BOB SALIBA – HOSTS OF A VANISHED WORLD
I
must
confess
this
is
the
first
time
I
have
come
across
Bob
Saliba,
although
he
has
multiple
bands,
with
Kingcrown
being
probably
the
most
well-known,
plus
he
has
worked
and
toured
with
the
likes
of
Therion,
Tygers
Of
Pan
Tang,
Blaze
Bayley...perhaps
that
is
why
he
has
managed
to
get
so
many
name
guests
on
this
concept
album.
The
concept
is
as
follows,
“Here
is
the
fictional
story
of
this
palaeontologist
somewhere
in
the
future
or
a
parallel
present.
A
passionate
scientist
who
spent
his
life
studying
many
animal
and
vegetable
species
that
have
not
been
alive
on
this
Earth
for
hundreds
of
millions
of
years.
After
every
working
day,
the
man
would
imagine
what
the
Earth
was
like
before
the
birth
of
Humanity
or
even
before
life
of
the
modern
era.
Wondering
about
how
evolved
all
of
these
fantastic
creatures,
how
intriguing
the
very
first
forms
of
complex
life
were,
how
many
unfortunate
beautiful
living worlds disappeared during the 5 main massive extinctions from the face of the planet, how life had to restart
from
the
beginning.”
This
never
feels
like
a
project,
even
though
we
have
a
multi-instrumentalist
with
plenty
of
guests,
but
that
is
because
first
and
foremost
he
has
a
core
band
plus
Bob
is
a
great
singer
who
as
well
as
lead
vocals provides lead, rhythm, acoustic & flamenco guitars, Neapolitan mandolin, Greek bouzouki, Turkish cura and
Turkish
Saz.
Yes,
there
are
quite
a
few
folk
instruments
involved
which
one
would
not
normally
expect
on
a
prog
metal/melodic
metal
album.
The
band
contains
Bruno
Pradels
(bass),
Tom
Abrigan
(rhythm
&
lead
guitars),
John
Macaluso
(drums)
while
guests
include
John
Macaluso
(Yngwie
Malmsteen,
Ark,
Jennifer
Batten),
Roland
Grapow
(Masterplan,
Helloween),
Ricky
Marx
(Now
or
Never,
Pretty
Maids),
Alessandro
Lotta
(Rhapsody),
and
Jo
Amore
(Kingcrown,
Joe
Stump's
Tower
of
Babel,
NIGHTMARE).
This
is
not
an
album
which
will
be
enjoyed
the
first
time
it
is
played
as
it
feels
just
too
dense,
too
complex,
and
there
are
too
many
threads
which
do
not
appear
to
fully
weave
their
magic.
While
there
are
elements
of
Savatage
there
are
also
Blind
Guardian
while
the
use
of
both
shredding
electrics
and
strummed
acoustics
seems
somewhat
out
of
place,
especially
as
they
are
often
taking
place
at
the
same
time
and
the
ears
can
get
somewhat
confused
and
everything
turns
to
mud.
This
is
album
which
rewards
perseverance
as
it
is
only
with
repeated
plays
that
one
starts
to
get
inside
the
walls
and
start
to
appreciate
the
beauty
contained
within.
To
be
honest,
if
I
was
writing
the
review
when
I
had
only
played
this
a
few
times
then
chances
are
it
would
have
been
quite
different,
but
I
felt
there
was
something
here
and
possibly
the
issue
was
with
me,
the
listener,
and
having
now
played
it
multiple
times
I
think
I
am
getting
there.
While
I
think
this
is
a
solid
4/5,
I
can
imagine
some
reviewers
giving
this
top
marks,
and
naming
it
in
their
album
of
the
year
lists
while
I
can
also
see
others
thinking
this
is
just
too
bombastic
and
over
the
top.
This
is
music
which
at
times
appears
to
be
approached
from
a
straightforward
metal
influence,
while
the
acoustic
instruments
are
from
a
middle
European
folk
background
and
tie
in
very
well
indeed.
This
is
a
truly
progressive
album
grounded
in
different
cultures,
styles
and
instruments
which
may
take
time
to
fully
appreciate
but
when
makes
the
effort
there
is
a
lot
here
to
enjoy.
I
am
intrigued
to
see
what Saliba does from here on in and is a name I will be keeping an eye on.