Rock & Metal World September 2013 | Page 10

The Answer is another mid tempo song, unlike Life Has No Meaning, its sound is closer to the traditional Heavy Metal but with an evident orchestral sound. The brief guitar solo is used to indicate a light change in the tone that elevates this song, and taking us to an slightly relaxed final. A sudden rhythm change take us to the next track; Il Tempo Del Fuocco. Different from what I thought the song is not entirely on Italian, a shame. But it is, in fact, one of the most powerful and melodic tracks that we can hardly skip, the performance from the musicians, the orchestra and singer are exceptional, and I can say that it is one of my favourite tracks. We go now with Fading Angel’s Life, another song menacing to blast our speakers. In this song Fabio sings in the way we are used to listen to him. Half way we have a soft moment that allows us to relax a little and enjoy other of Nick Savio solos, this keeps closer to the end where the resound of the drums and the sound of the organ takes us to the climax of this song. We reach to the title song and maybe the most epic and complex of this production: Coutdown to Revenge. With an entrance worthy of a legend’s movie, thanks to the performance of the orchestra, the choir, and later the band before the singer appears. The rhythm, which is not as intense, altogether with the melody and the Fabio’s performance, leads to the creation of a dark atmosphere, which diminishes during the acoustic interlude, suddenly interrupted by a Lione who shows himself completely energetic. Near the end, this song shows changes in its structure that take us from critical moments to some others quieter. At the end, Fabio amaze us with another of his sides, singing in a more lyrical way while the orchestra, the choir and the band support him in an exquisite way. Immediately after that track appears the epilogue of this album, The Gate to Nowhere…, a semi acoustic instrumental track and filled with sound effects that make us foretell that the final countdown isn’t over yet. Definitely this has not ended, since Hollow Haze is a band that is determined to climb positions not resigning with the already accomplished, exploring with compositions that goes from melodic to the darkest, achieving in this way a defining signature. Adding to their line up a legend as Fabio Lione has been useful to reinforce this sound, and at the same time the singer finds another way to let loose his eagerness of facing new challenges.