Time Machine - Evil (Liber Primus)


Year of Release: 2001
Label: Lucretia Records
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 43:48:00

Time Machine is an Italian band who have been around since the early nineties and even though their discography lists some eight releases (not including this one) there are only two full length albums amongst those, while the rest are two to five track EPs. The new edition, titled Evil (Liber Primus), is like Time Machine's other releases, a conceptual album and we can guess from the title that it is about the battles between the forces of good and evil. Once again, there is a religious angle to this story where God reincarnates Nicholas Eymerich, an Inquisitor from the 14th Century (the author of the basic handbook for Inquisitors) to rid this world from all evil.

The story is well told and the music is projected very passionately (one of Time Machine's trade marks) whilst at the same time Evil is showing a heavier side of Time Machine, but his could be due to the addition of a second guitarist to the line-up with Gianluca Ferro. He also co-wrote the album together with the founding members Lorenzo Dehò (bass and keyboards) and Joe Taccone (guitar). It took me a couple of songs to realise that there is a new frontman with Pino Tozzi whose voice is incredibly similar to Eternity Ends' Nick Fortarezza's. Last, but not least, is new drummer Claudio Riotti.

As mentioned earlier the album is heavier and has lots of classical, symphonic elements worked into the songs with the help of (guest musician) Roberto Gramegna, who played some keyboards and received credits for the orchestrations, but overall Time Machine has not made any overly dramatic changes to a very accessible and original song-recipe. Eddy Antonnini (Skylark) played piano on "Eyes Of Fire" and a vocal goddess with the name of Melody Castellari provided her heavenly voice of the female kind on some of the songs.

Lorenzo Dehò produced a big and open sounding album with enough detail and separation to the instruments to make for easy listening, even when the songs get busy. He had his hands in just about every other Time Machine production to date including the side project Khali. Personally, I love Time Machine and the way they tell a story in music and words and Evil is, musically speaking, their best effort to date with only the subject of the concept makes me wonder... Inquisition and evil, which one would be the worse?

[This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Gerona / Where's My Heaven? / Army Of The Dead / Eyes Of Fire / Ecclesia Spiritualis / Neghentropia / Evil Lies / Angel Of Death / Hailing Souls / Silent Bells

Musicians:
Lorenzo Deh? - bass, keyboards Joe Taccone - guitars Gianluca Ferro - guitars Claudio Riotti - drums Pino Tozzi - vocals

Guests:

Roberto Gramegna - keyboards, orchestrations
Eddy Antonnini - piano (4)
Melody Castellari - vocals

Discography:
Project: Time Scanning (1993)
Dungeons of the Vatican (1994) (Japanese ep)
Act II: Galileo (1995)
Shades Of Time (ep) (1997)
Secret Oceans Part I (ep) (1998)
Eternity Ends (1998)
Secret Oceans Part 2 (ep) (1998)
Hidden Secrets (2000)
Aliger Daemon (ep) (2001)
Evil (Liber Primus) (2001)
Reviviscence (2004)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin IT

Added: January 31st 2005
Reviewer: Peter Fundeis
Score:
Artist website: www.timemachine.cjb.net
Hits: 2618
Language: english

  

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