Here come the Yngwie comparisons. . .
In fairness to myself, reviewers, and audiences everywhere, though, those comparisons are courted. Guitarist extraordinaire, Luca Poma, has clearly studied and worshipped at the altar of Malmsteen. It’s not just the light-speed Classical-style soloing; the songs also all sound like they’d have been at home on any of the early Rising Force records.

An incidental similarity to Yngwie Malmsteen’s first three solo albums: the songs are brilliant. They’re not just set pieces built to spotlight Luca Poma’s black-belt guitar techniques, they’re excellent musical compositions. The tone ranges from commercial kinda-catchiness, to Power Classical Metal rigidity, to window-rattling and energetic.
But sure, Luca Poma is a guitar Jedi; let’s talk about the leads. They’re electrifying, important, masterful, singular; they could stand alone as short Metal concertos. I can think of countless great songs where my attention drifts during the guitar solo breaks (Those artists will remain nameless. If you’re being honest, you know you do this too). Not the case here. If my mind wanders at all, Luca’s solos bring me right back. I want to hear every note, every measure, every sequence. The guy has a gift to complement the skill he’s earned, presumably through 23 hours-per-day of practice.
Luca Pozzion's vocals are like Jeff Scott Soto with an Italian accent - - just with more harmonization (think Dokken’s “In My Dreams”). Nicola Leonesio seems to be the main backing voice in those harmonies, but his keyboards are his best contribution, adding excellent layering and dimension to almost every song on the record. As Jordan Rudess is to John Petrucci in Dream Theater, Leonesio is to Poma in Moon Reverie.
It’s an early-year release, but I fully expect “Moon Reverie” to be in the conversation for the best albums of 2020.
Highlights: “The Raven,” “First and Last,” “Moon Reverie Suite,” “Forgiveness,” and “End of Times.”