Gathering of Souls by The Guildmaster

whose arsenal includes numerous folk instruments from various nationalities, including guitars, wind instruments, and international percussion, Ton Scherpenzeel on keyboards, Marco Bernard on Shuker bass, Kimmo Pörsti on drums and percussion, and a series of numerous collaborations and guests, most notably Alessandro Di Benedetti on keyboards, Rubén Álvarez on electric guitar, and Manoel Macía on baroque guitar.

The lineup changed for the second album, Liber de Dictis, in 2022. Alessandro Di Benedetti joined the core lineup (which remained the same for the third album, the subject of this post), replacing Ton Scherpenzeel on keyboards. All guests, except Rubén Álvarez on electric guitar and Manoel Macía on baroque guitar, were no longer present.

The lineup for the third album, Gathering of Souls, remains the same, but all the guests include Paula Pörsti on vocals from the previous album, along with Yogi Lang, Nick Markham, and John Wilkinson on vocals, Giovanni Mazzotti on flute, Alfonso Romero on Chapman Stick, and Tony Riveryman on electric guitar.

The album consists of eight tracks, five of which are between five and seven minutes long, and the remaining three between ten and twelve minutes. The tracks are four completely instrumental and four sung, with long instrumental sections.

"The Crusade of Earl Birger" is characterized, like many if not all of the album's tracks, by fantastic horns and classical guitar, with a slight gypsy accent. However, the song is predominantly animated by a beautiful medieval sound of bagpipes and percussion, with softer and more intense sections when the drums and bass come in excellently and the tempo increases in intensity, with great musical exploration. The mood of the song becomes more rock-oriented, with the drums and bass creating a pressing tempo that quickly transitions into a light and suspended mood. A beautiful song.

Where Are You? It's one of the longest tracks on the album, starting with a beautiful acoustic guitar and a captivating melody. It then returns to medieval folk and bagpipes, flutes, drums, and strings in a long, rhythmic interplay over which the excellent wind instruments unravel in marvelous virtuosity, following large guitar chords. The interplay and harmonies are beautiful. The rhythm is then punctuated by the drums in the choral section, with all the musicians together emphasizing the same theme. The guitar's playing is beautiful, emulating a sort of horn. Here, the counter-beats and rhythm are compelling, before the keyboard takes center stage in an alternation of solos and licks with the electric guitar. The keyboards display diverse sounds, with a prevalence of vintage, almost neo-prog (which is now vintage). The vocals over a synth base are beautiful, blending together with the sounds over a light electronic rhythm, when the electric piano comes in and the melody takes a wonderful turn. The tone of the song becomes epic when the drums and electric guitar take center stage; I love the deep, intense drum sounds. The song's finale is epic and compelling, featuring a beautiful guitar solo and new keyboard riffs—excellent prog. The closing of the song is also beautiful.

"Omnis saltat ad solem" is a medieval-style ballad, bright and captivating, with a good level of complexity. The rhythm section is perfectly focused on these harmonies. This is a kind of rock orchestration of great quality. After this lively phase, the mood becomes dreamy, with beautiful electric guitar arpeggios accompanied by light piano, and then comes the very beautiful blues-rock, with the guitar playing just the right amount of aggression and powerful drums that don't shy away from using crashes for emphasis. When all the instruments come together, it becomes a kind of medieval rock that leads to the final phase, where the flutes briefly return to the forefront, and then comes the epic conclusion, with medieval rock and electric guitar taking center stage. A beautiful composition.

"Blood and Oblivion" is the longest track, beginning with a fantastic piano intro, an emotional, almost moving melody, enhanced by splendid wind instruments and an excellent vocal part, beautifully styled and beautifully performed. At the end of the verse, the acoustic guitar introduces a section with an almost jazz-rock rhythm, a basic drum base over which the guitar, keyboards, and bass create a truly beautiful overall groove. The bass, which I've barely mentioned, is perfect in this song as in the others. The keyboards and guitar take center stage, alternating with the solos. And the wonderful choruses arrive, blending with the keyboards and wind instruments, the dreamy flutes, and the piano. Then the beautiful bass rekindles the mood and the beautiful jazz section returns. A lovely electric piano riff gives way to the beautiful guitar in an intersection of suffused atmospheres that culminates in a new melodic interlude based on flutes and piano. The acoustic guitar and keyboards give us a new interlude of harmonies, followed by a return to the medieval mood, with deep percussion and beautiful vocals, and the opening vocals return, a beautiful, engaging song with a beautiful voice. The finale is dominated by the guitar, with sounds that at times recall Hackett's style and great taste.

Lo Prometido es Deuda is a beautiful instrumental with interspersed acoustic guitar and piano, with a beautiful bass that blends medieval harmonies and emotions, and classical sections, but also intense rock moments. The keyboards and piano are beautiful. The sections with different tempos are well-matched.

In "Mary the Jewess," the overall mood is beautiful, with fantastic strings and vocals—or rather, the vocals. It's a beautiful rock fused with folk melodies that reappear at certain points. The guitar is always a plus when it comes in with its solos. The second half of the song is a beautiful, complex prog, rich in nuances, with a vintage sound at times. A beautiful piece and a beautiful song, with a consistently precise bass and drums that give their best, a warm voice with a fabulous interpretation, a convincing, credible blues timbre, and once again, but I repeat, the guitars, keyboards, strings, and flutes are top-notch.

"Luonto puhuu" is a ballad with Celtic or Arabic influences, featuring beautiful vocals, percussion, and excellent counterpoints. The guitar work is beautiful throughout, and the drums are also beautifully focused. The acoustic guitar variation is beautiful, followed by excellent wind instruments and percussion in varying tones, building upon each other until the intense opening sequence returns, with vocals and percussion but on a more rock-like tempo. The bass and keyboard work, providing a soundstage throughout the song, aren't sufficiently emphasized.

"Sea and Sky" closes the album, delighting us once again with acoustic guitar, wind instruments, and beautiful, passionate vocals. The flute transports us to a romantic atmosphere, and then the vocals return, with the closest thing to song form on the entire album, featuring the vocals and beautiful counterpoints. The central instrumental section is beautiful until the vocals take center stage again, on a beautiful melody. A fantastic guitar solo closes the album out beautifully.

Beautiful artwork by Ed Unitsky.

A very ambitious album with excellent production and a fascinating mix of international folk, played by exceptionally talented musicians. This album has won me over; I'll be checking out the previous ones too.

Tracks
1. The Crusade of Earl Birger (5:49)
2. Where Are You? (10:29)
3. Omnis saltat ad solem (5:55)
4. Blood and Oblivion (12:39)
5. Lo Prometido es Deuda (7:11)
6. Mary the Jewess (10:49)
7. Luonto puhuu (5:46)
8. Sea and Sky (5:36)
Duration 64:14

The Line-up
- Rafael Pacha - saz, recorders, crumhorn, classical, acoustic, and electric guitars, bouzouki, bodhrán, electric violin, mandolin, zither, keyboards, hulusi, cuatro, viola da gamba, dulcimer, zither, percussion, whistles, violin
- Alessandro di Benedetti - keyboards, vocals
- Marco Bernard - Shuker basses
- Kimmo Pörsti - drums and percussion, additional keyboards
With:
- Paula Pörsti - vocals and vocals
- Yogi Lang - vocals
- Nick Markham - vocals
- Giovanni Mazzotti - flute
- Alfonso Romero - Chapman Stick
- John Wilkinson - vocals
- Tony Riveryman - electric guitar