I know, I’m too young to talk about this, but let me tell you that I am an ancient soul and I’ve reincarnated a few times already. Anyway, I must confess that for some reason when I listened to the album Lines, by Twintera, for the first time, tears of nostalgia of those golden years of rock and metal came to me…Those days in which heavy bands (now idols) were seen as a menace to morality by the priest of the town, and thousands of longhaired kids, socially misunderstood, with ripped jeans and black shirts, found a relief and a home for their individuality in the music. But don’t worry, Twintera is more than just memories and brings much more than tradition. The album takes us back to the basics of hard rock and early metal, but with a strong involvement of progressive elements, the power of 90’s and a personal touch of coolness and experimentation.
Twintera is a band from Verona, Italy. They define their own style as metal, just metal, perhaps to not type-cast their music and to enjoy a bit of creative freedom. Founded in 2005, the band consists of singer Fabio Merzi, guitarrists Simone Zanoni and Al Pia, bassist Stefano Fava and drummer Massimo Bellamoli. The band released an EP in 2009, called Demolition, which led them to share the stage with well known bands as Evergrey, White Skull, Crematory and many others. Lines is their first full length album, and far from sounding like newbies’ work, the album concentrates great quality, creativity, attractive power and musical intelligence.
The first thing that stands out on this album is, as I said before, that facility that the band has to take us on a journey through time and show hard rock, melodic elements, exceptional vocals that exude glam metal, progressive arrangements and above all, the classic metal that all metalheads, absolutely all of us treasure in the bottom of the heart. An atmospheric intro, somewhat disturbing, between mysterious footsteps coming and going in some strange kind of old factory, is able to create an expectation to what is coming, and without warning, Twintera opens a trunk full of musical treasures before us. By Hands of Justice shows technique from the start, with a catchy and clever melody, and a raw, nude rhythm guitar. The singer stands out among the brilliant interpretation of the band, you can hear so many influences in that voice that is impossible to name them all, and per se, Fabio Merzi’s voice could be easily adopted as an influence itself.
Were We Land sounds pretty progressive, and again shows the great guitar work of Simone Zanoni and Al Pia. The band generally operates the same winning equation of good rhythms, modern melodies, and authoritarian, heavy drum beats, that kind of beats that resonate in our chest at the same time that they come out through the speakers. A super fast solo, worthy of the Guinness record for the most eargasmic combination of notes, makes the song an enjoyable and addictive experience. And it is useless to try to fight this, folks, On The Edge Of.. is inserted in our brains, seducing us with a rhythmic bass intro and a menacing whisper, suddenly the song comes out of its shell, and show up as a wild attractive beast. One feels as if in the 90’s, Metallica and Pantera had secretly had a child that now is claiming our attention, combining raw aggression with a sick rhythm that will have you under its control without giving the slightest truce. Magic flows through the snare drums all over Oversight, a song that has the special participation of the mighty Tom Englund of Evergrey, who is perfectly channeling the style of the band. The always romantic yet powerful voice of Mr. Englund perfectly matches the emotive vocals of Mr Merzi, the solo, well, almost everything actually, exudes greatness and white-hot passion. The bluesy Cool 18 rocked the foundations of my pleasures as far as music is concerned, and bringing some classic hard rock, a deliriously tasty solo is injected. Lines finally won a special place in my heart with this song. Seriously hot stuff here, almost better than sex, almost.
Run! intro is old school hard rock at its most pure and immaculate state, and develops on a metal edge on the chorus. Fabio Merzi adds to his voice a sort of mad creepy color in the verse, which at times reminded me of Devin Doll, epic band known for making authentic scary movies of their songs, but obviously Fabio dosed his voice in a much more melodious way, allowing freedom to flow yet achieving covering technique and making it fit perfectly within the catchy chorus of the song. And now, what follows is an adventure itself, Burning Hearts, Survivor’s epic song, which was also the soundtrack of the movie Rocky IV, is transformed into a kind of sacred dagger that while retaining its original luster in perfect condition, has been sharpened obsessively over and over and over again until it becomes an unbeatable weapon. The classic charm of the song remains intact while the modern technique of instrumentalists and the range of the singer give the song a melodious and atmospheric touch, printing the band’s mark on it. When listening Waves I told myself – Here comes the obligatory ballad of the album… – And well, to be honest, it sounds a bit weird to me, but is fully well executed and performed. It is clear that with this song the band took their desire to experiment further, and while the guitar and voice remain dark throughout the song, there are certain progressive arrangements mixed with a compelling drum work that creates a sort of exotic food flavor in this song, you know, the type of food that you have to keep in the mouth for a while to savor the taste heartily. Killing Your Feelings is a perfect example of fusion between musical eras, Merzi’s vocal range shines more than ever, something of a young Dave Mustaine possess the singer at times, and the vocal melody in the chorus inevitably recalls the glorious days of glam metal, melodic and energetic. Bunch Of Motherfuckers is perhaps one of the best song names that I have seen in recent years, and as its name, the song is also impressive and badass, with a prog riff an outstanding drum work, furious vocals, resonating bass, and a big sample of the guitarists’ skills in a solo that sound masterful and hot as hell. A sharpened outro, with some thrashy power, and this album ends just as it began, without warning.
So this is simple, folks, because listening to Lines is just like a grand piano falling over you. It’s not something you can ignore. Twintera literally took a blender and placed inside some Megadeth riffs, Vince Neil’s vocals and range, Pantera’s fury, Skid Row’s melodies, the modern sound of Metallica and the progressive aura of Evergrey, and even, not in conformity with this, they have added their own secret ingredient to achieve their particular and watermarked sound. Lines brings that kind of music that almost every metalhead in his right mind will love, because the band comes with a full arsenal, and golden quality wrapped in dynamism and power. Now do yourself a favor, get out of here and buy the album.
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