Album review : GUNTER WERNO – Anima One
Frontiers [Release date: 10.03.23]
Like last month’s All My Shadows, Gunter Werno’s Anima One is yet another offshoot grown from the fertile ground that bred Prog Metal giants, Vanden Plas.
While All My Shadows saw VP’s prime movers, Stephan Lill and Andy Kuntz move into mainstream hard rock, Anima One is a full blown orchestral piece in classic, three movements’ form, initially focused on Werno’s virtuoso piano skills.
He’s backed by all the might of the Kaiserslautern Philharmonic Orchestra in the town’s famous Fruchthalle.
In Jungian psychology, “Anima” is translated as the “inner self”, “the soul”.
Balancing style and substance is always challenging for an instrumental opus, but all three movements are perfectly calibrated, with Werno modelling his arrangements and orchestrations on traditional forms, and a clear as a bell production.
In the first movement the music is intense and forceful with a welcome emphasis on melody, even when he brings in Stephan Lill’s razoring guitar lines. And then at other times the music is playful, dipping its toe into famous classics, borrowing from Tchaikovsy and JS Bach here and there.
The breadth of Werno’s imagination really comes to the fore during the second movement. His lush, sentimental score makes great use of synths and strings to create the emotional, dramatic music of the Romantics. It is the highpoint of the concerto, and is typical of the Classic format.
The third movement showcases the technical skill of the performers, opening with a twisted axe solo from Stephan Lill, followed by an emotional surge of music from the orchestra and all the sidemen.
That symphonic clash of sounds, mixing in classic orchestra with frantic, modern day instrumentation works a treat, fashioning folk tunes and traditional dance music with contemporary rock and metal sounds.
It is said that classical music is timeless. Anima One might just go the distance. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
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