TIMESWORD - review added 8th March 2010
Album Review: Chains Of Sin (2010)
For fans of: Prog Rock... and naughty links
Italian band Timesword - Mark Pastorino on vocals, Dan Logoluso on guitar, Alberto Sonzogni on keyboards, Alex Galanti on drums, Luca Prederi on bass, plus Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, James Labrie, Dweezil Zappa) on bass for 2 tracks - play a very progressive music somewhere between rock and metal.
Timesword was started back in 2005 by Dan Logoluso. Chains Of Sin, the band's debut album, has taken a long time to come to fruition seemingly because the band itself has taken so long to put together. You know what? It was almost worth the wait.
The sound is rich and varied. There are innumerable catchy riffs and melodious hooks holding the songs together. All the performances are good, and special praise should go to Mark Pastorino for his excellent vocal performance. He isn't a massively characterful singer, but his tone works brilliantly on this record.
There are only six songs, but they're all sizeable. Opener 'A Thousand Year Kingdom' plods in places, fortunately the chorus is stunning and makes up for any shortfalls. The basic Bontempi-esque keyboard segments are surprisingly cool. 'Highway To Paradise' stumbles around in a self-indulgent world. It has numerous good chunks and doesn't lack for style, but could perhaps benefit from a more obvious and memorable focal point. 'A New Way' is perhaps less impressive as a whole, but has a much more catchy chorus and accessible character. Loving those mystical sci-fi keyboards!
'World Confusion' is another track with good moments - especially the heavier sections - but a lack of overall focus. 'Skyland', the shortest track on the album at just under 6 minutes is a tad softer and perfectly pleasant, if forgettable in parts. It certainly gets better as it plays through though. The final entry, the near 20 minute monster 'Real Mistery' is made up of 5 separate components. It has some nuggets of genius - the keyboard-versus-rattling-bass section around half way being a classic example - but it otherwise goes on for far too long. Why it isn't five separate tracks, or preferably the best bits squeezed down to 6 or 7 minutes, I don't know.
After listening to this, there's no doubt that Timesword are skilled musicians. Chains Of Sin is a release with a lot of exceptional sounds that's let down by the music in between. This is definitely a band to keep an eye on, and I recommend this album for fans of intense prog and complex musical journeys, but there's definite room for improvement.
Check out... The first track.
Track List:
01. A Thousand Year Kingdom
02. Highway To Paradise
03. A New Way
04. World Confusion
05. Skyland
06. Real Mistery
Label: 7Hard
Artist's website(s): MySpace
