Time Machine
Time Machine is without any doubt one of the most influential bands on the European progressive metal scene. Since their foundation in late 1992 up to today, their music has been described by the worldwide media as some of the most interesting and original prog metal ever to emerge from Italy, and it´s no secret that the success of Time Machine has opened up a lot of doors for other Italian acts to follow through.
The music of Time Machine is a mixture of progressive metal, melodic heavy metal with epic and symphonic classical influences and even a hint of the commercial side of hard rock - it is no wonder that the media and the fans have had a hard time describing the music of this very original band.
TIME MACHINE ... 1993-1996
The basic idea for forming Time Machine sprang from the minds of bassist Lorenzo Deho and his long-time friend and musical companion guitarist Ivan Oggioni back in late 1992, when the two decided to officially end and celebrate their many years in the music business by recording a "project" album; which was "Project: Time Scanning". Little did they know then, that this album would not be the end, but actually the beginning of a whole new career.
Joining the two Italian friends were former Moon Of Steel vocalist Andrea Ruggeri and a couple of guest musicians, such as guitarist Tony Priolo, vocalist Fabio Pagani and drummer Roberto Besana. Thus Time Machine was a reality! With the aid of producer Roberto Gramegna, who was later to be sort of an "external member" of Time Machine, the band started to record the album in January 1993 and it took until August of that year before the album was ready for release.
During the time of recording the band suffered a severe set-back, as drummer Roberto Besana got involved in an accident, which forced the band to finish the album using computerised drum rhythms. Surprised by the immediate success the album gained amongst both fans and media, Lorenzo and Ivan decided to make this a permanent band, and the two invited in guitarist JoeTaccone who stayed with the band for the next 8 years.
For the next release, the 3-song mini CD "Dungeons Of The Vatican", a new line-up was added, including vocalist Jonathan Lavino, drummer Fabrio Brigliadoro and keyboardist Mirko Criscione, all of who only stayed with Time Machine for this single album. By now the fan-response was fantastic - the limited edition mini CD was quickly sold out, and the Japanese audience in particular loved the band.
In the middle of all these line-up changes the core of the band, Lorenzo, Ivan and Joe, found time to integrate new members, complete a couple of live shows in Italy as well as write the next full length album, the amazing "Act II: Galileo", which was released in May 1995. This fantastic concept album is based on the life-story of the 17th Century Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.
With a new drummer, Antonio Rotta, and the great young vocal-talent Folco Orlandini joining the line-up, the foundations for what is regarded by many as Time Machine´s best album so far was laid. Helped by the very epic and progressive music, "Act II: Galileo", received nothing but praise in the media around the world, and a lengthy sold-out tour throughout Italy soon followed. The highlight of this touring was the show in Milan´s The Factory Club on April 06th 1996, when Time Machine were joined by members of Brazilian speed/prog metal band Angra for an acoustic show-case.
TIME MACHINE ... 1997-1999
In 1996 Time Machine went through yet another change in line-up, leaving only the triple-core of Lorenzo, Ivan and Joe remaining. Joining the team on vocals was ex-Sabotage singer Morby, drummer Nick Rossetti and, unusually for the genre, the band officially invited a saxophonist, Stefano Della Giustina into the band (who also participated on one song on the previous album).
The new album, "Shades Of Time", saw the band heading in another direction, towards a more laid-back semi-progressive sound, with more than a little hint of prime time Queensrÿche. Great songs and a superb cover version of Black Sabbath´s "Heaven & Hell" made the album a true gem for all Time Machine fans.
1997 saw the band touring as much as possible, with a.o. a gig at Italy´s most prestigious rock club The Rolling Stone, and participated in the huge Gods Of Metal festival (which featured Manowar and Angra amongst many others). However, this success did not last for long, and another line-up problem occurred when Morby left the band, and the guys again found themselves in the position of having to find a new singer. In time the talented young vocalist Nick Fortarezza emerged to fill this void.
For the next full-length release, "Eternity Ends", Time Machine chose to take on another change of sound direction - this time heading into a very intricate and atmospheric kind of progressive/melodic metal. The leadvocalist of Angra contributed his vocal talent to one of the songs, "Behind The Cross", which is to be found on the maxi-single "Secret Oceans", which was released just prior to the official release of "Eternity Ends" in November 1998.
With the release of "Eternity Ends" the band found themselves for the first time without guitarist Ivan Oggioni, who had left the band to pursue other interests other than music alone. This did not scare the band at all, and although the album might have been a bit different than what most Time Machine fans had expected, the album did really well and opened up doors to new markets.
TIME MACHINE ... 1999-2000
In 1999 Lorenzo (b), Joe (gt) and Nick (dr) decided to put together a little side-project - or rather, create another band where they could play a kind of more relaxed and melodic style of semi-progressive metal - this band was Khali.
Some people in the media thought that Khali signalled the end of Time Machine, but that was most definitely NOT the case - so to prove them all wrong, and to show the fans that the band was still very much alive, Lucretia Records decided it was time to release a "best of..." CD. And in the spring of 2000 "Hidden Secrets" saw the light of day.
