If you're interested in a heavy prog album with strong eighties influences and synthesizers plus excellent vocal melodies and some great examples of action-packed progressive rock flair, head on over to Bandcamp and have a listen to Rosenkreutz's "Divide at Impera"!

As with many albums I buy, I picked up Røsenkreütz with only a cursory listen. There are so many new artists these days, often individuals playing every instrument and recording at home, and I find it overwhelming to sample so many new recordings as I see them posted on Facebook prog pages and at the same time underwhelming as it becomes difficult to pick out someone who sounds different, who isn't just writing generic modern prog (oxymoron?). So after listening for a few short moments on YouTube, I decided to give this artist a shot, hoping I would at least grow to like the music.

At first I was not quite so impressed. By the time the album arrived, I was into thrash and death metal and so I listened once to be sure the disc had no defects and then set it aside. But once I put it on a couple of weeks later, it had my attention, mainly due to the incredible title track. But before I go there, please allow me to introduce the rest of the album.

There has been a lot said about prog bands these days trying to recapture or recreate the styles and sounds of classic prog and comparatively little attention given to the eighties and nineties. Røsenkreütz seems to be of the mind that the eighties mattered, even though their PA bio says they show a strong love for British seventies prog. The first five songs, especially "Conditioning" and "Childish Reaction" sound more like latter-half 1980's pop rock tunes with an even balance of synth-heavy European dance pop akin to what I'd imagine from Dead or Alive, hard rock/almost hair metal à la Europe, and an upbeat crossover prog style that's great to listen to when your mood is ready for swinging your arms and snapping your fingers. The opening track "Signals in the Water" also fits this description though I did feel some similarities to Supertramp in the music in parts, most likely because I have been listening to three of Supertramp's classic albums recently.

"Nothing More in You" begins with a female vocalist, Angela Merlin, and piano and once the male vocals come in, it feels like it will develop into a very attractive duet. The song leans more toward the male vocals as it progresses and there is still a strong post seventies feel to the music, much more modern. I guess I should say here that although this is not my usual choice in music style, it is very well written, arranged and performed and the recording quality is excellent. In recent days I have been sure to add this album to album playlists that include more heavy-guitar oriented music.

My two favourite tracks are "Sitting on the Edge of Heaven" and the title track. "Sitting on the Edge" begins with some Spanish-style acoustic guitar and some traditional percussion (by that I mean not a drum set). Then it gives us this bold, anthemic musical theme that resembles something of the more pop and pomp offerings of Blackmore's Night. There's an incredible A cappella vocal break that jumps in abruptly and then the song goes hard rock for a bit. At just over eight minutes, the music really moves and changes, coming back to the lighter acoustic beginning.

At last we have the title track, "Back to the Stars". If Røsenkreütz are fans of seventies prog then this is where it shows through the best. The song is 17:32 long and is a bit like "Supper's Ready" in that there is a story behind the lyrics (an astronaut who returns to earth and finds everyone has disappeared, then reflects on some memories, and finally talks about his return to the stars) and the song is a clever stitching together of several musical ideas. The beginning with its beautiful piano and strings and soul-stirring vocal melody are easily one of the most ear- catching parts of the album. Then responding on cue, the song suddenly switches to organ, drums and guitar and takes us into classic prog territory. The music keeps changing and changing again. There are instrumental passages that conjure up memories of Yes, ELP, and Genesis as well as Saga, KariBow, and Spock's Beard. No doubt other progheads will find more bands that compare, most likely in 90's neoprogressive groups. After a series of different stages, the song returns to its sweet beginning as our protagonist announces that he is now truly heading home, back to the stars. This is one very enjoyable piece of 17 minutes plus of song and music!

I almost forgot to mention the cover of "I am the Walrus". It is rather good I feel as the music stays within the sound/style parameters established by the rest of the album but still maintains enough sincere adherence to the original that the song is not basterdized. Some may choose to disagree and I do notice that the song still stands apart from the rest of the album, but I think it's a nice touch.

Though a little light on the prog side at times, there is some excellent music on this album with two tracks really standing out for me but the rest also being worth listening too as the whole album plays front to back. Four very solid stars!

