Moon Reverie started as a project back in 2012 when guitarist Luca Poma decided to create his own music after touring extensively through Europe with the likes of Uli Jon Roth, Kee Marcello, Vinnie Moore and many other notable artists. The guitar virtuoso brought influences ranging from Rainbow to Hendrix, to Malmsteen, and Europe into his project.
Very quickly into this album, even if you know nothing about the band and Luca Poma, it becomes readily apparent that you will be hearing some masterful guitar licks. The intro track “Into Glory” sets the stage and the first full track “Forgiveness” showcases Poma’s guitar skills to an even greater extent. I am instantly transported back to the first time I heard Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force…which to my ears was like if someone fed Ritchie Blackmore a whole lot of coffee. For all of the guitar parts to work with listeners, production has to be clean and that is certainly the case here. Luca Pozzi has the vocals that work perfectly well within this classically-influenced power metal.
In many ways, some of the songs on the album do feel a bit dated and hearing the opening group vocals for “I Will Come for You” and “Eyes” and the inevitable power ballads “In My Heart” and “Far Above” conjur up images of bands like Europe and others when they were at their peak which may not be a good thing for newer (i.e., younger) listeners or us old guys who weren’t fans those types of songs back when they were new.
Outside of those songs, one can expect to hear some phenomenal musicianship in songs that are melodic and written and arranged in such a way that really does showcase the talent of Luca Poma on guitar and bass. The Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Malmsteen influences are the ones that really hit me, which I have to say I love as Rainbow and Deep Purple are two of my favorite bands and Poma has that unpredictability in his guitar work that is reminiscent of Blackmore but has the speed and technical feel of Malmsteen. Songs like “On the Edge” with the guitar and keyboards trading solos in the latter half of the song is a perfect example of this, it’s like Blackmore and Malmsteen were both playing on a Rainbow song given that Luca Pozzi’s vocals would be closer to Joe Lynn Turner than to Ian Gillan.
Those looking for value in their music, will certainly find it here as well as the twelve tracks come in at over an hour in length, which I would ascribe to a couple reasons: this is the band’s first release since becoming a project of Luca Poma in 2012 and the fact that the songs require a greater length to accommodate the guitar solos. Some may think this may not be a great thing but I love it.
Guitar virtuoso Luca Poma has managed to create a power metal project in Moon Reverie that not only gives him the opportunity to showcase his extraordinary abilities but also craft some great power metal. In listening to the album, much credit goes out to the strong vocals of Luca Pozzi and the drums and keyboard work from Manuel Togni and Nicola Leonesio as their contributions are integral to the songs where lesser musicians would be completely overshadowed by Poma’s guitar and bass work. While I’m not a big fan of some of the arrangements, there is no denying the artistry on Moon Reverie’s debut.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Into Glory
- Forgiveness
- I Will Come for You
- Say Forever
- Eyes
- In My Heart
- The Raven
- First and Last
- On the Edge
- Far Above
- End of Times
- Moon Reverie Suite
Band Members
Luca Poma – Guitar, bass on the album, backing vocals
Manuel Togni – Drums
Luca Pozzi – Vocals
Nicola Leonesio – Keyboards and backing vocals
Release Date: January 31, 2020.
Record Label: Rockshots Records
Video for ‘Eyes‘
Video (audio) for ‘Forgiveness’
Lyric video for ‘Say Forever‘
