Bob Saliba - “Hosts of a Vanished World” [FTF Music]

Bob Saliba is an already well-known musician. French guitarist and singer, there are countless bands with which he collaborates and has collaborated in the past. Now it’s the solo turn of his band, which debuts with this “Hosts of a Vanish World”, full of names of a certain importance coming from the international rock and metal scene. Just look at John Macaluso (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Ark, Jennifer Batten…) or Roland Grapow (Masterplan, ex-Helloween) among the best-known faces who participated in this splendid album!

A record that blows away the vast majority of progressive bands in circulation, for various factors. Meanwhile, folk and ethnic influences hover in the album, interpreted perfectly by a practically unlimited use of instrumentation (including wind instruments and more) and by the voice, but above all by Bob Saliba’s guitar. Well, this guy knows how to make a piece special, even when we’re not talking about something extremely difficult and to be associated with prog.

He uses particular scales borrowed from flamenco, blues, jazz and transforms them into something magical that fits perfectly into the hard rock frameworks of his music. The album is a very particular concept that invites you to delve deeper and therefore it is advisable to listen to the songs strictly following their numbering, because each track represents a specific moment of the album.

Bob Saliba’s performance on voice and guitar, as already mentioned, is literally incredible, his technical preparation and his imagination have no limits, but the army of guest musicians contributes to making this album truly special. Not a subdued track, not a passage that is taken for granted. A beautiful album from the first track, “Introspection”, to the last “Hosts of a Vanish World”. And it is precisely in this last song, quite long, that we can find all the elements that were expressed in the album, from the more introspective parts, to the sweeter ones, to the more typically prog rock and hard rock ones.
A masterpiece album, there are no other words to describe it.

Tracklist:

Introspection
Excavations
Visions
Crystal Castle
Entropy
Expectations
Transposition
Into the Lab
Reflections
Rivality
Saphire
To the Zenith
Hosts of a Vanished World

Line-up/Guests:
Bob Saliba: lead vocals, lead, rhythm, acoustic & flamenco guitars, neapolitan Mandolin, greek bouzouki,
cura Turkish saz & percussions
Bruno Pradels: bass, arrangements & orchestrations
Tom Abrigan: rhythm & lead guitars, arrangements
John Macaluso (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Ark, Jennifer Batten…): drums & percussions
Roland Grapow (Masterplan, ex-Helloween): guitar solo on “Transposition”
Ricky Marx (Now or Never, ex-Pretty Maids): guitar solo on “Visions”
Alessandro Lotta (ex-Rhapsody): bass solo on “Expectations”
Jo Amore (KingCrown, Joe Stump Tower of Babel, ex-Nightmare): vocals on “To The Zenith”
Roberto Billi: flutes on “Hosts of a Vanished World”
Nicolas Leceux: karaduzen Turkish saz on “Excavations”
Ludovic Favro: piano on “Hosts of a Vanished World – After All