Echotime update

Echotime
Echotime

Featured as New Band of the Day on the 13th of November, I had little information on Echotime when I wrote the article. Well, the band have been in touch and told me a little more about themselves – and given me a copy of their album, Genuine, to listen to.

So, as a reminder, they are a prog band from Italy. The band is inspired and influenced by artists such as Dream Theater, Symphony XKamelot, Queen, Ronnie James Dio, Jorn Lande, Pain of Salvation, Circus Maximus and Winger. It tries to create a personal sound, contaminated by pop, rock, latin and funk styles, influenced by soundtracks from action and adventure movies, with a unique attention to arrangements and sounds.

With its music, strength, energy, the costumes used to perform and the catchy atmospheres, the band involves the audience and drags it to Echotime’s world!

Genuine is a concept album, and the story – very basically – is as follows. A chemist called Daniel discovers a molecule which he names “Genuine”. It has amazing properties if properly used, but the big bad rulers of Leadtown frown on just nice things and jail him.

A stranger called Emit suddenly appears in his cell and offers him a way out. Daniel accepts and is whisked away through space and time to see the city as it is now. Changed much for the worse by misuse of Genuine. However, Daniel has a chance to change all this…

The music on the album – all 18 tracks (plus one hidden extra!) of it – takes us through Daniel’s efforts to undo the damage done by his creation. True to their promise, the mixture of styles is present and used to good effect. This isn’t “widdly-widdly” prog that tries to create an atmosphere. This is the storytelling type which pushes constantly on with tracks which change pace and impetus depending on the twist in the tale we’ve reached.

Driving tracks like “The Choice” are balanced with the more epic-sounding such as “Echoes” and the slower, morose “The Epic Tragedy” (one of a series of shorter, linking tracks).

Production is clear and professional, sounding as good as anything you’ll have heard from the likes of Dream Theater etc. As I have said on these pages many times, prog is not one of my genres of choice. But I know what I like. And I like Genuine. Genuinely!

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