Power Fusion
Angels And Demons
•
July 1, 2013
Recently, SG Records made available "Power Fusion," by Italian fusion trio, ANGELS AND DEMONS. This debut full-length release is 78% instrumental and certainly not a head-bang fest. Be prepared, dear listeners, for a brilliantly chilled-out collage of genres in every track. If you are a fan of Jazz, smooth Jazz / Fusion, Blues, or Progressive Metal, you won't have any trouble finding something to like on this album, and sometimes most of them within the same track. I'm sure this was the objective of Alex Stornello (Guitars), Giorgio Terenziani (Bass), and Paolo Caridi (Drums). If so, they surely succeeded.
Playing fusion is not for the faint of heart nor the weekend warrior musician. Multiple tempos within one track, syncopated rhythms, different musical scales and echoes of anything from Progressive Metal riffs to down-home blues pulled out of the ethers requires Samurai-like dedication to one's instrument and an enormous corpus callosum. Whew! It hurts my head to even contemplate dissecting the components of each track. Fortunately, I don't have to. I've got the easy job of listening and admiring this grand trio.
Anchor of the trio, Stornello, is a well-known guitarist, teacher and president of the Modern Music Institute. He also has his own album release called "Jazz It My Way". I'm sure he could give George Benson a run for his money. Terenziani is also a renowned guitar instructor and bassist. Both he and Caridi are band mates in KILLING TOUCH. I'm already a fan and found the following video a great way to discover how they play outside of ANGELS AND DEMONS:
A first look at the track list led me to assume redundancies, due to both vocal and non-vocal versions of "Clare Is Gone" and "The Riddle". Was I ever wrong? Two song titles were four distinct songs. It gave pause to appreciate how powerful a voice or an instrument can be with or without the other. The instrumental versions were favored. The previous tracks had created such a somnambulant state that I did not want the spell broken by human voices. It proved a nice break, as "The Riddle (Vocal Version)" reminded me very much of the sound of one of my favorite Progressive bands, DREAM THEATER.
The best showcase of Terenziani's jazz solo virtuosity was in "Traffic Jam". Caridi proved himself the heartbeat of the entire album. As I often identify with guitarists, it was fun for this novice to play "name that rhythmic genre" within each track.
What was so extraordinary about this album, overall, is that not once did any instrument drown out the other. It's not been a common occurrence to hear each well-played instrument being absolutely distinguishable, giving the listening audience an opportunity to appreciate individual artistry.
This album is sure proof of how exposure to and the playing of more than one genre can broaden one's inventiveness and technical prowess. It also shows musicians and listeners, alike, that there are some really neat toys to play with in our large musicversal sandbox.
There's no denying that this album should get a Metal Temple 9-out-of-10. I would love to see these magicians perform in person.
9 / 10
Almost Perfect
"Power Fusion" Track-listing:
1. Angels and Demons
2. When Money Talks
3. Traffic Jam
4. Clare Is Gone (Vocal Version)
5. The Riddle
6. No Blues
7. Brasilia
8. Clare Is Gone
9. The Riddle (Vocal Version)
Angels And Demons Lineup:
Alex Stornello - Guitars
Giorgio "JT" Terenziani - Bass
Paolo Caridi - Drums
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