Luca Turilli's Dreamquest - Lost Horizons - guest review

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Luca Turilli's Dreamquest - Lost Horizons - guest review

Cover image of the reviewed item
Band
Luca Turilli's Dreamquest
Album
Lost Horizons
Style
Electronic symphonic metal
Release date
June 09, 2006
Reviewer
6.6
7.1
Tracklist
01. Introspection
02. Virus
03. Dreamquest
04. Black Rose
05. Lost Horizons
06. Sospiro Divino
07. Shades Of Eternity
08. Energy
09. Frozen Star
10. Kyoto's Romance
11. Too Late
12. Dolphin's Heart
13. Gothic Vision [bonus]
Guest review by
R Lewis
December 07, 2012
Many critics have been moved to say of Luca Turilli's first solo work that it lacks originality (Luca Turilli albums don't actually detach so much from Rhapsody Of Fire releases), not enough powerful choirs, and uninspired solos. I personally disagreed, but that's it. With Luca Turilli's Dreamquest the eclectic guitarist tried to offer something new to the scene. He managed to reach this goal, but this doesn't necessarily mean Lost Horizons is a good album.

Reading the style as "Electro Symphonic Metal" initially scared me a bit, but the unimaginable trust I had - and still have - in Luca's talent convinced me to try this album. Since from the intro and the opening track, "Virus", we're clearly shown what the thread of the whole album will be: the synthesizers dominate the song and, at least initially, it isn't totally bad. In fact, "Virus" is actually a pretty enjoyable track, even if it can't be compared with any of the classic Rhapsody Of Fire or Luca Turilli openers.

Here suddenly comes the big quality of this album: the vocalist. Luca has never worked with female singers before, and "Myst" - her identity has not been revealed due to unknown reasons - surely represents a great start. Distant from every barren Tarja-clone who flourished in the last years, "Myst" could at least be compared to Floor Jansen from After Forever. Maybe it's Floor herself, who knows? But even "Myst" has her blemishes. Her operatic singing in "Sospiro Divino" - natural sequel to "Lamento Eroico" from Power Of The Dragonflame - is far from being perfect, and singing in Italian, surely not her native language, could make her performance quite funny, especially for Luca's compatriots.

Unfortunately, the ups are finished. This album made me share the critics' opinion of Turilli's first solo project. The guitar work, which Luca put in the expert hands of Dominique Lerquin, here seems washed away, with just a few enjoyable arpeggios. Also the keyboards, played this time by Luca himself, don't have the strength to guide the songs as they often do. Last but not least, the synthesizers. If they could initially sound like an original and interesting experimentation, they end up being annoying and overused.

To conclude, it's not a crime to try new ways to express an overwhelming talent like Luca surely has, but Lost Horizons simply does not reflect the Italian composer's real potential. Luckily, Luca abandoned the synth and returned to his roots, and keeps on evolving - this time, gradually - with his new, great Luca Turilli's Rhapsody.
Rating breakdown
Performance: 7
Songwriting: 6
Originality: 8
Production: 9
Written by R Lewis | December 07, 2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Comments

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Comments: 9 Visited by 47 users

Posts: 42
Permalink
07.12.2012 - 20:53
Rating: 6

Posts: 42
Agreed. this album is pretty bad for luca turilli (even when i am a HUGE fan of ALL his work)
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It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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Posts: 936
Permalink
07.12.2012 - 21:54
Rating: 5

Posts: 936


Written by Hyperion on 07.12.2012 at 20:53

Agreed. this album is pretty bad for luca turilli (even when i am a HUGE fan of ALL his work)

I am too. Ascending To Infinity is something simply amazing, imho. Pretty underrated. Seen them live two weeks ago, and Conti live kicks ass!
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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Posts: 42
Permalink
11.12.2012 - 21:28
Rating: 6

Posts: 42
Written by R Lewis on 07.12.2012 at 21:54

Written by Hyperion on 07.12.2012 at 20:53

Agreed. this album is pretty bad for luca turilli (even when i am a HUGE fan of ALL his work)

I am too. Ascending To Infinity is something simply amazing, imho. Pretty underrated. Seen them live two weeks ago, and Conti live kicks ass!

awwwwwww man i cant wait to see them live..... lucky you, hopefully they go and play in Chile!!! anyways.... did the "cinematic" stuff lived up to your expectations in the concert? because mr. Turilli sure seemed pretty excited about it, and im not sure what to expect other than just a Rhapsody concert.
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It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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Posts: 936
Permalink
12.12.2012 - 10:20
Rating: 5

Posts: 936


Written by Hyperion on 11.12.2012 at 21:28

awwwwwww man i cant wait to see them live..... lucky you, hopefully they go and play in Chile!!! anyways.... did the "cinematic" stuff lived up to your expectations in the concert? because mr. Turilli sure seemed pretty excited about it, and im not sure what to expect other than just a Rhapsody concert.

Well, the live obviously was absolutely brilliant, even if, imo, there were way too many ballads (Tormento e Passione, Warrior's Pride, Forest of Unicorns and more) that took time, and some classics (POTD, Rain of a Thousand Flames) ore new masterpieces (Ascending to Infinity itself) had not been played. Overall: Performance - 9,5, Tracklist - 6,5. Also it was a shame that Dominique was injured and couldn't play...
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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Posts: 42
Permalink
13.12.2012 - 20:01
Rating: 6

Posts: 42
Aw man, i thought turilii said he would play the entire Ascending to Infinity? anyways yea i dont like ballads on concerts, but it still sounds awesome!!!! and yeah shame about Dominique.
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It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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Posts: 936
Permalink
13.12.2012 - 20:03
Rating: 5

Posts: 936


Written by Hyperion on 13.12.2012 at 20:01

Aw man, i thought turilii said he would play the entire Ascending to Infinity? anyways yea i dont like ballads on concerts, but it still sounds awesome!!!! and yeah shame about Dominique.

No, he only played "Dark Fate of Atlantis", "Excalibur", "Clash of the Titans" and "Tormento e Passione"
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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Posts: 42
Permalink
14.12.2012 - 19:15
Rating: 6

Posts: 42
Written by R Lewis on 13.12.2012 at 20:03

Written by Hyperion on 13.12.2012 at 20:01

Aw man, i thought turilii said he would play the entire Ascending to Infinity? anyways yea i dont like ballads on concerts, but it still sounds awesome!!!! and yeah shame about Dominique.

No, he only played "Dark Fate of Atlantis", "Excalibur", "Clash of the Titans" and "Tormento e Passione"

aaaaah wtf???? watever, did he play anything from The Prophet of The Last Eclipse?
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It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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Posts: 936
Permalink
14.12.2012 - 19:18
Rating: 5

Posts: 936


Written by Hyperion on 14.12.2012 at 19:15

aaaaah wtf???? watever, did he play anything from The Prophet of The Last Eclipse?

Obviously, "Demonheart". It was a shame they didn't play "The Age Of Mystic Ice"...
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We could be so much more than we are. Stop.
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Posts: 42
Permalink
17.12.2012 - 02:16
Rating: 6

Posts: 42
Aaaah that's good enough. although that album is deserving of more attention imo
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It wasn't long until they left their cave and wondered outside once more, amazed they realized that the world had not ended as they had fearfully believed during the night. In fact, the grass was greener, the air fresher and the sun had risen again.
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