Review Summary: An excellent surprise package that deserves to be heard.
Band members/characters:
Dominic Cifarelli/Israfel - guitars, bass, voice samples
Americo Antonucci/Gabriel, Djinn, Appoloin The Destroyer - vocals
Vincent Cifarelli/Veloel - keyboards
Joey Ranallo/Zagzatel - bass
Joey Bastone/Jophiel - drums
Following the split-up of Pulse Ultra, guitarist Dominic Cifarelli created The Chronicles Of Israfel, an album which follows the main character, Israfel, and his journey towards discovering more about his inner self. Taking influences from Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Meshuggah and more, Dominic and fellow band members have created a dark, epic and very impressive debut album.
Track analysis
Starborn Part I: Empire Of Light - 04:46
The first part of the Starborn trio is one of the strongest tracks on the album. This track, like the rest of the Starborn trio, is fully instrumental, and is a showcase of Dominic's songwriting talent. The song is dominated by aggressive guitar riffs and some excellent lead guitar parts, making it one of the heavier and faster paced songs on the album. Gripping from start to finish, this is an excellent opening track.
5/5
Starborn Part II: Citizen - 01:24
This is a short follow-on track from part I, featuring a repetitive but addictive main riff, and a repetitive but addictive lead guitar riff over the top. It's simple and short, and is a great follow-on, but as a standalone track it loses its effectiveness.
3.5/5
Starborn Part III: On A Forever Road - 06:24
The final part of the Starborn Trilogy is a truly magnificent display of songwriting prowess. The diversity and scope of this song are incredible, ranging from a bit of spoken dialogue, some crushing riffs, a clean jazzy solo, more crushing riffs, and an aggressive and brutal ending. This is the pinnacle of Dominic's songwriting skills present on this album - a truly epic masterpiece.
5/5
Burning Day - 02:25
The album quietens down a bit after the excellent Starborn trilogy and presents the first vocal song on the album. Americo's vocals are solid throughout the album, with this song in particular being dominated by his vocals. Short, quiet, but solid.
3.5/5
The Equinigma - 04:27
Keeping the quiet theme going, this is an acoustic song, which again proves the diversity of Dominic's songwriting skills. Slow paced, and an intelligent song (if a song actually can be intelligent).
4/5
Laudanum - 07:51
Laudanum is the longest song on the album, and brings back the heavier distorted guitars. It is slow and epic which doesn't take any risks in complex guitar or drum arrangements, but instead maintains fluidity and solidity throughout.
4.5/5
Nation - 05:45
Excellent song here, which sounds a bit like a faster, heavier TOOL song. An eerie intro leads into one of the best riffs present on the album. Americo's vocals are a lot more aggressive in the chorus than present in the three previous tracks, and as a whole, the song impresses from start to finish, including a spoken interlude and a pulsating, heavy outro. An anthemic track which impresses greatly.
5/5
Born Fighting - 04:52
By far the heaviest song on the album which consists of two parts - the fast, heavy, kickass first half and the solo. The first half is fast and contains an insanely brilliant riff and a catchy chorus. Aggressive stuff indeed!
The end of this part leads directly into the solo which changes the complexion of the song completely. The guitar riff drones and crushes out the same note over and over in the background while Dominic's lead guitar takes centre stage. He quite simply has one of the greatest tones on his guitar I've ever heard. A terrific track, one of the strongest on the album.
5/5
Kill Division - 03:21
Spoken dialogue opens this track which helps to progress the story, which then leads into a relentless heavy assault, where heavy, catchy riffs dominate throughout. Fast, heavy and solid indeed.
4.5/5
New Mood Therapy Of A Medicated Babylon - 06:08
Despite having a ridiculous name, this is the 4th instrumental track on the album, and is a beautiful one too. The track consists of 3 synth keyboard solos, the third of which is just plain incredible. The song in itself just gets better and better and better, the further you delve into it. Just plain brilliant!
5/5
Eugenics - 05:22
Different. The song features vocals in the form of sung and spoken dialogue, along with piano arrangements and a more subdued guitar. The best thing about it is, it works; once again showing diversity and intelligence.
4.5/5
Home To Oblivion - 03:53
The song fits absolutely perfectly to the song title. A soft, slow piano plays a single riff that doesn't deviate, while an occasional explosion is heard in the background. Around the 1:13 mark, the guitar kicks in and the battle reaches a climax in the background. The song ends with another sweet solo.
4.5/5
Lacrima Christi - 02:14
The weakest song on the album by far, and a poor ending which doesn't compliment the other tracks. The acoustic guitar riff is ok, but the random voice over the top is bizarre to say the least. You definitely need lyrics to make any sense of this song. Let's just count this as an unnecessary anomaly.
2/5
Overall:
5/5
Pros:
Excellent production
Diverse and gripping
The Starborn trilogy
Born Fighting
New Mood Therapy
Cons:
Drumming doesn't quite match up to the standards set by the guitars
Lacrima Christi.
Final comment: a magnificent debut album, that unfortunately will go largely unnoticed, but for those who do notice it, there's a quality, surprise package that should definitely be heard.