Røsenkreütz is mainly the brainchild of an experienced multi-instrumentalist and producer from Verona, Fabio Serra. In 2006 he gathered around him a bunch of talented musicians to refine some of his old demos and work on new compositions. In 2014, after a long, hard work, Røsenkreütz's debut album, Back To The Stars, was finally completed and released on the independent label Andromeda Relix with a line up featuring Fabio Serra (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Gianni Brunelli (drums, percussions), Gianni Sabbioni (bass) and Massimo Piubelli (vocals). In the studio they were helped by some guests musicians such as Angela Merlin (vocals), Carlo Soliman (grand-piano), Luca Nardon (percussion), Gabriele Amadei (violin) and Cristiano Roversi (from Moongarden, Submarine Silence and Mangala Vallis - Chapman stick) who contributed to enrich the sound and the final result is an excellent crossover formula that, without being too derivative, I'm sure will appeal to fans of Toto, Kansas or The Spock's Beard.

The dark, nervous opener "Signals In The Water" is a disquieting reflection about life and afterlife where time stops for a moment while a man dives into the water from a high cliff with suicidal intentions. It's like a riddle where sneaky shadows blot out reality and you get lost in a nightmare where you are drowning in your old lies...

Then comes "Sitting On The Edge Of Heaven", a wonderful track full of spirituality and positive feelings where you can find a perfect blending between powerful rock energy and delicate, classical inspired passages. The music and lyrics are about the need to take your time and choose your own way to heaven, a way you'll never regret. The short passage a cappella is a real treat!

"Conditioning" features synthetic sounds and melodic vocals warning you about the risks of the virtual reality you live on your computer, hiding your face behind a screen, loosing your innocence, feeding the appetite of an evil, technological idol. It leads to the romantic "Nothing More In You" where the music and lyrics tell of a relationship between a man and a woman that is going through a period of deep crises, a love that is fading away between empty shadows and misplaced feelings.

Next comes the jumping "Childish Reaction" that reminds me of Van Halen and is overflowing with good feelings and positive energy, then it's the turn of a tribute to The Beatles, a nice cover of "I Am The Walrus".

The title track, "Back To The Stars", closes the album. It's a long suite divided into seven parts, an over 17 minute epic that starts by a charming piano solo pattern and then grows going through many changes in mood and rhythm. The music and lyrics depict the feelings of an astronaut floating in a crimson dusk, suspended between heaven and hell, tore apart by the contrast between the wish to go back home and the fear to loose his celestial peace... Well, in my opinion this is by far the best track of the album and a perfect conclusion for this interesting work.

Synth pads! Rosenkreutz hails from Italy, and they sure bring the style and the excitement! Honestly, as soon as I heard the amazing synth at the beginning of "Signals in the Water", I knew I was going to love Rosenkreutz's debut, "Back to the Stars".

The basic lineup includes Fabio Serra with his stylish, Floydian guitars and his in-your-face keys. Fabio is also a music producer, and you can hear it in the high production values and the amazing mix. The rest of the band is Massimo Piubelli with his melodious vocals, Gianni Sabbioni with his throbbing bass, and Gianni Brunelli with his energetic drums. These guys really bring it with a mix of 80's rock, prog metal, folksy violins sections, and an elegant classic progressive rock sound with meandering mellotron and emotive guitar solos. This great combination takes a moment to absorb, as there are some very different things going on here.

Again and again, I was impressed and my synth weakness was enabled. From the synth goodness of "Signals in the Water" to the proggier "Conditioning" to the towering epic "Back to the Stars". The latter is simply magnificent and is easily the best track on the album, as it revisits everything that I loved from earlier tracks, but combines them all into one track that is far more serious than the rest of the album. Freshness abounds, though, throughout the album.

In some ways, Rosenkreutz reminds me of a proggier, softer, more focused Seventh Wonder, but that's just a shot in the dark. This comparison is valid, though, as the level of technicality is there, but the sheer fun and energy is at the forefront. Indeed, the drama is at a high point on this album, with emotions running high in the music and the lyrics.

