'SHATTERED LINES' REVIEWS
(more still coming...)
If you consider a spectrum of styles
that runs from Porcupine Tree at one end to Karnivool at the other, then somewhere in between, you’ll
find Atto IV.
They are a pretty serious and intent looking group of four young Italian men
whose look and packaging reeks of ambition. On the strength of Shattered Lines,
why the hell not? This band definitely has something going on.
There is no end of exciting stuff here to get the blood pumping and the mind
engaged. Not an ounce of filler, every track is very well crafted.
This is multi-textured, ‘sedimentary’ rock.
Each piece moves organically from the sophisticated prog-metal of Redemption
through to the more contemporary and difficult to tag stylings of label-mates,
Sky Architect,
to the melodic and dynamic cartwheeling of Porcupine Tree with fantastic performances
sustained throughout. What they are not, as the press release would have us
believe,
is a contemporary incarnation of PFM or Banco del Mutuo Soccorso in any way,
apart from perhaps in the brilliant instrumental trilogy, The Voyager (especially
Deep Air).
This basks in the long shadows of their countrymen, but Atto IV should be considered
as an altogether new proposition.
The production is enormous and highly
polished. Valerio Rizzoti seems to be
a bit of an Italian Steve Wilson. He plays guitar, sings, wrote most of the
music and lyrics and co-produced the album with his band-mates.
It doesn’t however come over as some sort of vanity project for Sig.
Rizzoti. Just as Steve Wilson has done with Porcupine Tree, Rizzoti has surrounded
himself with a group of extremely talented and independently strong musicians.
They develop and support the compositional themes with their an impressive
array of craft, technique and skill that can shake the rafters, freeze your
soul, break your heart, or melt it and have your various limbs twitching and
bobbing in time.
In a more youthful time, this may have been termed dancing (loosely), but twitching
is as close an approximation my sedentary and steadily atrophying physiology
can muster these days.
Nevertheless, “a day without a twitch is a day wasted”, as the old saying goes. Atto IV provide the necessary means, and then some!
The fact that my air guitar, air bass, air drums and air keyboards were all
set up and vigorously employed is testimony to the fact that every facet of
the playing is given substance and space in the production.
The individual performances are exciting, accessible and dripping with the
kind of awe-inducing expertise that often had me shaking my head with incredulity
and delighted relish.
So, supporting Rizzotti in Atto IV’s second line-up phase are Nicolo
Columbo on bass, whose work is very similar in presence and tone to the brilliant
Colin Edwin’s, and this comparison is meant as praise indeed.
Perhaps the extremely impressive Dark Earth is where he is most noticeable
but that would be to diminish his consistently superb contribution to every
track.
Christian Moro’s keyboard work is very original and fundamental to the
overall sound, sometimes employing a brisk trance pulse, sometimes supporting
the riff with industrial-strength lead synths, but he is also understated;
ambient and atmospheric rather than Jordan Rudess obtrusive. Nevertheless,
he is not averse to ripping a blinding a solo or occasionally heightening the
drama of a song with bombastic string and brass orchestrations or a throbbing
Hammond.
There is subtlety, variety and a host of microdynamics suspended in the keyboard
mix and an all-round superb performance. The outstanding Ecce Homo is a bit
of a showcase for his versatility and talents as is the involving In Circle.
Rounding out the quartet is drummer, Francesco Fabris who is a commendable
find. Groove, complexity, solidity, intensity, excellent cymbal work and power
are all present in spades but he perhaps falls down a little in the musicality
and touch of his playing,
he’s about hitting the drums hard and often in interesting ways. However,
this is a mere quibble and I’m nit-picking for the sake of it, really.
Lyrically, Rizzotti is speaking from a dark and personally tormented space
where ash, fog and dulling numbness will provide company for the miserable.
He draws us into a context that has no clear explanation, we only know it is
a space filled with anguish,
regret and a certain amount of self-loathing. This beguiling imprecision is
a tad tiresome. I prefer a more open and honest libretto. Somewhere amidst
the studied paranoia and neurosis, there’s a utilitarian and convenient
language of introspection that doesn’t quite ring true.
This introversion is inverted in the music itself, which is expressive, driven,
forthright, hard, and heavy to the point of aggression on occasion, and yet
there is something sublime, ecstatic and inspired about it all.
Vocally, there is a chink in the armour, but it’s only a chink.
Rizzotti is not the best singer in the world, but he’s charismatic and
the melodies are full of personality which counteracts this weakness. They
also seem a little low in the mix to my ears, slightly uncertain as to whether
to share themselves fully.
Perhaps, but this is a fleeting criticism that does nothing to actually sever
one’s connection with the album as a whole. Melodically, you’ll
also hear some of Steve Wilson’s phrasing and even some vaguely recognisable
PT tunes
(most noticeably in A Second which is the single from the album available to
download for free from Atto IV’s website).
