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Rating: In 1998, the epic journey of Edge Of Sanity had come to an end, leaving behind undisputed and unrivaled masterpieces of death metal such as "Purgatory Afterglow" and "Crimson", but a legend like Dan Swano certainly couldn't stay idle for too long; it would have been an unforgivable crime. And here he is, after the first two albums with Nightingale, releasing his first and, alas, for now, only solo work.
He who does it alone does it for three. This is surely what the imaginative former EOS leader thought when he embarked on creating "Moontower": everything, from the guitars, keyboards, drums, vocals, to the lyrics, was conceived and executed by him alone, which already speaks volumes about the caliber of the person we're talking about. Finally free from all sorts of constraints, Dan can at last bring forth his purely progressive streak that he couldn't fully showcase with EOS. In the 8 tracks of the album, one can appreciate his love for the 70s prog-rock sounds, all accompanied by his unmistakable growl.
The opening track, "Sun Of The Night", immediately immerses us in a visionary and ethereal world with its twisted, psychedelic keyboards and driving, yet never misplaced, guitars. The following two, "Patchworks" and "Uncreation", do nothing but intensify this with complex and almost elusive melodies, capable of moving even a granite statue. It continues with "Add Reality", where good Dan displays his entire vocal repertoire, ranging from a furious growl to a clean vocal that exudes sweetness, which, speaking of a Swedish guy two meters tall and weighing ninety kilos, might sound rather bizarre, but that's exactly how it is. We've reached the halfway point of the work, but the peak is still yet to come. "Creating Illusions" and "The Big Sleep" remain at good levels, though inferior to the previous songs; however, the refinement and variety of the melodies make any deficiencies forgettable. And here we are at "Encounterparts", which makes us realize that until now Dan had only been joking: a six-minute instrumental track that, in terms of mental insanity, would deserve an essay by Sigmund Freud, clearly a tribute to three Canadians who, in terms of madness, certainly have nothing to learn from anyone... In my opinion, the album should have stopped here; I personally find the last piece, "In Empty Phrases", a bit forced, but still consider it a worthy closure.
An undoubtedly beautiful and original album, the product of an eclectic mind open to new experiments. Listening to what someone like Dan Swano can offer, I’d be tempted to preserve him in crimson liquid for the benefit of future generations (if you don't understand what I'm talking about, read the lyrics of "Crimson").
P.S. this is my first review, any observations and criticism are welcome, as long as they are constructive.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Uncreation (05:40)
A tale forgotten long ago brought to life again
Ancient wisdom ancient lies
Horrid lullabies for the earth
Time will turn my prophecies into reality and it will lead the world astray
Death found the remedy for its enemy
Ifs too late the seize the day
Time and my malicious spells live In harmony
They await the hour set
Rapture of all that Is alive
The reaper will arrive to invert the hour glass
Oh uncreation
The evolution in reverse
Oh uncreation
The death of universe
His reflections on the end still unknown to man
Dark predictions dark cliches in this recital of doom
The world is aging backwards
The young remains the young
We all know tomorrow will be yesterday reborn
The time and space deserted will hold no life for man
We face these final hours to be buried in the past
Something Is wrong with the sky tonight
The clouds are darker than ever before
There is unrest in the stars alight
As if they warned me for the distant roar
The sun is descending
Nevermore to shine
Light is lost forever
We are the last in line
04 Add Reality (06:16)
Time is ever-changing I will never have it back
Sometimes I had wondered if the best was yet to come
I can't deny it there are moments I regret
So much I'd do different if I could do it all again
I lost the world and I didn't find it until you found me
Gone but it came back in the wake of your smile
Now I am stronger growing the soul of a man
And I know my heart will never be alone again
I've got a life and nothing will make it go away
I guess we glorified the world around us as we went along the way
One day reality was all there ever was
I ate and drank your beauty and breathed the air you had breathed
Then came the autumn and the winter like before
Dreamland turned to realland and we faced a new frontier
We lost the world
Sometimes we hold it but it's slipping away
When we add reality it doesn't taste like our dream
Then there's too much sour too much salt in our world
There's too many cooks to decide what two lovers shall eat
We're not alone
I know you know what I mean with these words now don't you
We're siamese children related by heart
And nothing can tear us apart
When we share the silence she knows what I'm saying
Words though unspoken are changing heart
Two-thousand days have now passed since
I met you and of so many only four-hundred alone
only four-hundred alone
Then we were joined by a fusion of my eyes and the face of an angel
It reminds me of her
With you around all the day are worth living and when we add reality now we're
still standing strong
05 Creating Illusions (04:12)
You create a hell for the ones to buy your illusion
You design a spell that you cast upon the forsaken
Hortative
You engender temptation
Re-create
Invent the latest sensation
Procreate
Produce the perfect delusion
Your god is digital
You erase the deviations
Adding beauty to the frail
Dreams contrived upon a drawing-table set the pace of the vain
Trust the vagaries of fashion
Do what an the others do
Total loss of independence
You've always wishing you were someone else
You behold your victims inane
Opinions cast aside
And when they try to change
And try to find their native demeanor
They are frozen out. precluded from the coven from the mass of fools
There's a message and receivers who will see it as a rule
There's an image made to covet
Global mass-manipulation complete
High-technology will cover all the errors in the way
Can't you see that you deflower and deform the generations to come
I will have to confess
The music you listen to now
Is pretty damn far from the truth
In league with machines
That help me to play all of the harmonies born in my head
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