LAST IN TIME
“Too Late”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Last In Time are a melodic rock band from Italy formed in 2021 releasing their debut album ‘Too Late’ in 2024…

…featuring nine songs over a forty five minute run time! Band founder, guitarist, songwriter and producer Massimo Marchetti has assembled a host of musicians for ‘Too Late’ – see below for a full list. The new album is a cascading cacophony of rock in all its various shapes and sizes – from AOR to hard, classic and progressive rock, ala bands such as Toto, Deep Purple, Whitesnake and even metallers Savatage and Symphony X. There really is something here for every rock and metal fan to enjoy, ‘Too Late’ getting underway with the prophetically titled heavy hitter ‘The Way To Rock’. Ground shuddering and punchy, ‘The Way To Rock’ is an immediate like, Last In Time delivering a stadium rock anthem for the masses to enjoy. The blend of hard rock with AOR is incredible, the chorus break simply sublime, what a way to open your debut offering!

The impetus of the album opener is kept up with the harder hitting yet highly melodious ‘How Long’ – Last In Time keeping their collective feet firmly pressed on the rock pedal, the smell of stadium rock rising high in the air! I realise I’ve mentioned “stadium rock” for both the opening songs, I could have just as easily used the term “arena rock” – the Italian outfit oozing a sound that deserves to be heard on the biggest stages all around the world! The thirty second highly atmospheric instrumental ‘Road To Redemption’ acts as an anticipation fuelled intro to ‘Believer In Time’ – a power ballad featuring a glorious mix of male and female vocals! A time for every listener, fan and follower to sway from side to side and raise lighters high in the air, ‘Believer In Time’ oozes a tonne of reined in energy – energy that’s desperate to break free! Yet the band do an incredibly fantastic job of holding it all in, kudos Last In Time, kudos.

Bringing a weighty pop rock feel to the fore, ‘Moonlight Dreamers’ is a melodic rocker that harks back to the good old eighties, a wonderful time for rock evolution, and a time I’m very glad I was a part of. Yes readers, I’m an old rocker – as well as an old metalhead – and any rock or metal that reminds me of my youth, speaks directly to my heart! And that’s exactly what ‘Moonlight Dreamers’ is doing, chatting endlessly as though we’re old friends catching up after a long time apart! The variation with male and female vocals plants an identity switching aura on the album, keeping listeners on their toes with respect to which direction the album will move in next – ‘The Animal’ taking a bolder, more brasher path than everything heard so far! The punchy, ground shuddering nature of ‘The Animal’ is gonna shake buildings to their foundations, rock heads back and forth more vigorously than ever before, and have listeners grinning from ear to ear in response to a heavy slab of hard rock! The title song ‘Too Late’ takes us back into ballad territory – just! For ‘Too Late’ (the song) emanates a hymn-like aura that may stop many listeners from raising their lighters aloft – Last In Time refusing to leave their hard rocking roots behind!

And talking of hard rocking – ‘Mr. Fantastic’ is the hardest rocking of all the songs on offer, featuring a strong hair metal (and rock) feel not heard previously! Think the great hair metal bands of the past such as Cinderella, Ratt and Slaughter, and you’ll get some idea of how ‘Mr. Fantastic’ sounds. Bringing ‘Too Late’ (the album) to a close, ‘Winter In May’ is the most mellow and serene song on offer, melding a hymn-like nature with balladry to deliver a soulful glide through the clouds – the band shelving all energy and oomph for the albums final hurrah!

Overall, an eclectic mix of rock styles, Last In Time deliver punch and power along with balladry and a hymn-like feel.

List of musicians:

Massimo Marchetti – guitars (all songs)
Igor Piattesi – vocals (songs 1,2,4,6,7,8,9)
Luca Nicolasi – bass (all songs)
Giacomo Calabria – drums (all songs)
Alessio Mosconi – keyboards (songs 1,2,4,5)
Emanuele Lo Verde – keyboards (songs 6,7,9)
Andrea Lo Verde – keyboards (song 8)
Samuele Benini (piano solo song 5)
Caterina Minguzzi (vocals songs 1,2,4,5)
Mirko Marchetti (vocals song 9)

TRACKLIST

The Way To Rock
How Long?
Road To Redemption
Believer In Love
Moonlight Dreamers
The Animal
Too Late
Mr. Fantastic
Winter In May

https://www.facebook.com/lastintime

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