EL CIELO

I have a hard time deciding what to do with or say about this album. Problem is that I can hear that it's objectively a great conceptual piece of art but subjectively it almost leaves me cold. That's in a nutshell what this is about. The problem for me probably is that I not only have a bit of a problem with this band or album but more with this kind of music in general. Resembling bands like Radiohead, Muse and Gazpacho don't do it for me either so at least I'm consistent at this.

Another thing is that I don't like shorter songs that tend more in the direction of pop compared to the beloved epical treats in my collection. I could try to see this album as one big epic because it's an obvious concept album but then still it lacks the style and sound that I prefer. There are hardly any instrumental solos to be found here though some modern sound effects almost seem to try to compensate that. Strongest aspect of this entire release are the vocals to me. Finally one of those rare bands that have a very good vocalist and added to the interesting lyrical concept it can be marked as strongest features of this El Cielo release.

But I'm afraid it's not enough to win me over. And I also tend to agree with Sinka's comment about the warning not to fall asleep. Not that it's that boring but it has a bit of dreamy atmosphere around it and when the volume is turned low it could indeed lead to dozing off... Three stars is really the best I can do and round off with the comment that this is another album that divides the prog community somewhat. Not everyone's cup of tea obviously.