In spite of my own constant comparisons, any accusation of trend-hopping the
ever burgeoning popularity of the PT sound would be misleading and unfounded.
Atto IV are their own animal, another species along the evolutionary ladder
that begins with Porcupine Tree.
Shattered Lines will be altogether surprising and unexpected if you listen
to it imagining you are going to hear a PT clone.
Shattered Lines is bold, adventurous, and unafraid of taking a few risks.
I could go on and on in ever-increasing detail, there is so much to describe
and every track is different.
However, it would only serve to obscure my point, which is this:
if you are a fan of modern Progressive Rock and/or any of the above-mentioned
artists, buy this album, you’ll love it.
Atto IV are another superb addition to Galileo’s roster and I’m
delighted to have had the chance to review their work.
Conclusion: 8 out of 10
JON BRADSHAW
(www.dprp.net)
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This band from Italy is a quartet that, as a fan of prog, in any case should
be missed.
Atto IV was born in 2003, they released an EP and an album that led them to
support the Italian show of Tony Levin's world tour.
After having renewed the line-up, they return with a second album that sounds
very cool.
The Persistence of Memories sounds as if Porcupine Tree were allied
to a typical Italian prog band: the typical fusion of PT's atmospheres with melody and aggressive
riffs;
moments of classic inspiration with piano and
synth jabs, that often remind to PFM.
The next track, Bad Dreams, is truly energetic, à la Riverside.
The album proceeds with two longtracks divided in three parts, and one eight-minutes-track:
All is full of little surprises and compelling grooves,
and to whom continously and nicely alternate quiet passages, almost romantic
moments,
and explosions.
A very successful new start!
Vote: 8/10
W.P.
(Eclipsed Magazine – Germany)
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It is a pindaric and quantic leap in
intensity and scale, what Atto IV have made in the six years of separation from the
debut "A Parte".
Sung in English, for the creation of "Shattered lines" the quartet
- from the organic partially renovated - can always take advantage of the immense
talent of Valerio Rizzotti
vocals and guitarist with an elegant touch, and
author of 90% of this orgasmatic work of architecture, that brings Man closer
to the celestial sphere.
The result is a golden vellum down to posterity, in a blend that soaks fusion
gaits, jazz breaks, and an extensive bubbling dark vein,
in the trend of the
modern heavy-prog, that has never lacked eclecticism, nor force.
What's more, cyber-futuristic spirals alternate smoothness piano, just to further
enrich the palette.
The enormous technical skills of each member come to the symptomatic situation,
corroborating each other (i.e.: the breathtaking instrumental suite "The
Voyager"),
to unravel, weave, and go ingeniously through a long maze that seem a so malleable
foam;
so exciting that we were left stunned, exhausted, with rivulets of saliva
drooping from our lips.
Somewhere, suspended between Porcupine Tree, the Italian prog tradition fertilized
by the last decades,
Enchant, and the hidden source of wonders, shines the
destiny of Atto IV.
Vote: 8,5/10
Filippo Pagani
(Metalhammer - Italy)
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This disc starts out sounding like the latest prog-metal release but quickly
morphs into something much different.
Atto IV was formed in 2003 and after receiving great reviews from their live
appearances and first recording here they are with the second musical offering
entitled "Shattered Lines".
This quartet is made up of Valerio Rizzotti (guitars, vocals), Nicolo Colombo
(bass), Francesco Fabris (drums) and Christian Moro (keyboards).
As you listen to Shattered Lines, even though the guitars are significantly
heavier in tone you can’t help but hear the early prog influences of
bands such as PFM or Banco.
These influences have been absorbed quite well so that the sound emanating
from Atto IV is very much their own musical take on the classic Italian progressive
rock style.
"
Shattered Lines" features nine-tracks, many of which are in the seven
or eight-minute range. This allows for the band to really flex their musical
chops.
The music is certainly more aggressive that it might have been in the seventies,
but there’s no denying the classical or jazzy influences that pop up
from time to time.
On top of that the band can write some very engaging melodies such as in “Bad
Dreams” [8:01] which has a distinct Porcupine Tree flavor.
The guitar is the favoured instrument, however the keyboards show-up in classic
symphonic fashion, organ chops here or Mellotron styled stings there, mostly
for embellishment rather than the focus.
They really seem to come to the fore as the band weaves through the different
musical stylistic changes within each composition; and there are many of those.
This is music that is constantly changing and played with a complex approach.
Atto IV is not afraid to dig deep and bring all the notes to the surface.
This is certainly made clear with the three-part instrumental closure “The
Voyager” [15:27].
"Shattered Lines" is really one of those discs that will fool you if
you only listen to one track.
The depth and variety of their musical approach is best appreciated upon listening
to the whole disc.
Only then will you hear some of the more obscure Italian prog influences.
Fans of that style or those into Porcupine Tree styled contemporary prog take
note; Shattered Lines is a disc I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
Great stuff!
Jerry Lucky
(Progressive Rock Files - USA)