Farts From S.E.T.I. Code
Northern Lines
•
February 26, 2015

NORTHERN LINES is an instrumental, progressive rock fusion from Roma. They were formed in 2013, and have just released their latest offering titled "Farts From S.E.T.I. Code". The rock trio is influenced by classic Rock acts such as LED ZEPPELIN, PINK FLYOD, and METALLICA.
"Farts From S.E.T.I. Code" is a very interesting, eclectic mix of progressive and instrumental rock. The opening track begins with a quote from the first mission to the moon stating that this is "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". that clip was prefaced by some other speaking that sounded like movie voiceovers in Italian before the album kicked in to the musical aspect of the work.
The following tracks are a loaded with a variety of prog-rock riffs whose sounds seemed to pay homage to many of the classic rock greats from BLACK SABBATH'S Geezer Butler, RUSH'S Alex Lifeson, and LED ZEPPELIN'S Jimmy Page. The drum solos stood out as something of similar style to that played by RUSH'S Neal Peart. The influences of these classic prog acts are clear in the music played by NORTHERN LINES.
The musicianship in NORTHERN LINES is rather quiet brilliant, especially upon first listen. Like many classic and progressive rock bands, NORTHERN LINES also use small pauses between parts of songs to allow anticipation of what is coming next to mount for the listener. To take the musical abilities of NORTHERN LINES to another level, they have the services of Stefano Silvestri on the synthesizers to add more unique sounds and musical bits that would otherwise be left out of their work. Some parts of the album sound almost symphonic as the musical combinations come together smoothly and make a powerful, yet serene, calming sound for the listener to listen to.
The second through seventh tracks have no words to them. It's purely musical work. While the musicianship is quiet brilliant to be certain, the fact that there are no words to this makes it kind of hard to figure out why the band started the album with the quote from the first man on the moon. One possible way to interpret this is that NORTHERN LINES are looking to take the listener on an extraterrestrial journey to outerspace that they have never been on before, kind of like the first man on the moon. Otherwise, the absence of lyrics never makes this choice of an opening real clear throughout the CD. The ending song with more lyrics to it is all in Italian, therefore leaving the entire album with a fairly open-ended concept that really makes no sense about why the man on the moon appeared in the first place.
While the musicianship shone, and was brilliant, the lack of concept after the quote from the first mission to the moon left the listener quiet confused. More lyrics could have added a concept to the album, and helped elevate their already-brilliant musicianship to a whole new level like something of a RUSH, QUEEN, or LED ZEPPELIN feel to it rather than just a feeling of listening to a progressive-rock medley of musical sounds. Having said that, while the musicianship was brilliant, the entire concept of the CD left a lot to be desired, as well as many questions in the listener's mind that desperately need answering.
4 / 10
Nothing special

"Farts From S.E.T.I. Code" Track-listing:
- Pop Krieg
- Inside A Yellow Cave
- Your Glorious Bastard
- Plastic Zen
- Northern Lines
- Rajung
- Tale of A Blowfish
- Her Majesty's Rage
Northern Lines Lineup:
Alberto Lo Bascio - Guitars
Sefano Silvestri - Bass, Synths
Christiano Schiro - Drums
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