Runaway Totem
Multiversal Matter

New album for Runaway Totem, a historic name in the Italian prog scene (they were born in 1988 in Riva del Garda). Unlike many local bands that were inspired by the usual Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, and ELP, Runaway Totem had the great Magma as their model. Since the time of “Trimegisto” in 1993, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and today their musical proposal, still unorthodox, marked by contamination and with “zeuhl” elements, is perhaps more psychedelic. The new album, titled “Multiversal Matter”, is a “concept” centered on a sort of esoteric journey through the states of matter of multiple universes. I must admit that when, in the first dazzling track “Dark Matter”, I stumbled upon the Guardian of the Threshold, my mind immediately went to H.P. Lovecraft! That was exactly the title of a story he wrote in collaboration with August Derleth. But even the general atmosphere tends towards darkness and shadows, unfolding cosmic “Lovecraftian” scenarios. The highlight of the album is precisely the aforementioned lengthy (nearly 30 minutes) “Dark Matter”. It begins atmospherically and fluidly in the style of Tangerine Dream of “Alpha Centauri” then the voice of RE-TUZ (Raffaello Regoli) leads us by the hand to the Guardian of the Threshold, and the silver key is also mentioned (here's another reminiscence of a Lovecraft story, “The Silver Key”). The music approaches electronic territories with effective percussion accompanying the vocals. Everything sounds very meditative and mystical: as usual, there are moments reminiscent of Magma. In the second part, CAHAL DE BETEL's (Roberto Gottardi) guitar plays a major role: perhaps he's not a great virtuoso, but he can nevertheless extract very striking psychedelic effects from his guitar. We are in the presence of a very ambitious track, though perhaps too stretched out. After the brief “Le scale oscure” with the voice of RE-TUZ honoring the great Demetrio Stratos, the following “Korath Matter” sounds very “hippie” and 70s. The title track begins in the typical Zeuhl style of Magma, but then the music becomes sacred and gothic with a prominently featured church-like organ. In “Paesazione sonora” we are once again in the presence of Demetrio Stratos' experiments. The concluding “Universo di sfere” is very meditative, cosmic, and close to ambient music: it has the same intensity as some albums by Steve Roach (“The Magnificent Void”), though in the second part, we find acoustic guitar and the music becomes more rhythmic and chaotic. Ultimately, we are dealing with a good album, perhaps a bit too long and fragmented. But those who are followers of Runaway Totem will surely appreciate this “Multiversal Matter” as well.