VIVALDI METAL PROJECT – The Four Seasons (2016)

Italian keyboard player Mistheria (real name Giuseppe Iampieri) who has included collaborations with the likes of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Rock in an 18-year career that has also seen him release a series of movie soundtrack-based albums, for sure possesses a sense of the ambitious and the grandiose. For this, his VIVALDI METAL PROJECT / “The Four Seasons“, he brought together more than 130 artists, from both the worlds of metal and classical music, and not one but three choirs over the course of three years to produce his interpretation of Antonio Vivaldi’s Baroque masterpiece.

And ‘epic’ is a word which truly summarizes not only Iampieri’s ambition with this self-styled Vivaldi Metal Project, but also its ultimate delivery, as this is a symphonic concept melodic metal of the most magnificent scope.
The cast of musicians involved really does speak for itself: Mark Boals (Malmsteen, Royal Hunt), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Angra), Edu Falaschi (Almah), Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Mike Lepond (SymphonyX), Dani Löble (Helloween), Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), Mark Cross (Firewind, Scorpions), Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius), Victor Smolski (Rage, Almanac), Ruben Israel (Delain), John Macaluso (ARK), Marco Sfogli (James Labrie), Chris Caffery (Savatage), Mark Wood (Trans Siberian Orchestra), Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork), Atma Anur (Tony MacAlpine), Vitalij Kuprij, Anna Portalupi (Tarja Turunen), Sean Tibbetts (Kamelot), Martijn Peters (Stream of Passion) and many more…

Of course, Iampieri faced one major problem in turning a piece of work dating back almost 300 years into a modern metal show: first of all, it was written for just a handful of violins; and, then – perhaps the most important and challenging aspect for even the most adept of musician – the original work is entirely instrumental and was never designed for vocal interpretation… and this guy wanted to put not just one or two but dozens if not hundreds of voices onto an already extremely complicated and challenging piece of music which in turn probably would have its creator turning in his grave with his hands over his ears and chanting “OMFG, what is he going to do to the only thing this world remembers me for?”.

To be honest, the great Antonio Vivaldi spirit need not worry. For, with the exception of a few snippets – such as during ‘The Illusion Of Eternity’, ‘The Age Of Dreams’ and its epic successor ‘Alchemy’, and the seering violin on ‘The Meaning Of Life’ – few recognisable elements of the original piece are actually extant in this radical reinvention of this 18th Century opus magnificus.

Yes, the important references and source material are there, but they have been transformed into a totally new and relevant elaboration of the composer’s original intent, demonstrating how music is supposed to evolve and be an entity of itself, not restrained by the strictures of time or place but released by imagination.
In fact, opener ‘Escape From Hell’ is an original composition by Mistheria, with lyrics buy Rob Rock, ansd works as an effective warm-up.
And what follows is massive, lush, passionate, and engaging. The orchestration and choral arrangements, regardless of what you feel about added lyrics, are magnificent, epic in proportion. The same can be said for the integration synth and guitar lines. Additionally, if you are familiar with The Four Seasons, you will catch Vivaldi’s original melodies and harmonies in each song here. In this sense, Mistheria stays true to the source material while injecting his own interpretation.

“Vivaldi Metal Project / The Four Seasons” is a magnificent musical achievement. It mixes the overblown and the grandiose with the epic and the ambitous. It’s just that BIG.
Mistheria’s treatment of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is exactly that, his interpretation. He took his passion for this classical work and created a vision, an exceptional and inspiring one at that.
I doubt that, at this point in time, you will find another another piece of classical music given such an elegant and creative adaptation to melodic metal.
Strongly Recommended

01. Escape From Hell
02. The Illusion of Eternity
03. Vita
– part 1: Darkness
– part 2: Light
04. Euphoria
– part 1: Metamorphosis
– part 2: Into the Game
05. Sun of God
06. Immortal Soul
07. Thunderstorm
08. The Age Of Dreams
09. Alchemy
– part 1: The Abyss
– part 2: Canto
– part 3: Golden Number
10. Stige
11. The Meaning of Life
12. The Final Hour
13. Grande Madre
14. Doomsday
– part 1: Skyfall
– part 2: Doomsday
– part 3: Resurrection

Mistheria (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Rock) – keyboards, arrangements, producer
musicians:
Mark Boals (Y. Malmsteen), Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire/Angra), Edu Falaschi (Almah), Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius), Michael Lepond (SymphonyX), John Macaluso (ARK/TNT), Vitalij Kuprij, Mark Cross (Scorpions/Firewind), Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork), Chris Caffery (Savatage), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire/Angra), Dani Loeble (Helloween), Victor Smolski (Rage/Almanac), Marco Sfogli (J. LaBrie), Mark Wood (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Andreas Passmark (Royal Hunt), Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Anna Portalupi (Tarja), Atma Anur (T. MacAlpine/G. Howe), Tommy Denander (Radioactive) and many more.
“Sinfonietta Consonus Symphonic Orchestra” (Poland)
“Academic Choir Angel Manolov” (Bulgaria)
“Chamber Choir Ivan Filipovic” (Croatia)
“Rock Academy Choir” (Croatia)

BUY IT !
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