FRANCO

Artist's Website
Contact Artist
Ontario, Canada

Warranties and Disclaimers

"Opening with a rousing didgeridoo you really don’t know what to expect. However after a mere twelve seconds it’s all systems go, resulting in one of the better rock albums I have heard in a long time! Franco La Magna’s voice has that subtle amount of hoarseness whilst his guitar sound leans towards vintage Jimmy Page. Not so obvious instruments are introduced to make it more interesting. As he writes himself in the liner notes: "the songs on this CD are a reflection of the influence the cinema has played in my writing. Each song is based on a movie, the making of a movie or simply the fantasy that the silver screen may take us to." So grab your popcorn and enjoy this wonderful album!

Operatic female vocals introduce the title track which holds a hypnotizing rhythm whilst also incorporating "screams," blending perfectly with the loud guitars and orchestral arrangement (real violins, viola and cello are being used). One of the main attractions on this fine album certainly has to be the great drumming of Sascha Tukatsch whose sound is perfectly transferred onto CD (I hate it when drums sound like a cookie jar!). “Twisted Fusion” is a perfect example of how well the drums and guitars mingle. The Metro String Quartet extra enhances the power of the music by kind of becoming the shadow of the guitar during “Red Blood.” Then suddenly the violin asks for a spotlight of its own, adding an eerie touch to the music, sometimes getting close to the Devil Doll feel, yet in more of a rockin’ kind of way.

Hidden in “Diamond Dust” rest the remains of Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” not in the least because of the outstanding female vocals. Strictly no midi, as there’s a real classical string quartet available (imagine what this would sound like if a huge orchestra was financially available!). Like true Pink Floyd fashion there are some great, powerful female vocals to give this song it’s musical wings. Ominous, dark, brooding and experimental is what yo can say about “Godz,” which combines a vintage soundtrack feel with great orchestral interventions and loud and mean guitar chops. Ekseption meets After Crying meets Dream Theater?

With a voice that sounds like a melodic version of Axl Rose, Franco kicks off the soft melodic “With You Again” which also contains a spine-chilling guitar solo whilst the choir sings the same chords as Page’s guitar in the outro for Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven." Fans of ELP will be delighted to hear “Save It” as it contains an outstanding swirling organ reminding us of the best ELP and Triumvirat (sad it’s so short though). With the rocking “Tornado Dreams,” this great album sadly comes to an end. I would have ended this song and thus also this album with an overwhelming powerful classical finale. Instead Franco chose a couple of beats on the drums.

Franco has made us a tasty prog stew in which he put the best of Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull, seasoned it with his own talented compositional skills in order to create a very tasty meal indeed. This album is just what the record label says: Magnifico!" - John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, ProgressiveWorld.net

"Canadian artist Franco La Magna has constructed an album with a sort of rock-opera feel, emphasizing a big, arena-rock sound and effectively performed if mainstream-standard balladeering.  What makes Cydonia Mensae interesting are big-time progressive flourishes - the strings on "Red Blood," for instance, the symphonic orchestral/rock workout comprising "Godz," the proggy Hammond touches to "Save It."

At times, La Magna comes across like Roger Waters: he runs the show, sings and (unlike Waters) also plays guitar and keyboards.  Joining him is a 16-member supporting cast, including a string quartet, backing vocalists, and sundry other singers and instrumentalists.  The arsenal includes didjeridu, Tibetan horn, flute, etc.  Lots of interesting textures, for sure.

In the liner notes, La Magna explains that these nine mid-length tracks (most in the five- to six-minute range) reflect the influence of cinema on his writing.  "Each song is based on a movie, the making of a movie, or simply the fantasy that the silver screen may take us to," he writes.  Translation: let your imagination soar. - John Collinge, Progression Magazine

"Cydonia Mensae is an intriguing solo release from Toronto, Canada native Franco, who draws upon sci fi and horror themes to influence his brand of heavy, yet melodic progressive hard rock.  An extremely talented guitarist and composer, whose influences include Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Jethro Tull, just to name several, Franco manages to blend atmospheric textures with classic heavy rock with ease, resulting in an album that one can either crank up and rock out to or just kick back and relax with, as it works well on both levels.  As befitting the highly cinematic nature, the production is superb, listening to this on headphones is a richly rewarding experience indeed!  Picking out high points on such a consistent and rewarding offering is difficult, but 'Diamond Dust,' with its similarities to the Floyd classic 'Comfortably Numb,' especially in regards to the Gilmour influenced solo, and the symphonic based instrumental 'Godz,' which features some very impressive fretwork, are only two of many stand out tracks.  That being said, this truly needs to be listened to all the way through in order to fully appreciate all the various nuances on display here.  Highly recommended to fans of any or all of the aforementioned artists.  I'm looking forward to hearing much more from this talented musician in the hopefully not too distant future!" - Keith Langerman, Guitar 2001

"The unique music of FRANCO is inspired by Pink Floyd, David Bowie, ELP (amongst others) and with his third album "Cydonia mensae" FRANCO presents a dense concept album, dealing with the cinema. You get charming SCI-FI horror on Cydonia mensae (great haunting female background vocals !!), monumental symponic progrock (Godz, featuring a string quartet), Bowie-esque melancholy (Red blood), symphonic atmosphere (Diamond dust) and much more. A deeply honest album full of emotional pictures and a highly pleasant combination of melodic rock and progressive rock. 7 points" - Markus Weis, DURP.com