Italian progressive rock/metal band Pentesilea Road is back with their sophomore full-length album, “Sonnets From The Drowsiness” – and it’s a complex, emotional and beautifully crafted voyage through prog rock and metal soundscapes. This new record feels like a step forward from their self-titled debut. “Sonnets From The Drowsiness” sounds more atmospheric, more mature, more confident and way more personal. It’s less about showing off technical skill (even though there’s plenty of that too) and more about creating a deep emotional experience. The songs are rich and layered, combining heavy guitar riffs and solos with spacey keyboards, jazzy breaks and melodic vocals. What I liked much is that the band doesn’t fear to attack with its prog metal passages and slow down with its prog rock sensibilities. Lyrically, the album is a kind of poetic diary. It’s reflective, melancholic and full of dream-like images – as if it was written during a long night of insomnia. The title “Sonnets from the Drowsiness” fits it perfectly. Highlights? I’d say “Pulse”, “Aria” and “The Geometry of Nothing” really stand out – both emotionally intense and musically adventurous. The production is warm and natural, letting all instruments breathe. This isn’t an album you blast in your car. It’s one to sit with, headphones on, lights low. It’s for those quiet moments when you want music to speak to your soul. Pentesilea Road may not be a household name, but with albums like this, they’re carving out a space of their own in the prog world – and it’s a space worth visiting.
♦ 8/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
