One of my favourite album releases from recent years has been the Genius Rock Opera series, which was spread over three CD’s. The mastermind behind these wonderfully imaginative and creative rock albums was Daniele Liverani. Not only was the music fantastic but also the roster of performers that Daniele secured was truly remarkable and looking back I think it’s now safe to say that the Opera was a real event as well as a major achievement. If you haven’t heard the Genius Rock Opera you are really missing out and if you have some spare cash I would recommend you head over to Amazon (via our link on the homepage) and do yourselves a favour and invest in all three parts.

Like the Genius Rock Opera, for his latest project, Twin Spirits, Daniele has once again surrounded himself with an impressive band of musicians to make his visions a reality. He once again teams up with Dario Ciccioni (drums) but also adds Soren Adamson (vocals), Tommy Ermolli (guitar), Alberto Rigoni (drums) and last but not least Daniele himself handles keyboards duties.

From the outset Daniele wanted this project to be rich in progressive metal but also full of melody and to be more accessible than some of the progressive rock that is out there at the moment. I can say after having listened to this album a lot recently that this objective has been achieved with flying colours.

The album opens with an instrumental “Projected”. From the opening notes to the dying chords this song is all about melody. The progressive elements of this song come from the shifting time signatures and the intricate lead guitar parts twisting and turning between the keyboard lines but it’s the soaring melody, which really catches the ear. I would describe it as Dream Theater at their most melodic and restrained mixed with a smattering of Rush and a guitar sound, which brought to mind Shawn Lane thanks to its smooth and round tone. It’s a great start to the album and sets things up nicely.

Next up is “ Back To Reality” which opens with a riff that brought to mind the opening riff from Black Sabbaths “The Mob Rules”. I kid you not, it has that punchy in your face directness. When the drums enter you won’t be able to resist strapping on the air guitar and striking some poses. Once again an out of the ordinary drum pattern keeps the song progressive. This track sees the appearance of Soren Adamsen on vocals and from the off I loved his vocal style. It’s clear and really cuts through the mix and his vocal range is also very impressive. It truly soars over the music. Tommy Ermolli gives us the first of what is to be many thoughtfully put together guitar solos. His vibrato brought to mind the great Yngwie thanks to some really wide movement. As an aside I once met Yngwie at a guitar clinic and during the scramble to get a few words with him I managed to tell him that I loved his vibrato at which he replied in his wonderful mastery of the English language“ fuck thanks man, vibrato is so important you know” and then he was gone. He did manage to do one of the quickest and biggest Yngwie autographs I have ever seen on my giant fender guitar poster, which I treasure to this day.

Next up is “What You Want” which is one of the most pleasing slow burn rock tracks I have heard for a while. The arrangement is perfect as every instrument has its place and makes for a very satisfying listen. It’s a slow track, which pulls you in and hooks you from the opening bars. I found myself thinking the band had created their own “When A Blind Man Cries” (Deep Purple) as it has that same vibe. The guitar fills and solos are fantastic. Tommy never plays too much he paces his solos to fit the song with bursts of speed tempered with bluesy emotional fills. The added female backing vocals just add the icing to the cake.

“Take My Hand” is a great driving rock song. The opening riff is optimistic and fun as Tommy bounces across the strings and Daniele plays simple melodic keyboards over the top. In fact the riffs are so much fun I found myself wanting the song to get going and did feel the songs intro was a little drawn out. The up-tempo and uplifting vibe is the perfect foil for Soren to sing his heart out and his piercing timbre really suits the song. Just when one feels the song has given its secrets away there is a change of mood when the band press the rock drama pedal and start riffing in a manner which one could describe as “Kashmir" (Led Zeppelin) colliding with Dream Theater. As the track progresses the original melody and tempo return and we get a very cool guitar solo from Tommy who one can almost see in ones minds eye digging in and going for it. If you want to hear pinched guitar harmonics in full glory listen to this solo, he hits them with ease and to my ears its fabulous stirring stuff.

“Power To Kill” is the albums real metal opus and is played with such aggression and vigour that it sounds positively brutal when compared to the rest of the album. The drumming is fast and furious and the guitar riffing is relentless. Soren displays another side to his vocal talents as he delivers a down and dirty metal assault. The music is a wonderful amalgamation of intense metal with progressive elements. Alberto Rigoni and Dario Ciccioni both are let off the leash on this track to devastating effect.

“Understand” was a track, which at first didn’t get under my skin but after repeated plays became one of my favourites on the album (patience is a virtue). The guitar riff is made all the more impressive by some wonderful drumming which locks horns with the guitar and leaves no room for daylight. The overall vibe from this song is high drama of the highest order. Soren's vocals are delivered with conviction and passion and at times I could hear a little bit of the great Ronnie James Dio in his phrasing. One senses that this song will deliver a great guitar solo and it does so in fine style mixing neo classical runs with some “out there” use of what sounds like clever use of a whammy pedal.

“Fire” sees the band tackling that sensitive subject, war and sound bites at the start of the track set the song up for what turns out to be one of the albums most straight down the line hard rockers. The song is a killer (no pun intended) and when played loud it rocks big time. Tommy supplies endless tasty guitar fills and Soren sings with great conviction. This is a stirring song and shows just how powerful the rock genre can be in the hands of great musicians and songwriters.

“It’s Just Life” is a haunting mid tempo number. It’s a song, which grows on the listener and is blessed with a wonderful chord progression, which sounds unsettling, but at the same time pleasing. The drums are tight but laid back and the song rolls along with it’s own focus. I couldn’t put my finger on why but I kept feeling a Scorpions vibe coming through, maybe it’s the guitar solo, which brought to mind Schenker.

The final track is “The Music That Will Heal The World” which opens with harmonised vocals, which sound positively angelic before launching into some of the albums most progressive playing. You could say the album is ending in a similar fashion to the way it opened. The track is built on a very big and bold guitar riff, which sounds down tuned but is in no way nu-metal. The power notch is racked up thanks to the song arrangement being nice and straight as the drums and guitar play alongside each other resulting in a real feel of forward motion. The song really goes for it towards the end and delivers some guitar and keyboard “excess” showing the prodigious talents of Ermolli and Liverani off in fine style.

With “The Music That healed The World” Twin Spirits have delivered a very fine rock album indeed. It does what a lot of progressive metal albums fail to do in as much as it’s appeal will easily cross over to not just progressive metal lovers but also classic rock fans who regularly listen to bands like Rainbow, Dio and Deep Purple rather than say Kamelot or Dream Theater. I think this has been achieved by not just great song writing and performances but by the subtle use of restraint when it comes to some of the instrumental passages. The progressive “excesses” have been kept in check and a well rounded and balanced release has been the outcome. Overall this is a fine release from a line-up of musicians who I hope will work together once again in the future.