Bagatelles for Cello and Guitar

Advantages: Superb Musicianship and a genuinely AWESOME Powerful Progressive Rock Band!!!
Disadvantages: none!

...Little known i suppose because they are Swedish. ' Anekdoten ' are a five piece progressive rock band and unusually have a female Cello player. This their first album is a magnificent debut CD and sold out i believe in there native country very quickly. Critically aclaimed by nearly all, this really comes close to the power and intensity of ' Red ' era 'King Crimson', whom obviously they are much influenced by. Stylistically they are a little like fellow Swede's ' Anglagard ' . Another highly acclaimed progressive band. I believe they recorded this album in the same studio as they did. Very dense , yet melodic themes here with very powerfull Bass / Drums / Keys / Guitar / Cello interplay.The bass work is very remeniscent of '' Chris Sqiure ' of ' Yes ' and indeed 'John Wetton'. Guitar is definitely ' Bob Fripp like. Vocals are sung... Read review

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Advantages: Not many classically trained artists out there belting out metal!
Disadvantages: None - they are unique - they have no competition.

...Apocolyptica began life as 'four blokes on cellos playing Metallica songs' and have since progressed to being four blokes on cellos that now write a lot of their own material, incorporate a drummer and use the occasional session musician/vocalist.  That may sound like a criticism but in actual fact it isn't - it wasn't broke and they didn't fix it, just tweaked it a little!  The classical sound of the cello, although making appearances on the CD, is largely overpowered by the grunging, dirty sound they now conjure up for the instrument giving the whole sound a darker, more metal, edge.  The first track on the album is a wonderful introduction to the set and was broadcast to millions when they played it live during 2007's Eurovision song contest in Helsinki!  A dark and atmospheric piece that flits between moods and shows their obvious... Read review

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Advantages: Flowing, flawless, melodic music
Disadvantages: None

...Jenny Adejayan on Cello, Giorgio Serci on nylon strung guitar, Adriano Pinto on percussion and Enzo Zirilli playing the cajón. Cajón is Spanish for crate, box or drawer and the instrument is essentially a large box made from plywood that you hit with your hands to produce a beat. The song itself opens on a delicate, traditional sounding guitar lick but after a couple of bars focuses mainly on the Cello. The guitar of Forcione and the cello of Adejayan play off each other imitating and bettering each others performances. The third song “Mirror Mirror” is the first on the album to include vocals and these are sung, and written, by Sabina Sciubba. Her voice is soft, almost as if she were singing a lullaby. The accompanying guitar is simple, finger picked music that puts emphasis on the vocals and often uses artificial harmonics to match... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful