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Track Listing: Rated: Total Play Time:  |
The cover of Naked on the Black Floor is awesome! While the girl on it
is far from being naked, it is depressing and dark as the title of the
album may suggest. Alas, there is little else I like about the album
itself. I have had a great streak of Italian bands to review of late -
Devaster, Death Heaven among them, and some excellent Cruz del Sur
releases - Pharaoh for one, but with Event Horizon I may have hit a
wee little bit of a snag...
I was initially tipped off to potential misstep toward the end of
the info page which arrived with the promo. The band's accomplishments
include opening for Labyrinth and Skylark - two bands I've listened to
and two bands I dislike. One more than the other, for sure, but
dislike them I do. I gave Event Horizon the benefit of the doubt
because I'd heard some good words about them in the Metal community.
And I like the cover. I was anxious to alleviate my doubts.
While not unpleasant musically, Naked on the Black Floor features a
vocalist with a shriller and more grating voice that I like. Gianluca
Girardi joined the band following the exit of the original singer. I
have not heard Event Horizon's debut, but on this offering Girardi's
voice does not mesh well with the rest of the band. The album is not
bad and it even features some appealing oddities. However, some of the
keyboard passages, for example, are all too familiar and Event Horizon
seems to fall into the solo-for-solo's sake trap.
Naked on the Black Floor starts out promising enough with the
nicely named intro into Deconstructed. Unfortunately, that sound is
not sustained. It is interesting, though, how some of the keys in
Deconstructed are reminiscent of Type O Negative, while the rest is
totally nothing like Type O. It is kind of cool to hear those notes I
associate with something darker and slower in something lighter and
cleaner.
Again's opening keyboards evoke Jean Michel Jarre. I did mention
odd, didn't I? Of course, as soon as the guitars kick in the song is
completely transformed and the allusion is lost. Pity, though. The
rest of the song is not as exciting. On the other hand Girardi's voice
is best showcased on this one - comes across stronger, cleaner, and
more versatile than on anything else. Reminiscent a bit of Ice Age in
places. That similarity is carried on into The road to myself.
I swear... one more mention of cradle to the grave and I'll
scream... Zero commits the offense and also features some odd breaks
in phrasing and overall proneness to cliches both lyrical and musical.
The flying feather is a neat song title. The beginning of The wall
(the album's final song) echoes the intro and I am a sucker for the
framing effect.
The CD comes with some extras. I like it when bands release mixed
media. Kudos for that! However, the extras start with the band's logo
and a hissing white noise type of sound which made me want to throw my
headphones away. The "making of" contains still shots from the video
for Deconstructed. The video is included, as well. That is a cool clip
shot on a large commercial site filled with equipment. All is well,
except the white noise popping in here and there through the video.
Naked on the Black Floor is a mixed bag. It is slowly growing on
me, yet I cannot get over some of the elements that make the songs. It
is inconsistent in quality, yet shows glimmers of greatness. Sports
some of the oldest cliches, yet offers tid-bits of quirky originality.
I cannot fully make up my mind about Event Horizon. Maybe with the
next release I'll find what I am looking for.
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