01	Kontakt						13:03
	02	Tempus Fugiens?						08:44
	03	Od Ob						08:47
	04	Kadman Neso						10:39
	05	Andros Medomai						08:07

Runaway Totem - Andromeda
Country of Origin: Italy
Format: CD
Record Label: Musea
Catalogue #: FGBG 4299.AR
Year of Release: 1999
Time: 49.24
Info: Runaway Totem's Eyes

Tracklist:Kontakt (13.03), Tempus Fungiens ? (8.44), OD OB (8.47), Kadman Neso (10.39), Andros Medomai (8.07)
Last year Italian band Runaway Totem released the concept album Andromeda, a complex progressive rock piece. Formed in 1988, the band has released two prior albums, Trimegisto in 1993 and Zed in 1996. Andromeda was released by french music label Musea last July. At the time of Andromeda's recording, Runaway Totem was a five man band, consisting of Roberto Gottardi (guitars, vocals), Rene Modena (guitars), Germano Morghen (drums) and Dario Gelmetti (bass), and Roberto Veronese on piano, keyboards and synths. Modena left the band in March 1999.


On their previous albums Runaway Totem showed an interest in Greek and Egyptian mythology and ancient history. Andromeda is again a concept album. It tells the story of an ordinary man, Kadman Neso, and his identity in the harmonious coexistence of his micro-cosmos and the macro-cosmos around him. In Runaway Totem's own words: "Andromeda wants to be the musical representation of the cosmo-genesis. We can rediscover our true identity through what we consider the ars regia: music." No catchy pop tunes or lyrics here.

This is not your typical prog music. Runaway Totem shows an original style, musically, but especially vocally. Instrumentally it appealed most to my fondness for the early seventies style of Pink Floyd. Roberto Gottardi's vocals shift from lyrical singing to outright story telling and at times he brings his lines as emotional outcries. As all lyrics are either in Italian or Latin (to tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure), this may prove something of a threshold to be taken by intrested prog fans. Actually, this album is good enough not to be passed over by such considerations.

The first track, Kontakt, opens with mysterious synthesizer music, reminiscent of some of movie score writer Jerry Goldsmith's work, symbolising the vastness of space, the macrocosm. Piano, bass and drums are added, and guitar joins in as the keys shift to a Atom Heart Mother like rhythm. This eases up before the band picks up the pace and Gottardi's deep voice is added. Further on the beat of Diamond Head's Am I Evil is set in, overlaid with guitar and the booming of Gottardi's voice.

In Tempus Fugiens ? piano and drums and the mesmerizing voice of Gottardi build as a trio to a climax. Again the pace is picked up and a strong metal rhythm is taken up by the band. Between vocal parts this is complemented by violin. Some very dark instrumental parts are added, and as Gottardi joins in, Roberto Veronese plays heavy organs. Guitars toward the end are again very reminiscent of Pink Floyd in their late sixties/ early seventies period.

Od. Ob. starts as a more standard prog rock track, but it has a very nice vocal rhythm. It includes very good keyboards and echoing guitars. Gottardi shifts to story telling mode in the middle of the track, then changes to a hypnotic chanting as the bass dominates the instrumental section.

Kadman Neso is a slow metal track with overlying keyboard rhythms. As the keys set a more quite rhythm half way through the track Gottardi sings of Kadman Neso, as this track alternates between quite verses and a powerful chorus. The last track, Andros Medomai, sounds like a dark, but catchy carnaval tune. This instrumental track alternates between rhythms.

The band's website, Runaway Totem's Eyes, includes soundclips from all three albums they've released, including from this latest album parts of Kontakt, Tempus Fugiens ? and Kadman Neso.

This self produced album catches the mysterious atmosphere of endless space with great perfomances, especially by Gelmetti on bass and Veronese on keys. It is sure to be of interest to those IQ fans, who don't mind a darker and heavier sound and don't mind crossing the barrier of lyrical confusion, as it brings the same comfortable symbioses instrumentally that is one of IQ's strong points in my view. It's not quite retro Pink Floyd, but original and complex symphonic music, definitely worth a try.

Conclusion: 8 out of 10.

