When I think of Italy, I think for instance of great food, fine wine and beautiful women. And soccer, but that is another story. Besides these earthly pleasures, a lot of great music is coming from there as well. And all of the above is fuelled by that undeniable passion. Passion is also the keyword for the Visions From Realities release from Active Heed. All music and lyrics were written by Umberto Pagnini, but he is not credited for actually playing. For that he participated with Lorenzo Poli (arrangements, bass, guitars, keyboards and special effects), Alberto Callegari (engineering, mixing and mastering), Pellek (vocals) and Giovanni Giorgi (drums). Additional vocals were provided by Marit Borresen and Mark Colton.
But no matter what, it is the passion that really shines through, in the best possible Italian tradition. Some may find the vocal delivery of Pellek a bit theatrical, but I feel he succeeds in connecting with my musical ears with great ease. The music is more symphonic than progressive, so thankfully it is far more melodic than technical. Which is not saying there is nothing happening. But all is put into 15 relatively short songs (ranging between 1:33 – 5:49) and I think this has massive appeal and warmth. But I guess you already figured that out. Besides the musical quality, for an independent release this sounds great and the digipack is up to the same level as well. So please support this so we can expect more in the future!
