I love interesting themes in my music, and Hosts of a Vanished World, the release of Bob Saliba, most certainly gives us that. It is the fictional story of a palaeontologist in the future or (in a quantum universe) a parallel present who spent his life studying animal and vegetable species that have not been alive for millions of years, wondering what Earth was like before the birth of humanity, and finding the means to encounter the wildlife of the Silurian seas, the huge ferns of the Carboniferous primitive forests and its ostentatiously oversized arthropods, and the late to appear but by far more famous dinosaurs. A mention here of the CD booklet, which has images to match the lofty ambitions of the story.
Saliba is a member of French power outfit, KingCrown. He is the lead vocalist on this, and plays lead, rhythm, acoustic & flamenco guitars, Neapolitan Mandolin, Greek bouzouki, cura Turkish saz & percussions. He has assembled a veritable host of artists, and you can see them at Bob Saliba (ftf-music.com) You can buy the album at Rock - hard - metal - FTF-MUSIC (helloasso.com) and it is available on major streaming platforms.
We have thirteen tracks on this album and over an hour of music, so quite a bit to discuss. It opens with Introspection, the scientist walking the cold and dark streets after his day’s work hoping to find support from Mrs Wife for his project. The guitar work is instantly pleasing. Saliba is a very good musician - the guitar solos are marvellous, as are the riffs underpinning the track, some good acoustic guitar work, and I like the vocal harmonies in a tale of misunderstanding between husband and wife. He has a path he must follow. All in all, a solid start to the album.
Excavations follows this, the title being somewhat self-explanatory. More excellent guitar solos, a boon to the ears of any classic rock fan, and the anthemic nature of the track serves as a perfect commencement to a detailed story drawing the listener in nicely.
Visions has our hero thinking of a future. I rather like the drum work on this track by John Macaluso and Ricky Marx produces a fine chaotic guitar solo. Two minutes from the end, the mood turns distinctly introspective, and the guitar work is wonderfully pastoral before Saliba reasserts himself as the master of the electric guitar with a nice burst as the close repeats the theme.
This is followed by Crystal Castle, this essentially being the palaeontologist’s personal study and an interesting dynamic between the familiarity of this and the need to provide himself with a more open mind than his surroundings allow for. The acoustic guitar work here is very pretty and the production very tight as this is intertwined with a thoughtful electric guitar with a strong rhythm section throughout. When the harder expansions come in, they fill the room with noise. We have an official video for this one, and it is embedded below. I like this track a lot with its distinct commercial sensibilities.
We also have an official video for Entropy you can see below as well, this piece discussing the power of the scientist’s mind, fighting against the strongest rules. It is wonderfully catchy, just about the perfect euro-rock single with some cracking axe work. The opening of the key box at the end is suitably dramatic.
Expectations follows, with the key presenting a choice between opening a door which has always been closed, choosing between heart and mind, madness, and wisdom. The vocals remind me a bit of a David Coverdale in his broodier moments. Once the vocals close, Saliba provides for some great bouzouki & acoustic guitar work, whilst Alessandro Lotta delights with a bass solo. I have embedded the audio track below, my favourite song of the record.
Transposition is fascinating, talking about the incredibly harsh impact humanity has had on the world’s wildlife, so our scientist hero hatches a plan to keep us contained within supercities, cutting us off from the wild and allowing life to flourish once more without our interference. The track is a thoughtful understated chugger. I really like the guitar solo provided by Roland Grapow, soaring and urgent, and there is a pretty passage just before the closing vocals which is infused with the spirit of 1970’s pastoral progressive rock.
Into The Lab takes us into the heart of our hero’s world, his temple of science & knowledge. It is an interesting mix this one, with some more very intricate acoustic work, some distinctly funky vocal harmonies, and more traditional riffing alongside a nice slightly distorted electric guitar solo.
Reflections is a song about the ship we are all sailing in, that being mother earth, so a concept certainly fans of Jon Anderson will be familiar with. I really like this short three-minute track, and the audio is embedded below. The acoustic guitar work is really very good, with some nice synths overlaying this.
Rivality has the scientist ready to share his research, but as with so much honest work, it clashes with vested interests. This is perfectly true of real life, not just in this fictional world, as any honest public servant can attest. Lyrically, it is a battle between “The Lobby” and the scientist, and in tones returns to a more traditional heavy rock operatic number with some very detailed and intricate guitar solos.
Saphire is a short instrumental piece with some rather beautiful guitar work. Saliba really does have some string chops, as good a modern guitarist as I have heard.
The penultimate track is To The Zenith, which deals with the inheritance we are leaving to future generations. Listening to this a few times, there is, I think, a definite Rabin-era Yes influence to this one, both vocally and musically, excepting the guest vocal of Jo Amore which I am not altogether sure adds that much to Saliba’s vocals, although the pleading at the close is effective.
The album closes with its title track, ambitiously broken into three distinct suites. It is nine minutes long. After All, has a lovely piano introducing us to the suite with the yearning vocals hoping for the survival of this planet, but acknowledging we might have to search elsewhere. The Threat begins in a joyful symphonic orchestration before the rock ensemble reasserts itself in a story of the wish to simply fly away from the damage wrought on the planet to another dimension. The urgency of this desire is very well modelled by a furious Saliba guitar solo. We close with Alive In Death, with the acceptance of a new reality, all alone. The vocals are suitably evocative, and we also get a lovely swirling flute solo from Roberto Billi in a very strong closing passage (love the drums at the death).
In all honesty, on the first couple of listens, I was rather sceptical about Hosts of a Vanished World. It is one of those albums, though, that definitely grows on you. Certainly, growing intimacy with his music reveals in Saliba a very talented guitarist and a writer who is healthily ambitious in what he has produced for us, and I therefore have no hesitation in recommending it to those of you who appreciate their heavy rock telling a story with a variety of moods ranging from the pastoral to the operatic.