Lucio Manca - Third Outline of a New Beginning

Lucio Manca

Third Outline of a New Beginning

by Kevin Lewis at 01 September 2020, 9:42 AM

LUCIO MANCA is a prolific Italian bass player and composer. Active since 1992, he has been a part of numerous bands, including A.G.D. (A GOOD DAY), EXORCISM, RAVEN LORD and SOLID VISION.  “Third Outline Of A New Beginning” is his third solo album, self-released on July 16, 2020. This is progressive metal EP with five songs featuring heavy bass tones and some really good musicians.

Leading the disc off is “Murder Crisis”, a fast-paced song with prominent bass and keyboard lines, but also a definite heavy riff on guitar. The song starts with some ethereal tones and slowly builds to the primary rhythm. The intricate guitar work over the top of the rhythm is interesting and consistent. There is nothing choppy or off tempo about this song which can easily happen with instrumentals that try too hard.

Next is “Forgiveness Revenge”, definitely more of a prog metal song than “Murder Crisis”. Both have prog elements, but this one has more. The odd shifts in tempo and short run lead pieces give this the bigger prog feel. Again, heavy bass lines with a ton of notes. The keyboards run from laying a foundation for the overall tone to jumping out front and leading the song through a shift. There is no hidden tracking here, but there is some “ducking under” to add ambience to the overall effect.

“Selfish And Vile” bolts out of the gate. There is no intro, just a blistering riff and fast, complex drumming. The bass and keyboards are there, and they do take the lead when necessary. Similarly, “Negativity Or Drama” is on the run from the start. “Agoraphobia” has the heaviest riff coming right from the start of the song. All three songs are replete with shifts in lead, using bass, guitar and keyboard each in turn.

For the most part, I try to avoid instrumental albums. They often go on too long and get repetitive. This has only five songs and they all feel different, While some of the writing reminds me of DREAM THEATER/LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, this is not a copy of those bands. There is nothing groundbreaking or extremely innovative on this record. There is a lot of good musicianship. This is very bass heavy, obviously written by a bass player, but it is not a bass player solo record in its’ entirety, which is good.

The mix of instruments is impressive and shows the ability of the composer to fit all the instruments together with talent and vision. LUCIO MANCA is obviously a good composer and player. With five songs making it a quick listen, I played this record through at least 15 times while making up my mind. It is a good record and deserves to be heard, preferably more than once so you can pick up all the nuances this disc contains.

Songwriting:  8
Musicianship:  9
Memorability:  7
Production:  8