Sailor Free: Spiritual Revolution - Part Three

This is a band I had not heard before - Italian progressive rock outfit Sailor Free, led by multi-instrumentalist David Petrosino. They rose in the early ‘90s and released their self-titled debut in 1992, followed by The Fifth Door in 1994. Then there was silence as the band went on hiatus, reforming in 2010 and releasing the beginning of their album triptych - Spiritual Revolution - Part One in 2012, followed by Part Two in 2016. Nine years later the band have released Spiritual Revolution - Part Three.

In the band are:

David Petrosino (vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, percussions)
Stefano “The Hook� Barelli (guitar)
Alphonso Nini (bass, backing vocals)
Stefano Toni (percussions, backing vocals)
Guest musicians:
Luca Calabrò (drums)
Stefano Falcone (drums)
Claudio Mosconi (bass)
Emanuele Flangini (bass)
Nando Citarella (tammorra)
Stefano Ribeca (sax, low whistle, shannai)
Cecilia Amici (backing vocals)
Brian Petrosino (keyboards, backing vocals)
Ethan Petrosino (backing vocals)

My first impressions were very positive and that only increased the more I listened to this pretty excellent album. The band does a wonderful job of melding heavy metallic guitar with mellower atmospheric parts, creating some pretty unique sounds in the process. If I had to pick a similar artist it would have to be Porcupine Tree but this is no mere copycat as they certainly have their own sound. The vocals of Petrosino are often dreamy and low key, sometimes reminding of Peter Gabriel. Although there is lots going on, this is a highly listenable album as the band make room for many melodic moments. Take the short instrumental “Spiritual Ouverture III� opening the album mixing quirky percussion and instrumentation with Beatles-like moments that let it all make sense. “Incognito� features dreamy vocals, dense keyboards and effects and razor like guitar riffage. I love the mixture of heavier and lighter moments and how the music builds, easily holding my attention. The echoey guitar riffs are very effective in the grand yet hypnotic “All I Need� and on “The Ghoul Within�, progressive metal combines with atmospheric artwork making for an intoxicating mix. And with “So Beautiful� the band sets a nice groove to go along with some of the catchiest vocals on the disc.

I think my points been made. Sailor Free has been a really nice surprise and one hopes they continue forward as this latest album is an excellent listen and should appeal to progressive rock fans across multiple genres.

A TIDE Records' release.

Track Listing:
1. Spiritual Ouverture III (1:30)
2. Incognito (5:44)
3. All I Need (4:07)
4. The Ghoul Within (3:52)
5. So Beautiful (4:14)
6. Not For Me (4:18)
7. Let Me In (4:29)
8. Disappear (4:12)
9. Gambling (4:52)
10. The Watcher (3:29)

Added: September 7th 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 136
Language: english

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