Emiliano Sicilia

'Devotion Materialize'

 (Horus Music)













MARK: 88/100



 
I confess it, the first time I put this record on I found it repulsive and badly conceived, but already from the second listen I radically changed my mind. The reason is that we are really in front of a bizarre record, based on strong contrasts and catchy structures at the same time, all on a continuous evolution by mastermind and guitar hero Emiliano Sicilia (all guitars, programming and backing vocals), a debutee certainly destined to stay long in the scene, who has availed himself of several guests.

Seven long tracks, most of which instrumental, that won't end stupefying you in the years to come, ever!
Opened by a chainsaw noise, "Cyber Room" is an instrumental composed of Metal, hot solos, beats and samples galore, sometimes inserted between symphonic structures.
He calls his style Industrial Horror Rock Metal played by a guitar God and the definition centres the point but still isn't enough. Take a song like "Splatter on A Bluegrass" (what a great title, by the way), opened by a superb piercing Malmsteenian axe solo, followed by Flamenco guitar lines, female vocals and growls by Relaypse's Cristiano Re at the same time; there is actually lots of Bluegrass later together with Elvis-influenced vocals and Electro beats; the track also includes a few parts reminding the latest Electrocution. As you can see, there are several facades within this song, nevertheless I doubt somebody out of Techno, EBM and danceable music in general might appreciate it and understand it, definitely not the typical metalhead. I find it amusing and pleasant to listen to between a Metal platter and another, anyway.
Another instrumental, "Neurosaloon", sees no guest credits and is once again EBM meets Metal, this time mostly happy and dynamic.
One of the two masterpieces of the record, the disturbing "The New Reality" is a suite of ten minutes unmissable for fans of Strapping Young Lad, White Zombie, Painkiller and Naked City; you will encounter free Jazz, Techno, Classica parts and of course a lot of Industrial and Extreme Metal reminescent of Nailbomb; as if it weren't enough there are also funeral trumpets, hallucinated vocals, barks, distortions, samples and marvellous keyboard parts added to the piano notes, halfway between Classica and Chill-out music. This time the demonic vocals by Re start a fight with the scream by Pier Paolo Balice (Lawbreakers' vocalist) and the main vocals by main keyboardist Danilo Di Lorenzo. The closure of the song is a strike of genius with refined guitar licks. Amazing stuff, this time suitable for Metal minds as well.
The sonic melange after the bucolic intro of "The Green Mirror" seems as an evolved version by T-Ride, owing to the way Metal, Techno and Dancefloor have been mixed; needless to say effects and noises are countless here too, but the surprise comes from a few cool bass lines that are absent in the remaining songs, church-like acoustic guitar lines and some space guitar strokes sounding as a tribute to the early Pink Floyd.
The last sung composition is "3,000 Zombies", opened by sideral keyboards, soon becoming a sort of remix of Fear Factory and Berzerker, interrupted by melodic Rock alà Boston and 20's cabaret music, yet both with Re's growls in the background (!). Sick, alienated and mind-choking, I love this shit.
The closure "Thermodynamic Hypothesis" perfectly mirrors its title, rife with obscure sounds, dissonances, Death Metal, yet it also leaves some place for Funky Metal sustained by liquid programming, followed by a cascade of solos by the leader giving name to his own crazy project.

The references are many but luckily well-arranged almost all the time, allowing the songs to avoid the despisable impression of an abrupt passage from a radio station to another. This means Emiliano is not only a virtuoso on his seven-string tool, but also a clever DJ and manipulator of samples and effects. Mad, unreal, alarming, ultramodern and inspired, these seven tracks will give you a taste of the next 30 years music, hybrid, contrasting and still catchy enough. Only for very open-minded listeners.

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 2nd April 2007





Line-up on this record:
Emiliano Sicilia, g., programming, backing v.
5 guest artists



Contacts:
E-mail: emiliano_sicilia@hotmail.com
Official sites: www.emilianosicilia.com
http://www.myspace.com/emilianosicilia



Demo-/Disco-graphy:
Cyber Room (promo - 2005)
The NewReality (promo - 2005)
Devotion Materialize, CD -2006