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Review:
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Singer Bernardo Lanzetti is a big name in the Classic
Italian Progrock, he was a member of Acqua Fragille (that
made two albums in the early Seventies) and legend PFM (between
1975 and 1978 Bernardo joined PFM on three albums) so I
was pleasantly surprised that this progrock veteran had
decided to join new and promising band Mangala Vallis since
the strong second album Lycanthrope in 2005 (on the debut
CD The Book Of Dreams in 2002 he had already a guest role
on one track). This DVD is a registration of the 2006 European
tour, it contains one concert in Holland (6 tracks in De
Boerderij in Zoetermeer) and two in Italy (2 tracks in Milan
and 3 tracks in Fidenza) along some interesting extras.
- Watching this DVD I notice that singer Bernardo Lanzetti
adds an extra dimension to pleasant blend of symphonic rock
and neo-prog that six piece formation Mangala Vallis delivers.
Not only with his distinctive voice but also with his
obviously Peter Gabriel inspired gestures, facial expressions
and the phrasing in his vocals. But he is not the only one
who has an important role in the sound of Mangala Vallis.
I also enjoyed the lush vintage sound of the keyboards:
violin - , flute – and choir-section of the unsurpassed
Mellotron on a Roland U 20 keyboard, a Minimoog sound on
the Nord Lead synthesizer and a Hammond sound on the digital
Hammond-Suzuki XB-2. Especially on the highlight The Boy
That Howls At The Moon it’s vintage keyboard time but the
composition A New Century also features lots of Trons! The
guitarists use ‘a small vintage guitar museum’, I noticed
a Gibson ES 345 and Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster
and Fender Telecaster (legends in the guitar history): in
the track Call Me Alias one of the guitarists plays on a
Fender Stratocaster with delicate use of a bottle neck and
in the track Days Of Light we can enjoy the guitarist playing
on a red – and white Fender Stratocaster, for me these are
almost magical elements!
The songs Lycanthroparty/Hum/Animal (in Holland) and
Cosmotraffic Jam and The Journey (both in Fidenza) are embellished
with animations, to me it looks like a fine visual element
on this DVD, like the two interesting bonus video clips
(entitled Lycanthrope Ducalis) The Boy That Howls At The
Moon and The Mask. The ‘Milan session’ was recorded live
in the studio, a nice feature. To complete my review I have
to mention that this DVD also contains an interview and
concert excerpts including PFM’s composition Impressioni
Di Settembre. -- The total running time of this DVD is 143
minutes so lots to enjoy, highly recommended, what a strong
new band Mangala Vallis is, watch it now, now, now!
www.progwalhalla.com
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