Lucid Dream: Visions From Cosmos 11

It is amazing how often the bringing together of obviously talented musicians doesn't quite end up with songs of the quality their prowess would suggest. Considering that Visions From Cosmos 11 is their debut offering it is maybe slightly unkind to lump Italian act Lucid Dream into that category, however while there's no denying that taken individually all four members of band are hugely talented, (although one of them may well be an acquired taste) the end results of their first effort together is rather unforgettable.

Forming round the considerable six string playing of Simone Terigi, Lucid Dream bring together Satriani style instrumental workouts with big riffed metal in the style of Metallica and Maiden, although there is also the odd hint at something a little more "classic" such as good old Led Zep. Adding to the thunder are bassist Gianluca Eroico and drummer Paolo Raffo who are easily a match for their fret burning leader, even if they spend much of the time ever so slightly in his shadow. In fact there are a few occasions where you can dip in and out of this album and think you were veering towards one of those guitar pyrotechnic instrumental albums that the Shrapnel label used to specialise in.

That leaves singer Alessio Calandriello. Now if you thought that Geddy Lee had a high pitched warble in the early days of Rush, then you ain't heard nothing yet. Alessio uses such a degree of vibrato at the end of most of his vocal lines across this album that I have to say his slightly accented voice can become a distraction. It is not that he can't sing, in fact his range is hugely impressive, however the constant wavering wobble really adds little to the crunching riffs across the album and the less said about the lone "growl" on the disc, the better.

Even with the conglomerations of styles that are at times covered on this album, it is hard to pick out much that is fresh or original, although the ultra dry production doesn't help. Many bands can look back on their debut as the first shaky step on a long and productive career and while it is too early to tell if that will be the case for Lucid Dream, hopefully album number two will see a reasonably strong step up in quality.

Track Listing
1. Holy Rage
2. Cosmos 11
3. Fallin'
4. In The Moment
5. Night Feel
6. Get Up
7. Underground
8. Sun And Sun
9. Through The Years

Added: July 10th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Lucid Dream
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Language: english

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