Kev Rowland If ever there was a band that doesn’t like to rush things, Italian proggers Adramelch has to be it. Their debut came out in 1988, but they split up soon afterwards. The lead singer Vittorio Ballerio and guitarist Gianluca A. Corona decided to create a new version of the band in 2004, primarily to record songs that they had written before the original split, and the follow-up ‘Broken History’ came out in 2005. So now, only seven years since the release of their second album (this came out in 2012 but I have only just come across it), and the same line-up from the last album have stuck around to record a third. These guys are coming towards prog from the areas of hard rock and metal, but also bringing in melodic rock as well. The result is an extremely well crafted and constructed album that is going to appeal to fans of many genres.

Imagine Savatage combining with Porcupine Tree, City Boy and Uriah Heep and you may just come close to what these guys are all about. Twin guitars and a very strong rhythm section (hats off to bassist Maurizio Lietti who provides some incredible runs when the mood requires it) means that this is an album that hits the spot on so many levels. It is easy to listen to and enjoy from the very first play, and the more attention it gets the more rewards it gives out. It has now got me wondering what the other albums are like, and just how long we may have to wait for the next one! Not for those who really want crunching riffs, as they certainly are no Threshold, but if well-crafted music is what you are after then look no further. www.adramelch.com

Time Signature Beyond a lifetime...

Genre: progressive hard rock

Coming from the left is the latest Adramelch album "Lights from Oblivion", which is really a kind of hybrid album in terms of style than an all out progressive metal album.

Featuring twangy guitars and plenty of inclinations from alternative rock, this album is more of a hard rock affair than a metal affair, but there definitely are metal traces in both the drumming and some of the riffage. Not content with the simplicities of straight up hard rock, Adramelch imbue their music with a considerable dose of progressiveness - some of which is inherited from progressive rock, and some of which is inherited from progressive metal.

Thus, some of the tracks on the album do come across as progressive metal light, such as my personal favorite 'Truth Lies' and a couple of others. While not all tracks on the album are equally interesting, one particularly positive features is the use of twin guitars aplenty, and the progressive approach definitely also prevents the album from being too samey.

The production is a bit strange, I think. The drums are quite prominent and have a very metallic sound to them, but the guitars are only weakly distorted and lack the explosive power to match up with the drums. I think that the music would come across much more compelling, had the guitars been less fuzzy and more distorted.

But in all, my impression of this album is definitely a positive one, and it might appeal to fans of prog rock, prog metal and hard rock alike.