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Review:
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From Colombia comes this blend of gothic, power and
prog metal, with a subtle infusion of Latin. They are blessed
with two fine singers, the sultry Ana Maria Barajas, whose
voice is as deep, rich and dusky as their coffee, and guitarist
Jose David Barajas, who has a voice that would grace an
Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The prog element really comes
from keyboardist David Martinez, whose style brings to mind
Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues), he also had a strong Latin
influence in his work. Some of it reminds me of …. me, it
is quite scary at times (I was known to tickle the ivories).
Special mention should also go to drummer Jose Osorio; he
can really fly round those toms. Creepy church organ leads
into ‘Castle of Exile’, full of gothic grandeur. A slightly
dodgy cookie monster makes a brief appearance, but we do
not see him again until the end of the album. A touch of
power metal here and there, like in many of the songs, varies
the pace. ‘Unstable Mind’ is more power metallish, and it
is great to hear some rumbling Moog. ‘Dark Delusion’ is
a bit darker, and features some awesome bass work from Rodolfo
Caliz. As in all the songs, the keyboards really add a great
deal of variety. On ‘Ancient Guardian’ they almost break
into a Wishbone Ash boogie, before heading off into Fairport
Convention folk rock. Lovely classical guitar introduces
‘Change’, a waltzing ballad with another excellent keyboard
solo. ‘Love Remains’ starts out like it belongs in Phantom
of the Opera, before ending up like an up-tempo Andrew Lloyd
Webber gone metal.
The highlight is probably ‘The Lamp’, a great strutting
symphonic metal song, very melodic and impressive. The eastern
flavoured ‘Sarah Deserves to Rest’ adds an exotic eastern
touch; you can almost smell the soukh and see the dancing
bellies. Symphonic power metal drives the ‘Falling of the
Empire’, a perfect song for waving your sword to. Finally,
the cookie monster breaks into the studio at the start of
‘Wisdom Hunter’, before Ana’s wonderful folk singing, which
is an octave above the rest of the album. Jethro Tull then
kick the monster out of the studio, leaving the floor clear
for a choir of schoolboys. This is a very difficult album
to pigeonhole, you cannot say it sounds like such and such,
because it has got so many different elements, but they
all come together beautifully and naturally. Easily available
from CD Baby. 9/10 (Reviewed by Phil Wooldridge)
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