Ah, the best-laid plans of mice, men and trolls, huh? It's been a year and a bit since I first announced this section, and here I am only now getting it underway. Probably a lesson not to trumpet things before I know when I'm going to be able to actually write them! Not that I'll learn from it, but sure what's the harm? Anyway, here we go, a year later than planned --- about par for my journal, I think you'll agree...
Why do some bands just not make it? I guess there could be many reasons, apart from the obvious, that they were no good. Maybe it's lack of support from the label, maybe internal divisions within the band, or a sense of disillusion if your first record doesn't do well. Could be a lot of things I suppose. The upshot however is that we can often be left, with one seriously good album and the gnawing, frustrating realisation that there will be no more. I've certainly known a few bands who have released a pretty stunning debut and then disappeared without a trace. It's like watching one season of a great TV show then finding out it was cancelled or that they just didn't make any more. There's a feeling of an opportunity lost, the possibility that we might have been bearing witness to something truly great, but that for whatever reason, it's not going to be. Some debuts that go no further are of course rightly consigned to the trashcan of history, while there are others who are still making albums who should maybe have stopped a long time ago. So where do you find the middle ground? If most artistes that debut then go no further are deservedly dumped, what jewels is it possible to pick out of the general slush heap?
Tears in floods --- Odyssea --- 2004 (Scarlet)
How about this one, from Italy's Odyssea, who only recorded the one (excellent) album before breaking up. This is without question a band who should have been encouraged to have built on the success of their debut --- I don't know if it was successful commercially, I'm talking about the quality of the music, the writing, the musicianship --- but as this came out nine years ago now I think we can say with sad certainty that they are not likely to come back with another album. I suppose it's possible, but rather improbable. Which is a real pity, as this is a stormer of a first attempt.
A short instrumental gets us going, with nice Floyd-style effects and some lovely, lush keyboard work --- not credited, unfortunately --- then the album explodes with “Fly”, featuring Labyrinth's Roberto Tiranti on vocals. It's a power metal stormer, thundering along on freight train drumming courtesy of Chris Paresi, great guitar attack from Pier Gonella, and an excellent hook that takes the song right into your brain where it refuses to leave. I really wish I knew who was playing those keys, as they really add an extra dimension to the music! Some great shredding from Gonella though.
Tiranti heads off back to Labyrinth, leaving his bandmate, guitarist Gonella, to carry on and regular vocalist and frontman Carlo Firaci takes over for the rest of the album, starting with the blistering “The king”, which keeps up the pressure, rocketing along with again those uncredited keyboards looming large in the background, and an impressive midsection instrumental really makes the song. Faraci's vocals are certainly different to those of Tiranti, but his voice definitely suits the music his band makes.
The standout of the album for me is “Falling star”, opening on a very heavy synth line with backing tracks, then Gonella's guitar joins the melody as the synth gets more spacey, and the song becomes a real anthem as Faraci sings his heart out, the hook in this almost heavy, heavy AOR: you could imagine hearing this on the radio no problem. Course, it never happened, but that's another story. The moody, almost blues-like verse contrasts sharply with the heavy rock choruses, Faraci sometimes sounding like Bernhard Weib from Axxis. He can certainly hit the high notes, of that there's no doubt. There's a great sense of power and also of drama about this song, and the unknown keyboard player really gets into his (or her) stride here, adding in Vangelis-like flourishes that really flesh out the song.
“Burning time” ramps up the speed, a real thrashfest as it rocks along, driven on Paresi's shock-and-awe drumming, while Gonella shred away to beat the band. Slowing everything down, “Try again” is an acoustic ballad on which Faraci really gets to stretch his vocal muscles, while Gonella proves he is just as capable of being quiet and restrained on the guitar as he is of kicking up a storm. Again, the keyboards add a real sense of atmosphere to the song, and as a ballad it may not be perfect but it's pretty good. Things get going again with “Angel cries”, then the title track is actually broken into two parts, part 1 being titled “El ultimo canto” (which my limited Italian tells me is “the last song”) and is a powerful instrumental with a lot of dramatic elements, into part 2, “Miserable man”, much faster and harder --- and longer --- with a lot more input from the anonymous keyboard guy. In fact, keyboard really drives this track, which unlike part 1 is not instrumental.
“Apocalypse, part 1”
is however, and very short too, mostly fiddling around on the synth, then the album closes on “Creatures”, another fast and heavy rocker, very guitar-driven. A great melody with a wonderful hook and some excellent and effective backing vocals to finish a really good album.
It really is surprising, as I said at the start, to see that this band only released the one album and then split up. Perhaps due to Pier Gonella's time being taken up by his work in Labyrinth, I don't know. Maybe this was a side project for him. Either way, it turned out some really good music and it's really a pity that we won't hear anymore from Odyssea.
TRACKLISTING
1. Intro
2. Fly
3. The king
4. Falling star
5. Burning time
6. Try again
7. Angel cries
8. Tears in floods Part I: El ultimo canto
9. Tears in floods Part II: Miserable man
10. Apocalypse Part I
11. Creatures