Mark Sander






Runaway Totem [Italy]
Updated 11/30/01
Discography
Trimegisto (93) Zed (96) Andromeda (99)

Reviews
Runaway Totem On their third album Andromeda (Musea FGBG 4299.AR), Italian band Runaway Totem play modern metallic zeuhl mixed in with space-rock influences and even touches of a more conventional symphonic rock. What we essentially have here is a combination of zeuhl-styled male vocals and guitar riffs hammered out on two electric guitars against the rock solid but intricate pulse of the heavy rhythm section, while keyboards paint space-rock flavoured synthscapes and occasionally add more symphonic shades. It is actually the keyboards that are the focus here, as their varied (from sweeping to bleeping, choral to stabbing) sound layers spread over and colour the rather monotonous and monochromatic distortion guitar riffs, their frosty digital sheen contributing to the cold, almost gothic feel of the music. Vocalist, who is clearly a graduate of the Blasquiz Conservatory for Zeuhl Vocalists, is featured heavily on all but one of the songs, singing lyrics in what seems to be an Italian version of Kobaian (probably the dialect spoken on the southern hemisphere of the planet Kobaia). While falling well short of Blasquiz in terms of range and strength, his vocal lines are confident, melodic and strange enough to act as the focusing element amidst the maelstrom of the music. While Runaway Totem should be congratulated for an interesting combination of musical elements, Andromeda tends to leave me rather cold, only really working in a couple of places. Repetition is very typical in zeuhl, but it requires a skilful use of dynamics and nuances to make it hypnotic and compelling, rather than just repetitive. Runaway Totem get it right on maybe two songs out of five. The worst example is the first part of "Kadman Neso", where the jagged main riff simply doesn't hold enough interest in itself to justify the slow battering it receives for four minutes in succession. The band show a good sense of dynamics even later in the same song with the soft verses and their Mellotron-like keyboards alternating with bombastic choruses, but in too many places I feel that without the keyboards this would essentially sound rather like more-complex-than-average metal (nothing wrong about that, of course, just not my thing). The most successful track, IMO, is "Tempus Fugiens?" which begins with a nicely atmospheric piano intro, and concludes with a gothic vocal melody and organ soloing over the wall of guitars, bass and drums (although there is a rather tinny synthesizer violin solo between these two). Fans of modern zeuhl and a more unconventional prog-metal will probably like this a lot more than I do, but for a more interesting example of Totem zeuhl from Italy, try the offshoot Universal Totem Orchestra. -- Kai Karmanheimo




Andromeda Musea Records, 1999

Tracks :
1 - Kontakt
2 - Tempus Fugiens ?
3 - OD .·. OB .·.
4 - Kadman Neso
5 - Andros medomai

Total Time: 49'22"


Music composed, arranged and performed by Runaway Totem



lead voice and guitars : CAHAL DE BETEL
guitars : MIMHIR DE BENNU
keyboards and piano : ViRHUR
drums : TIPHERET
bass profundo : NEZAH

The album has been recorded at Sonica Studio, Rovereto (TN), Italy in 1999.
Sound engineer: Marco Olivotto



THE BAND's HISTORY


The Runaway Totem group was formed in September 1988 in Riva del Garda, Trentino, Italy, as the result of a clear plan originating with CAHAL DE BETEL and Rene Modena. After an initial period in which various members came and went, followed by a further period of musical meditation, the Group took the "REVIVAL ROAD" by way of the study of the Traditional. Meanwhile in 1993 ,the first project with the title of "TRIMEGISTO" was created and produced in a limited edition of 666 vinyl copies for the Black Widow Records label of Genova. This was re-produced in 1995 in CD format, including two bonus tracks.

In the same period Runaway Totem continued its research in the Revival Mood, which led to a mix of new and old musical atmospheres for the "ZED" project. It was with this "ZED" project that RUNAWAY TOTEM produced the new LP and CD with the title naturally of "ZED" for the Black Widow Records label of Genova. ZED , 1 hour suite in two movements, has required the introduction of a little orchestra (octave flute, flute , clarinet , trumpet , kettle-drums and percussions) and a female choir of 3 elements, without mentioning the other guests. This album marks the enter of two new musicians , that are also the actual members : a new drummer , TIPHERET, and a new bass-guitarist , NEZAH.

