Subsignal
Paraiso

I don't feel presumptuous in claiming to be probably the greatest admirer of Subsignal in Italy. Of course! Because while they're quite successful in their Germany, here in Italy, where prog usually takes root well, very few people pay attention to them, and it's no surprise that at their Bologna show a few years ago (when the band had only one album) there were only 8 (EIGHT) people present! And anyway, so far, I'm the only one on this site to have defined and reviewed them!

I have been interested in them since the beginning, when vocalist Arno Menses and guitarist Markus Steffen formed this new band after conflicts with the Holzwarth brothers led to the dissolution of Sieges Even, a band always rather underestimated but already considered more important being among the pioneers of progressive metal. As a lover of the incredible melodies of the historic group's last two albums, I immediately jumped in to discover this new band relying on what I believe to be one of the best guitar-vocal pairings I have ever heard. I appreciated them from the start, coming to consider them the band representing the future of melodic prog!

Very satisfied, as was inevitable, with the first two albums, I awaited this third work with anticipation but at the same time sure that it would be an excellent record, precisely because of their incredible melodic power (allow me the oxymoron). The response is that Subsignal do not disappoint expectations and with "Paraiso" they continue to shine especially in melody.

If the previous album marked a shift towards a sound richer in metal elements, here instead they return to focus more than ever on melody. Maximum power therefore to the deep melodic lines of the guitar and Menses' always intense voice, but the heavier turns are not lacking. What is a bit disappointing, however, is the fact that on this record they dare less compared to the first two albums. The impression is that in the previous albums the keyboards were often the protagonists of brilliant solutions that seriously refreshed the prog scene of the moment, whereas here this happens less often. Interesting sounds can essentially be found in the powerful title track or in the splendid "The Stillness Beneath The Snow," which also represents one of the melodic peaks of the album. For the rest, the keyboards simply perform an important and commendable accompaniment work: with those delicate piano passages, those elegant backdrops, and those string inserts, they provide a valid support to Steffen's guitar.

The track with the most varied influences and hence the most interesting is "A New Reliance," which offers moderately hard guitars, as usual brilliant melodies, interesting synth inserts and even reggae inserts and a section with Caribbean/Cuban influences that will surely surprise the listener. Also noteworthy are the flamenco-style guitar incursions that Steffen sporadically inserts into the tracks, something he already did in Sieges Even. Not surprisingly, after his first split from Sieges Even, he wrote a guide to classical guitar.

However, from a purely melodic standpoint, the best-set tracks - in addition to the already mentioned "The Stillness Beneath The Snow" - are "A Heartbeat Away," "A Long Way Since The Earth Crashed," and the cold and sublime "The Blueprint of a Winter" featuring the beautiful Mexican singer Marcela Bovio - known for her participation in Ayreon's "The Human Equation" - who with her delicate and high voice offers an essential emotional contribution to what proves to be a soundtrack perfectly suited to the cold and clear winter sunny days.

So we have in front of us an album with truly impeccable melodies, inferior to the first two albums in terms of ideas and interesting cues but in any case highly recommended to those who love the essentially melodic and less technical side of prog. Among the albums that will come to mind when thinking back to 2013... "Paraiso" is there!