Speaking of lyrics, I think they are the only weakness of this debut. They aren't particularly bad or anything, but there is a boatload of cheese. I think much of this may be attributed to the band being native Italian speakers, but I can't help but roll my eyes a little on , say, "Sitting on the Edge of Heaven", a song so lyrically cloying but so phenomenal musically (especially the towering violins) that, in the end, I love it. That is the basic reaction I had on many of the tracks, and, overall, I loved the ride.

You know you want to hear this. This album is flashy, somewhat cheesy, but rich musically and serious where it counts. It explores both the deep and shallow end of the prog pool, but I think it comes out a winner in the end.

May 2014 brings the debut album `Back To The Stars' from an exciting new Italian group called Røsenkreütz, who, in addition to singing in English, couldn't sound less like the classical/theatrical influenced traditional RPI/Italian bands! Originally beginning as a solo project for producer Fabio Serra, symphonic and heavy prog is the order with the day, crossing over with an accessible poppy sound and a dash of AOR melodic catchiness. Their sound is instantly comparable to bands such as Spock's Beard, little moments of U.K, and especially Asia and the 80's era of the big defining vintage prog bands, but with an energy and flair all their own. Only a miss-step late in the disc lets the album down very slightly and briefly, but generally this is a very impressive debut, and it's admirable to see a band so confident and sure of their own abilities release an album this strong right from the start.

Slinking grooving hard riffs with some very 80's sounding E.L.Powell/Asia keyboard bluster contrast with softer vocal passages from lead singer Massimo Piubelli on opener `Signals in the Water'. The band beautifully build an atmospheric introduction on `Sitting on the Edge of Heaven' with some stirring violin then shatter it with a power AOR heavy stomp with symphonic synth stabs and plenty of call-and-response catchy vocals. There's also some very impressive a-capella group harmonies that would make Spock's Beard, Gentle Giant and Haken green with envy! `Conditioning' is a simple catchy AOR rocker in the style of `90125/Big Generator'-era Yes with stomping heavy drums and some hip-swiveling funky guitar grooves again for good measure. Nice subtle reggae flavours are worked into `Nothing More In You', and the upbeat `Childish Reaction' has a synth melody very similar to Asia's `Here Comes The Feeling', which is actually a good reference point overall for some of this piece. With a gutsy heaviness to some of the ripping electric guitar runs, it's also a winner with a very catchy chorus with sublime group harmonies.

Sadly, it's a very ill-conceived cover of the Beatles `I Am The Walrus' that momentarily drags the album down. First of all, nobody - ever - wants to hear Beatles cover songs. Secondly, there is nothing even remotely psychedelic about the rest of the album, so it makes even less sense to include a song in that style here, totally at odds with many of the AOR, symphonic and heavy styles covering the majority of the disc. If it had been a bonus track at the end, listeners could be a little more forgiving, but placing it just before the standout moment of the album is a definite error in judgment. Do yourself a favour, simply skip this one and focus on the outstanding original material the band have offered here, and they should be aware that their own material is good enough that they don't need to include attention-stealing covers in the future.

Unsurprisingly, for a prog band, it's the almost 18 minute title track that impresses most of all, and it just may be one of the best extended progressive works of the year! Gentle synth orchestration, delicate acoustic guitar flavours, Genesis-like organ pomp eruptions, delirious Dream Theater bombast and playful early 70's Queen-style campiness all feature. Numerous heartfelt classical piano passages excitedly bring this the closest track to proper Italian prog/RPI, and the seamless tempo changes back and forth and transitions between different sections, pleasing vocal melodies and perfectly executed soloing from all the musicians makes this one fans of modern symphonic bands will real go for, and it hints at all sorts of directions the band may like to expand upon in the future.

Some may find the lack of a clear sound or direction a little confusing, but it's really a band trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and tick a number of boxes. The album is full of strong compositions, slick playing and skillful vocals with a modern polished production, and the band is proudly unashamed of aiming to catch the ear of more accessible music listeners. Røsenkreütz are a very promising band to watch in the future, and `Back to the Stars' is a near-perfect example of how good crossover bands can be when they get that balance of progressive technicality with melodic commercial appeal just right - no easy feat!

Four and a half stars.