• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

After starting out under the Omega Erre moniker and playing Hard Rock covers back in the early seventies, Italy's Dark Quarterer (the name they've gone by since 1980) have had a respectably long career and now with Ithaca, seven studio albums in their catalogue. If you are a fan of progressive Metal please share a minute with me, okay?

Dark Quarterer has been praised and adored by many and now having listened to Ithaca (a concept album inspired by the 1911 poem of the same title by Greek poet Konstantinos P. Kavafis about Odysseus's travel from the Trojan Wars back to his home and a metaphor for the journey of life where the goal is not as important as the journey itself), I can join the mob that hears something special. There's definitely more than meets the ear.

Ithaca is very detailed, moody and dynamic as well as easily accessible. It melds something profoundly old and familiar with something new and does so in an optimal way. A good example would be the song "Rage of Gods", the longest on the album, which seems to be doing its best to combine Led Zeppelin with an orchestrated Therion song. Vocalist/bassist Gianna Nepi even sounds like a younger version of Robert Plant at times. I cannot help liking Dark Quarteter's dark and doomy approach on "Mind Torture" either. This track has a strong Candlemass twist to it and is definitely the heaviest song on Ithaca. The last song, "Last Fight", could not be any catchier; it's like an epic, progressive power-ballad and many people will undoubtedly be singing the chorus when the song is played live. The only thing that bugs me about this song is the two minutes of annoying dead air they left in the middle before starting up again with spoken word, acoustic guitar and piano. Dark Quarterer must be given credit for being professional storytellers. The lyrics really grab your attention as you read about Odyssey and the Trojan Wars.

What makes Ithaca such a strong album is the experience of these Italians. Can you make good wine without the knowledge of how to do it? I bet what you came up with would not be labeled a fine product. Ithaca is characterized by strong musicianship and well-arranged, epic and progressive Heavy Rock/Metal songs that will certainly stand the test of time. Get this album for yourself and become totally mesmerized by it! I certainly did.