Way back in 2013 Marco De Angelis released an album called The River: Both Sides of the Story and while I enjoyed that release I have to say up front his new album, Next Station is way better. There I said it. Italian multi-instrumentalist De Angelis has the assistance this time from Nad Sylvan (Steve Hackett Band), Robbie Wyckoff (Roger Waters Band), Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen) all of which goes to making Next Station a very satisfying symphonic influenced prog album. At just under an hour, there are six compositions here, two of which come in close to fifteen minutes each and the first thing I noticed is that these tunes have a lot more going on within them. They start one way, feature long introductions, twist and turn musically along the way with ever present musical change ups and ever shifting dynamics. The tone remains very Pink Floyd and RPWL styled although Sylvan’s vocals really put De Angelis’ compositions in a category all his own. You have the mixing of the styles that creates a unique approach that hints of familiarity. At times Nad’s voice reminded me of his work in the band Unifaun which I really liked. Every time I listened to this album I found myself smiling repeatedly at different points, listening to so many satisfying musical triggers. To my mind De Angelis really has a gift for composing and constructing modern symphonic prog that appeals to my ear. He hits all the right notes as these six compositions display everything I like about the genre, mixing acoustic and electric, rock and symphonics and everything else. Need I say more? This is an unexpectedly stellar follow-up and I highly recommend you check out Next Station. It’s a winner. Jerry Lucky review: |