In the last months of 1997 it begins the work for the new album "ANDROMEDA" , with which the keyboardist ViRHUR comes onto the stage. "ANDROMEDA" , recorded between January and February 1999, has been relased in the summer of the same year by the french label Musea Records.

In march 1999 the guitarist Rene Modena left the group cause of personal problems. The four members of the band decided in 2000 to build a little recording studio, called Albula Studios, where the group could freely experiment with new musical moods and further side-projects. After two years it comes "TEP ZEPI", the natural continuation of the previous album "ANDROMEDA".







Reviews:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mac Beaulieu 22-July-2001 Andromeda

Runaway Totem - Andromeda (Musea FGBG 4299.AR, 1999, CD)
Andromeda's opening sounds like music to accompany space travel as our portentous destination unfolds before us, then a cool Magmoid theme takes hold. At about 5 minutes, the next theme introduces Roberto Gottardi's powerful vocals. He sounds like a large person singing from deep within his chest with a forceful character, and he sounds very Italian. It's obvious where this album is heading right from the start: dark, menacing main themes relieved by what sounds like superfluous bridges or fillers, but which in fact reveal their own value on subsequent listens. Not all is dark and menacing however: There's actually an interesting juxtaposition of the menacing instrumental backing with rather grandiose vocal lines. Frequently the bass, guitars, and keys will play the themes in unison, while the drums pound consistent drumbeats, often mimicking or accentuating the roles the rest of the band is playing. It's a powerful combination with an almost pyle-driving effect, though the bass/snare drum emphasis can get a bit monotonous in places. One of the two guitarists tends to double the bass line on his fuzzed lower string(s) while the other guitarist may join them or play an interlocking theme. Solos are relatively rare; instead the band plays as a unit, using instrumental sections as vehicles for different angular/odd melodies. Keyboards play a prominent supportive role, with piano often following the main melody, and synths and effects contributing choruses or space effects. Not necessarily a zeuhl clone, but martial beats, start/stop rhythms, alien melodies: now thatsa Kobaian!

(Originally appearing in Expose issue 22)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Peter Thelen 22-July-2001 Trimegisto

Runaway Totem - "Trimegisto" (Black Widow BWRCD 004-2, 1993/1995, CD)
This was a new release on independent vinyl just two years before Black Widow reissued it as a CD in 1995 with a couple bonus tracks. Good thing, as the vinyl was a limited run of 666 or some such nonsense, and could have never reached its potential audience. The band - which varies from a basic trio of keys+guitar, drums and vocals, to an expanded lineup including two dedicated vocalists and an additional guitarist, plays a dark and sinister brand of furiously paced rock laced with certain elements of Magma and Zappa. It wouldn't be correct to call Runaway Totem a zeuhl band as such, their own vision is far stronger than the inputs from their influences, but suffice to say if one is adventurous and appreciates bands like Magma and Weidorje, then Trimegisto is a must-have. - Peter Thelen

(Originally published in Exposй # 9, p. 64, Edited for Gnosis 7/21/01)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Peter Thelen 22-July-2001 Zed

Runaway Totem - "Zed" (Black Widow BWRCD 013-2, 1996, CD)

When a band takes this big a step from their first album to their second, one has to stop and take note. Runaway Totem's first effort Trimegisto from a few years ago was a mixed bag of dark gothic influences, classic Italian progressive stylings, and strong hints of Zeuhl, with only a general sense of direction - perhaps because the lineup appeared to be unstable. So given that, the last thing I expected was a cohesive follow-up album like this - two sidelong multi-part suites "Zed" and "Mnar", covering a full range of musical emotion from soft drifty sections of multi-part vocal harmonies to outbursts of blistering fuzzed dual-guitars and everything else in between. The basic band is a four-piece of two guitars, bass, and drums, the two guitarists sharing vocals with a guest lead female voice, two backing voices, and Marco "Ohm" Olivotto (TNR) on Mellotron and piano, who also did the album's sound and mixing. Occasionally the material seems a little too ambitious, and at those moments the band seems a little exposed and vulnerable, but overall it succeeds. Folks who love Mellotron will get plenty of it here, along with occasional guests on flute, clarinet and other keyboards. The vocals are all in Italian, very heavy and stylized. Both tracks seem to be in a constant state of evolution, alternating between the diverse extremities of the Runaway Totem sound. Indeed, this is an album of extremes, dark and sinister versus spirited and celestial - yet it's one which seems to make more sense with every listen.

