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Massacre Records
by Craig Hartranft, 11.29.2013
Italian band Rustfield has it's origins in multi-instrumentalist and composer Davide Ronfetto with his long time friend, and sometime aerospace engineer, Andrea Rampa on vocals. Their music angle is melodic progressive rock, often with a metal edge, but also involving ambient and electronic sounds. Kingdom of Rust is their debut album for Massacre Records.
That metal perspective hits you square in the ears at the start with Among the Fields of Rust, with some big riffage and Rampa sounding a bit raging at times. But that's only for the first two-thirds. It breaks down with some eccentric electronica, and Rampa becoming more gentle. I don't want to say that this motif is characteristic of the entire album, but it does give you a taste of the twists.
For instance, the next song, Waxhopes, which features John Macaluso (Symphony X) on drums, Federica De Boni (White Skull) on vocals and Douglas Docker (Docker’s Guild) on keyboards, sways back and forth between the calm of melodic rock and blister of heavy metal, even power metal, in the midsection. Alternatively, the gentleness of lighter progressive melodic rock returns with The Secret Garden, Losing Time, and Love Moan. That last song is achingly passionate and beautiful as piano and acoustic guitar propel Rampa soulful voice. Now you getting a real feel for this vocalist's range, and you recognize he's pretty darn good. Some listeners may find that Rampa reminds them of Vangough's Clay Withrow.
Some songs temper between Rustfield's more gentle approach and heaviness, without being metal intense, like Sacrifice or Burning the Air where the synths and electronica take the edge off. Other notable songs include Run With Me, which begins with this strong rock groove, only to develop into something more intense. The riffs get heavier, and Rampa gets a bit off the rails with some screamo vocals. Out the Blue, largely an instrumental, moves mostly by guitar, wistful, ambient, synths, and a delicate bass line, yet gets more rambunctious in the latter third with larger riffs, drums and guitar solo.
For a first album, Rustfield's Kingdom of Rust is quite impressive and entertaining. Their combination of melodic progressive rock with dashes of metal edge and electronic ambience makes for an interesting mix. Expect bigger and better things from this talented band. Easily recommended to all prog fans worldwide.
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For a first album, Rustfield's Kingdom of Rust is quite impressive and entertaining. Their combination of melodic progressive rock with dashes of metal edge and electronic ambience makes for an interesting mix.
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