KHYMERA [IT] - AOR
Discography01|2003|Khymera
690 (#4) 02|2005|A New Promise 786 (#3) 03|2008|The Greatest Wonder 812 (#2) 04|2015|The Grand Design 815 (#1) |
Rock Report's choiceThe Greatest WonderFrontiers, 2008
Produced by Daniele Liverani Mixed by Dennis Ward Ratings: HH: 89 (48) | RYM: 3.67 (85) Total rating: 812 Updated: 160204 Line-upDennis Ward (lv, bv)
Tommy Ermolli (g) Daniele Liverani (k, b) Dario Ciccioni (d) |
Track listing01|Ablaze (JM/TM)
02|Beautiful Life (JM/TM) 03|Borderline (JM/TM) 04|Burn Out (JM/TM) 05|Since You Went Away (JM/TM) 06|Love Has Been And Gone (JM/TM) 07|No Sacrifice (JM/TM) 08|The Greatest Wonder (JM/TM) 09|Fight For Yesterday (JM/TM) 10|If I Can’T Be (JM/TM) 11|Love Will Find You (JM/TM) 12|Stay Forever (JM/TM) 13|The Other Side (JM/TM) Songwriters |
Rock Report review
What started as a studio project from Italian multi-instrumentalist Daniele Liverani (Empty Tremor, Genius) in 2003, turned into a full-blown band with the second album, "A New Promise", in 2005. Both Khymera albums were well-received by the AOR fraternity and I can't deny the fact that I have been longing to this crucial third album for quite some time. Since it reached Rock Report HQ a while ago, I have been playing the album over and over again. Not that many AOR albums are released in these 'metal' days, and an album such as "The Greatest Wonder" came as a great relief.
No changes in the line-up this time, but what makes "The Greatest Wonder" different from its predecessor is the fact that all songs have been written and delivered by the British twin brothers Tom and James Martin, known from their excellent work for acts like House Of Lords and Ted Poley. The result is an unbelievable consistent album with nothing else than brilliant AOR/melodic rock songs. The album starts with a short instrumental intro, called "Ablaze", but what follows after that is total AOR bliss from start to finish. I won't claim that Dennis Ward (bass player of Pink Cream 69) is one of the best rock vocalists currently around, but what he achieves on this third Khymera album is beyond belief. This material is just tailor made for his somewhat nasal voice. I really can't get enough of songs like "Beautiful Life", "Since You Went Away", "The Greatest Wonder" (Ward in optima forma!) and - last but not least - "Stay Forever" (with its 5:24 minutes of playing time being the longest track on offer). If you call yourself an AOR addict, then you should order your copy here and now.
Chris Lambert, February 2008
No changes in the line-up this time, but what makes "The Greatest Wonder" different from its predecessor is the fact that all songs have been written and delivered by the British twin brothers Tom and James Martin, known from their excellent work for acts like House Of Lords and Ted Poley. The result is an unbelievable consistent album with nothing else than brilliant AOR/melodic rock songs. The album starts with a short instrumental intro, called "Ablaze", but what follows after that is total AOR bliss from start to finish. I won't claim that Dennis Ward (bass player of Pink Cream 69) is one of the best rock vocalists currently around, but what he achieves on this third Khymera album is beyond belief. This material is just tailor made for his somewhat nasal voice. I really can't get enough of songs like "Beautiful Life", "Since You Went Away", "The Greatest Wonder" (Ward in optima forma!) and - last but not least - "Stay Forever" (with its 5:24 minutes of playing time being the longest track on offer). If you call yourself an AOR addict, then you should order your copy here and now.
Chris Lambert, February 2008