(Originally published in Exposй # 12, p.42, Edited for Gnosis 7/21/01)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Mike Grimes 22-July-2001 Zed

With Zed, Runaway Totem recalls the Golden Age of progressive rock, offering up an album solely containing two 20+ minute tracks. As would be expected, both tunes are multi-faceted epics. The title track, "Zed," opens with a symphonic intro, and gets progressively heavier and guitar driven as the piece advances. Certain parts of this song drag on a little. There's a few spots where the drums and bass play the same riff for about 516 measures while the two guitars wail away. But, for the most part, the tune is pretty interesting. The second and final track, "Mnar," has a more ethnic spacey vibe to it than the title track. For the first 6 minutes, the music is quite ambient, and African drum sounds pound away on a simple beat. Then, the guitar tritone assault begins. After several minutes of this, the piece evolves into an Italian industrial surf number. Talk about shifting gears... The vocals are very rich and operatic, with both male and female sections receiving about equal spotlight - and often sharing it simultaneously. There's a distinctly European flavor to the sound. The best part of the album is the twin guitar work of Roberto Gottardi and Rene Modena. They shred!! The focus of the music shifts often between heavy and light, and between guitar and keyboards. Unfortunately, for the most part, these transformations are wholesale. When the guitars are clanging away, the keyboards are absent. Likewise, when the keyboards are the focus, the guitars are totally out of the mix. It's too bad the band didn't experiment with having more sections emphasize both instruments together. Overall though, the music is entertaining and vibrant.

(Originally published in Exposй # 12, p.42, Edited for Gnosis 7/21/01)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Mike McLatchey 22-July-2001 Zed

This group creates one of the more unique hybrids of progressive rock, a niche that's becoming more comfortable here on their second release. Like many a group in the Black Widow stable, their music is dark and betraying gothic overtones. Add that simple and driving space rock style (much like label mate Malombra) coined by Hawkwind and propagated in Delirium label tradition, and choral classical music with vocals a la Opus Avantra (both male and female); mix in 70's Italian progressive rock (Celeste comes to mind here, but Runaway Totem are not that relaxed) and you're orbiting around Totem's morose and angst-filled music. Both tracks break the 20 minute mark and seem to be intelligently put together. My main gripe is that the playing isn't all that inspired and seems either amateur or rushed. An interesting and more provocative album than usual from Black Widow.

(Originally published in Exposй # 12, p.42, Edited for Gnosis 7/21/01)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Mike McLatchey 15-April-2001 Trimegisto

Runaway Totem are an Italian group on Black Widow, a progressive rock label with affinities for the darker side. As is the case with label mates Malombra, Runaway Totem have little to do with the symphonic rock genre and instead, on Trimegisto, (Black Widow BWR 004, LP) they concentrate on a hard-edged, Zeuhl-influenced progressive hard rock that is rather hard to get used to. The band's debut, what was a limited edition of 666 on LP, makes up one of the more interesting albums of the early 90's, what seems to be a concept album based on the hermetic writings of Trimegistus. The lavish packaging with triple gatefold, inlaid booklet, and gimmick cover only give a vague clue to this group's music and all its alchemic symbolism, although it surely is a worthwhile find for collectors. The music combines influences from all over the musical map including Magma, Weidorje, Ozric Tentacles, Picchio dal Pozzo, and Henry Cow, but the overall concoction is very much their own. As with Malombra, the vocals are a bit hard on the ear, but Totem's music is a definite grower. One for those with a taste for the unusual.
(originally reviewed as part of The New Italian Progressive Rock Scene (part 1), Exposй #3, p. 8, Edited for Gnosis 4/6/01)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------