Label: Frontiers Music Srl.
Release date: January 21, 2022
Production: Alessandro Del Vecchio
Album length: 47.18 min
Genre: Hard Rock / Melodic Metal
Rating: 8.5/10
Edge of Forever, the Italian ultra-melodic hard rockers who keep deftly, almost imperceptibly, stepping over the supposed borderline into metal, are back with their fifth studio album, »Seminole«, a good two years after its predecessor »Native Soul«. Back to where, you ask? To the Native Americans.
After two new members joined, guitarist Aldo Lonobile (Secret Sphere, Archon Angel) and drummer Marco di Salvia (Hardline), the band was reborn on »Native Soul«. With »Seminole« they keep mixing optimistic messages, hook-heavy anthemic melodies, punchy phrasing and technically flawless execution, still inspired by the depth and spirituality of Native American culture and wrapped in a gripping production job by the band’s boss, Alessandro Del Vecchio.
Alessandro Del Vecchio is considered one of the busiest and most tirelessly hardworking musicians on the Frontiers Music Srl. roster. Without him, all those projects the label’s top brass keep dreaming up would be seriously questionable in terms of getting done, and of course in terms of the quality and credibility that this exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer and, when needed, lead singer guarantees. When something isn’t clicking, Del Vecchio shows up and puts things exactly where they belong. Sometimes it seems like this guy does three quarters of the whole label’s work and holds up at least three of the four pillars the house stands on.
Clearly, the arrival of Aldo Lonobile (alongside Del Vecchio’s Hardline sidekick and drummer Nik Mazzucconi) gave Del Vecchio that missing cog, and the band’s creativity now translates into a major jump in quality compared to the first three studio albums. Lonobile is a monster of guitar technique, so it’s no surprise that his Secret Sphere like to dip into progressive metal elements every now and then. In a little over two years, Del Vecchio has once again pulled together an incredible amount of great material, and just like on the predecessor »Native Soul«, it’s propped up by yet another equally incredible guitar performance from Aldo Lonobile.
The album isn’t overly long, which is a very good thing. Del Vecchio also shines here as a vocalist who has matured enormously. His vocal delivery is easily the most mature to date. Then again, the man is incredibly seasoned and experienced, with every trick in the book up his sleeve, so he hardly ever slips up. Not in the songwriting, not in the performance, not in the production. The band stays in the realm of ultra-musical catchiness the whole way through, deftly ‘tiptoeing’ along the invisible thin line between hard rock and metal. Now and then the elements drift into ‘softer’ territory, as on the AOR-flavored Shift The Paradigm, where you can tell Del Vecchio learned his songwriting craft partly by studying the life and work of the legendary Journey. The album opener Get Up On Your Feet Again, on the other hand, thunders in with a heavier metal swing. After that, the arrangement choices in The Other Side Of Pain bring to mind Black Sabbath in the era of »Headless Cross« and »Tyr«. The album’s peak is the closing epic suite Seminole, split into four parts and especially reminiscent of old-school hard rock. In this wildly dynamic track, which has a progressive streak too, you can really feel the inspiration from Uriah Heep, Kansas, Deep Purple and Rainbow. Uriah Heep most of all. The listener gets there a little earlier on the album, with the more than eight-minute Wrong Dimension, which is a sort of ‘upside-down’ version of Rainbow’s Stargazer. A great track with an explosive chorus that raises the hairs on your neck, but those things were done once upon a time, long, long ago. Either way, Aldo Lonobile tips the scales in a big way, with his solos almost stealing the show on this album. His voice on the instrument is distinctive, which is very welcome, since it steers the songs firmly away from any uncomfortable whiff of clichés or generic sound.
»Seminole« is easily the most mature release from Edge Of Forever to date, on every level. The band has kept up the phenomenal form they showed when they refreshed the lineup on the more-than-solid predecessor »Native Soul« a good two years earlier. On »Seminole«, Edge Of Forever are even tighter and more convincing in realizing their musical vision. Like I said. The Del Vecchio–Lonobile partnership is a bullseye, and Edge Of Forever surely still have more to say.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Get Up Your Feet Again
2. On The Other Side Of Pain
3. Made It Through
4. Shift The Paradigm
5. Another Salvation
6. Breath Of Life
7. Wrong Dimension
8. Our Battle Rages On
9. Seminole Pt.1 In The Land Of The Seminole
10. Seminole Pt.2 Mistake Reality
11. Seminole Pt.3 Rewrite The Story
12. Seminole Pt.4 The End’s Starting To Begin
Lineup:
Alessandro Del Vecchio – vocals, keyboards
Aldo Lonobile – guitar
Nik Mazzucconi – bass
Marco di Salvia – drums
