Mindflower - Mindfloater


Year of Release: 2001
Label: Mellow Records
Catalog Number: MMP 383
Format: CD
Total Time: 51:23:00

From the opener "The Neverending Meal" onwards it is obvious that the vocals will certainly not be the highlight on this album. Coming across as a poor man's Pink Floyd this song is of a mediocre calibre and not the kind of "in your face" song one would associate with an opening track. Also the following song "High Meanings" follows a rather predictable course. Whilst the musical contents of "A Bridge Beyond The Hill" are more promising, sadly the uncertain female vocals of one Micaela Gotelli add a fair amount of naivity to the otherwise entertaining and competent song. Especially the drums do a great job here, resulting in an alternative version of Hawkwind. The acoustic guitar at the end of "Mindflow" adds a true medieval feel to the very diverse music. That same acoustic approach continues during the fragile first part of "Magic Riddles Suite" whose guitar lines sound very similar to the ones in the Genesis classic "Cinema Show." The combination of guitar and piano really works well, delivering a fairytale kind of song where one would expect a real cello to turn up. As a matter of fact "Magic Riddles Suite" consists of five individual pieces segued into one, each delivering its own style. "Before The Walklight" is a little instrumental which, as the title suggests, introduces the actual song "Walklight." The album closes with the rather repetitive "In A Lightbox" which sadly drives on the weak vocals of Micaela Gotelli once again although the strings in the background really fit in well with the rest of the arrangement. All in all not such a bad album, but certainly the kind of disc which illustrates the weaknesses of the band. Weaknesses that in turn give these guys the perfect food for growth so that we can look forward to a possible next album. Yet, although I do like a fair share of diversification, I wouldn't mind for that album to be more consistent next time around.


Tracklisting:
The Neverending Meal (4:43) / High Meanings (3;23) / A Bridge Beyond The Hill (5:31) / Mindflow (2:20) / Magic Riddles Suite: Riddle I 'Arnold Strawbed' (6:21) - Riddle II 'Meaning's Flow' (1:11) - Riddle III 'Magic Gates' (3:13) - Riddle IV 'Breathing Gentle Flows' (3:49) - Riddle V 'Forgotten Realms Beyond The Hill' (4:37) / Before The Walklight (2:02) / Walklight (3:52) / Mindfloater (2:23) / The Bridge Beyond The Hill (2:21) / In A Lightbox (5:31)

Musicians:
Fabio Antonelli - guitar
Fabrizio Defacqz - keyboards, vocals
Alberto Callegari - bass

Guests:

Corrado Bertonazzi - drums
Micaela Gotelli - vocals

Discography:
Purelake (1996)
Fabio Antonelli Ensemble - The Art Of Dreams In A Little Bottle (1998)
Mindfloater (2001)
Little Enchanted Void (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin IT

Added: July 16th 2002
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.mindflower.it
Hits: 1829
Language: english

  

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