Debut album from Sicilian outfit, the advice is to stick with it and discover some good stuff on an album which promises much for the future.
Silver Nightmares are a band hailing from the gorgeous city of Palermo in Sicily. I was contacted by keyboardist Gabriele Taormina, who co-founded the band with bassist Gabriele Esposito, and drummer Alessio Maddaloni, with news of their debut full-length album, Apocalypsis (ἀποκάλυψις), (an EP, The Wandering Angel, was released in 2020) a concept album of the historical excursus (detailed discussion or explanation of a subject) of human beings headed for a reckoning. It is, therefore, nothing if not ambitious, and this, indeed, is the overwhelming impression one gets from listening to this album the band produced themselves.
They are joined by Michele Vitrano on vocals and some very evocative guitars by Mimmo Garofalo & Emanuele Lo Giudice.
It is the case that there are a fair few famous modern-day politicians and “celebrities” who are ripe for a decent old reckoning with their maker, but this work delves mainly into history, albeit with some clever references to modern life. Saphiens is the nominal group of the first “modern” human beings, Nefertiti was an Egyptian Queen famous for promoting a semi-monotheistic worship of the Sun God Aton, Etemananki is what is thought to be the basis for The Tower of Babel, wizards’ witches, and sorcerers, and a weird black cross, so a work dripping in mysticism and mythological history.
The album opens with Saphiens and evokes in its opening chords the music and rhythms of ancient savannahs before the track explodes with a very modern slice of heavy rock and swirling classic prog. Just short of three minutes in, we get our first guitar riff, which is pleasing, and the keyboards are clearly heavily influenced by 1970’s classic prog. I did rather appreciate the clever trumpet of Maddaloni which added an eclectic touch to this track.
Nefertiti follows and opens with more of those swirling keys, but the overall pace of the track as it develops is not quite as furious as the opener, although it does have its expansive and heavier moments. Vitrano is suitably grandiose as he sings the story of the beautiful Queen. There is a very impressive guitar riff again just short of three minutes in, and such breaks are amongst my favourite moments. The rhythm section provides a breakneck pace as the track moves towards its conclusion.
Etemananki is up next, the wonderful narrative in Genesis which seeks to explain why we speak in different tongues. Lead vocals here are provided by Vitrano together with Monica D'Anna, who has a pleasing voice. When the protagonists sing “the future of mankind should not scare us”, you cannot help thinking that the ancients, in this regard at least, didn’t quite nail it on. The track itself is operatic and grand with an especially dark guitar solo in tandem with some impressive keyboards, all underscored by a thundering bass riff. The closing percussive passage is interesting.
Sea of Sikelia is up next, and this refers to the strait off the island of Pantelleria. The track is a classic rocker. Think Deep Purple back in the day mixed with some of the more eclectic art rockers and evokes the scene of desperate Greek men rowing through a storm. When land is reached, there is a sense of wonder at the unique and sunny Sicily – as well it might, because the islands are truly beautiful, and have been colonised or conquered over millennia by umpteen powers, including as depicted here the classic Greeks.
Scorns of Time is up next, and is an interesting introspective commentary on loneliness, subsistence existence, and the dream of a better future, proving if nothing else that such words are as old as mankind. This track is a far quieter affair than what preceded it and has some very good guitar breaks, especially the Gilmore-influenced solo which leads into the denouement and the jazz drum underscoring it is noticeable.
Wizards, Witches, and Sorcerers. Ah, where would classic progressive rock be without them? Maddaloni again provides us with an example of his multi-instrumental talents by unleashing his inner Ian Anderson on flute, and a damned good effort it is, too. The lead vocals here by Lorenzo Mercurio are pleasing to my personal taste. Taken with the sensitive keyboards and a very pleasant acoustic guitar lead, this is my favourite track on the album and points to a promise of some very positive things to come from this earnest and honest combo.
The Awakening is an instrumental piece with Taormina’s keyboards to the fore, and I really enjoy the jazzy feel on this track, very reminiscent of Italian moments of yore, this interspersed with some decent guitar riffs.
The eighth track on the album is named just that – 8 and is an interesting discourse of the facets of that number, be it the pool ball, the eight pointed cross of Malta, or the Books of Kings which had eight sections. The trumpet returns (by Andrea Abram Gallì), with some smoky piano and keys, and a jazz infused rhythm section. When they unleash their jazz sensibilities, Silver Nightmares are very convincing. Vocals are provided on this by Sergio Sansone, and very good he is too.
The Blue Light of a Star follows. There is a delicious guitar burst to open. Lyrically, the song is fascinating and very worthy as a commentary on the persecution of people for falling in love with others of the “wrong colour” and telling us of the hangman passing his verdict, a reference to the fate which awaited many such men of colour in the Deep South. This is a very good piece of music, featuring some strong backing vocals behind the melodic lead and thoughtful melodies, especially the piano. Very good – listen to it below and enjoy.
The Weird Black Cross is the penultimate track. It is an apocalyptic track, very much the epiphany of the album and is a dark affair, but vocally, lyrically, and certainly musically interesting with some dark guitar riffs and keyboards competing for attention.
We finish with Intangible. The piano intro is lovely, and the track is a clever commentary on precisely its title, that sense of yearning, of wanting to know what awaits us, and that manifestation of humanity searching for the Son of the Father. As a modern hymn set to rock music, it is effective and very enjoyable, and musical value is added by Marcello Nicolosi on classical guitar. There is a gorgeous guitar solo which heralds some very clever orchestration and a further, darker, guitar riff before the whole band provides us with a commercial rock conclusion which sounds marvellous and is worth the entrance price alone. It is embedded below.
I have listened to this album quite a few times now. My conclusion is, in fact, that of the first listen, and that is that it gets better as it progresses. I am rather ambivalent about the first couple of tracks, but within the second half especially, there are some gems, and I hope that Silver Nightmares can, with their next effort, develop those areas where they clearly shine, and I think their melodic prog, jazz, and dramatic AOR sensibilities are those areas. All in all, Apocalypsis is a very decent debut album from an honest and forthright outfit who I will follow with interest in the coming years.
The Weird Black Cross, The Awakening, and The Blue Light of a Star can all be heard in iTunes if you have a subscription. You can hear all this album and the EP at the band’s page on Bandcamp https://silvernightmares.bandcamp.com/