Detailed Reviews [Alberto Rigoni - 2014 - "Overloaded"]

Prolusion. Italian composer and bassist Alberto RIGONI has an established career as a band musician in ventures such as TwinSpirits and Lady & The Bass, and as a live musician for other established artists. In addition, he has established a solo career, which so far has seen him release four full-length albums. "Overloaded" is the latest of those, and was self-released in 2014, but through the use of the Any And All Records project: A venture put up so that any artists releasing their own material could point towards a record label affiliation.

Analysis. Alberto Rigoni has a background from and more than a certain affection for progressive metal, and this latest solo album from him documents that rather firmly. Not that this is a progressive metal recording through and through, but the greater part of the album does explore that style. Rigoni's take on it is fairly traditional, with dark toned majestic riff constructions, paired off with elegant guitar solo and keyboard runs, alternating, standalone riff-based sequences with and without melodic overlays, and with solid and sophisticated drum patterns in support. His bass guitar is given a bit more room to shine, as expected, and he's no stranger to include some gentler, atmospheric passages either. Among the metal-oriented compositions the only one that deviates ever so slightly from this approach is the piece Liberation towards the end, a more uplifting creation in terms of mood, with a bit more of a hard rock feel to it, and a creation closer to early Joe Satriani than to progressive metal in terms of sound and approach, at least to my ears. There are compositions at hand that also take on rather different sounding material, and the highlight among them is third track Chron. A dark, warm and flowing affair, creating and exploring landscapes more unnerving and eerie, with vintage organ, keyboards and bass combining in various ominous, majestic and at times twisted manners, with a few jazz-tinged details thrown in here and there. The aptly named Floating Capsule also merits a mention, a more careful and melancholic affair, gentle and flowing, with a longing atmosphere and a delicate but haunting keyboard solo, added towards the end. Again with some instrument details that indicate a certain affection for jazz appearing here and there. It is a well made and suitably engaging ride throughout, although the concluding piece Glory of Life, described as a bonus track on the CD itself, doesn't quite manage to engage on the same level as the eighth tracks that make up the album proper, according to the artist.

Conclusion. While Alberto Rigoni does explore a small handful of styles on this CD, it is dominated by his take on instrumental progressive metal, which he does in an engaging and traditional manner, although perhaps with a bit more emphasis on the bass guitar than some others. Those who tend to enjoy albums dominated by this type of music should most likely find Rigoni's take on it to be worth a listen, alongside those who tend to enjoy instrumental albums with hard rock and metal as the dominant styles in general.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: November 6, 2015
The Rating Room