Besides the most well known and requested Time Machine songs, this amazing double album includes new renditions of TM songs, demo tracks and even some live stuff - yes, this is not just the typical "best of..." CD but a great overview of Time Machine´s best moments as well as a presentation of their rare tracks and outtakes.
TIME MACHINE ... 2001-2002
Teaming up with the Italian record label Underground Symphony and Danish based metal-agency Intromental Management, Time Machine then got ready to make another big impact on the metal scene. The first sign of progress was the July 2001 release of the mini CD "Aliger Daemon".
The new line-up featured vocalist Pino Tozzi (ex-Arkhé), drummer Claudio Riotti (ex-Arkhé), guitarist Gianlucca Ferro (who also helped out on the Khali live gig at Gods Of Metal festival in 2000), plus guest keyboardist Eddy Antonini (Skylark), Female vocals were performed by Melody Castellari and once again the band brought back producer Bob Gramm, in order to help Lorenzo with the classical arrangements and the overall sound.
Also this time around Time Machine had chosen to do a concept-piece. It is based around the bone-chilling novel "Cherudek" by Italian award-winning writer and history professor Valerio Evangelisti. The concept album is entitled "Evil - Liber Primus" and released worldwide on October 31st 2001.
TIME MACHINE ... 2003-2004
Now the band is ready with the follow-up to "Evil", the second part of the "Eymerich Trilogy", entitled "Reviviscence (Liber Secundus)". Another conceptual piece of art, and with a much stronger musical foundation than ever before. The new Time Machine 2003/2004 line-up (new singer and guitarist) is better than any other TM line-up in the band´s history, something the music clearly shows - pompous, symphonic epic metal with lots of melodies and a nice progressive foundation.
The line-up is:
Marco Sivo: vocals
Gianluca Ferro: lead & rhythm guitars, 6 & 12 strings acoustic guitars, keyboards, programming
Gianluca Galli: lead & rhythm guitars, 6 & 12 strings acoustic guitars, sitar, mandolin
Lorenzo Deho´: bass guitar, keyboards, programming
Sigfrido Percich: drums
Guests on the album includes:
Rafael Bittencourt (gtr) and Kiko Loureiro (gtr) from ANGRA
Fabio Ribeiro (key) from SHAMAN & BLEZQI ZATSAZ
Mariano Croce (gtr) and Andrea Mastroianni (key) from CONCEPT
Matteo Giuliani (backing vocals) from SNAKE EYES
TIME MACHINE ... REVIVISCENCE
Sometimes an album comes along that just grabs your attention from the word "go", and won´t let you leave your spot for the next hour, and once the album is finished, you´ll sit there with a huge foolish grin on your face, thinking that this was one of those listening experiences that you´ll so seldom experience any longer. In fact, you might say that an album like Time Machine´s "Reviviscence" brought back that childish innocence of the first time you fell in love with a girl, the first time you aced a test in school, or the first time you tasted an ice-cream - it´s that good.
"Reviviscence" is, as the title suggests, a breath of new life into an otherwise stagnant progressive metal scene. This is an album that showcases Italy´s most experienced band in their right element; a world of beautiful melodies, huge soundscapes, breathtaking guitar solos, wonderfully crafted acoustic passages and an accented technicality that flows hand in hand with the songs.
Lyrically "Reviviscence" is an exciting tale of the evil walking among us, making our everyday filled with greed, war and corruption, while the young hopefuls of the world all the time are searching for something that can make this a better place to be. It´s the ancient tale of good versus evil.
And just like the lyrical concept, the music of "Reviviscence" takes us, the listener, from the darkest corners of our minds with almost gothic-like parts, to the highest points of exalted happiness in symphonic outburst of pure heavy metal. An album capturing all that is metal - or should I say music in general? - in it´s only one hour long playing time, yet making it all flow so well together, because of the band´s understanding of the great song.
"Reviviscence" symbolizes a new era for progressive metal, yet stays true to the expectations of an album within the genre. Time Machine is a band that´s been around for many years, and with this new album, they´ve just revived themselves, and made sure that once the history book on progressive metal is going to be completed, they´ve earned themselves a spot among the very best and most important of the bands included.
Quelle: http://www.intromental.com/timemachine/Discografie2004 Reviviscence - Liber Secundus
2002 Evil
2001 Aliger Daemon (EP)
2000 Hidden Secrets (Doppel-CD, best of)
1999 Eternity Ends
1999 Project: Time Scanning (Re-Release)
1999 Shades Of Time (EP) (Re-Release)
1998 Secret Oceans, Part 2 (Maxi-CD)
1998 Secret Oceans, Part 1 (Maxi-CD)
1998 ActII: Galileo (Re-Release)
1997 Shades Of Time (EP)
1995 ActII: Galileo
1994 Dungeons Of The Vatican (EP)
1993 Project: Time Scanning
