Welcome to the LOUDEST DOT COM ON THE PLANET! | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
SWEET OBLIVION Feat. Geoff Tate Relentless By Andrew Depedro, Ottawa Corespondent Tuesday, May 4, 2021 @ 9:49 AM
Conceived by Frontiers Records president/A&R director Serafino Perugino and led by Simone Mularoni, the mastermind of prog metal masters DGM, Italian progressive melodic metal merchants SWEET OBLIVION may have a sound which, to some, appears to be somewhat out of place musically in 2021, but for fans of early 80’s progressive rock/metal such as QUEENSRŸCHE in particular, theirs is a sound that has raised further awareness of their own influences to a new generation of fans. And enough so that even original frontman Geoff Tate has not only recorded one full-length studio album – their impressive self-titled 2019 debut – but now a sophomore collection of similarly-driven RŸCHE-style compositions titled Relentless which makes more of a strident effort to push beyond mere Empire/Promised Land-era nostalgia.
Opening with the stark haunting piano intro and the dulcet whispers of “Once Again, One Sin”, the band – featuring Michele Sanna on drums, Luigi Andreone on bass, Antonio Agate on keyboards and guitarist Aldo Lonobile (SECRET SPHERE, TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON, ARCHON ANGEL) who also took over production duties on the album – deliver a decent setting tone of what to expect from Relentless just as much as has been expected on some of QUEENSRŸCHE’s most notable work: Built-up anthemic choruses, powerful and crisp dual guitar riffs and Tate’s unmistakeably dynamic soaring vocals and sinister-sounding spoken word intros. The momentum keeps at a steady pace on follow-up tracks such as on the album’s two catchy singles “Strong Pressure” and “Another Change”. “Anybody Out There?” could both lyrically and rhythmically very well be the distant cousin of Empire’s “Another Rainy Night (Without You)” in parts, but still provides its own individual groove. And while the hyperdynamic-sounding “Remember Me” and the lyrically emboldening “Wake Up Call” also harken back to the late 90’s RŸCHE sound, they’re not as successful in fully standing out individually in terms of tone and rhythm, occasionally blending into each other in parts.
Going beyond feeling the need to further push musical boundaries out of the sake of demand, SWEET OBLIVION and Geoff Tate have crafted their follow-up effort Relentless moreso to challenge and satify themselves against a music mainstream shunning the trappings of excess nostalgia while continuously scrambling to keep up with itself – and succeeding amongst themselves and their audiences both young and old. Why, I’d even have suggested the name of the album to be edited as Repentless if that hadn’t already been taken either….
4.5 Out Of 5.0
https://www.facebook.com/SweetOblivionGeoffTate
| |||||
|
Recent Reviews |
![]() |
![]() |