EN VIVO: LUZ EN EL SOTANO

The first and only time I saw Delta Red in concert was two years ago in a festival in my city, since then, they caught my attention, knowing that they would be a band whose talent would take them far. When I listen to bands like these, I really feel proud of being Mexican, these guys have talent, power and the will to eat the world, they have everything to succeed, now it sour turn to spread the word and help them to reach another lands. I really hope to see them soon in a festival like Baja Prog, they would please the crowd without a doubt.

Well, after that introductory paragraph now I will focus on 'Luz en el s'tano', a new release of Delta Red, which is a DVD/CD combo that shows a performance that took place in Quer'taro back in 2011. First of all, I thank the guys who made this release possible because no matter the concert was two years ago, I is great to have this documented live version, so one can have a slice of their sound in concert, which believe me, is amazing. In the DVD you will find five songs and an interview in which the musicians tell us a brief bio of the band; while the CD contains the same 5 tracks, plus another 3.

It is important to know that Delta Red started as a power trio, their 'Gama de Espectros' album offers songs with that line-up, but nowadays they have a fourth member on keyboards, who changed a bit the vision and adds new wonderful elements to their current sound, so in this release you will witness that 4-man line-up making great instrumental heavy prog. I liked a lot the DVD, they way the interview and concert was intercalated, because when a song finishes one can see the band talking about themselves, their history, how Delta Red was created, what's the name's origin, what are they looking for, and so on, so besides enjoying their great performance (which is the main thing) you can know more about them. The only thing I did not like was the photography, overall I think it was not that accurate in the shoots, but anyways, it does not affect.

Now the songs. The setlist is wonderful, as I previously said, they play instrumental heavy prog which is very well composed, meaning they are talented musicians. It opens with 'Ciempi's' which has a kind of funky guitar at first, but later it turns aggressive, with a wonderful bass full of punch, I love the slaps here, while the guitar plays great riffs and all together create a cool structure, in this track the keyboard player does not figures. In 'Venus' the keyboard as background can be found since the very beginning; this song has some tension on the first minutes, nobody know what comes next, it seems it does not have a structure, but at the same time it seems it is not required, they play we listen, and that's enough, the song flows and the result is excellent, mostly in the parts the energy increases and the power is spread.

'Cuadrafon'a lunatica' has that power since the beginning, but the concept of progressive rock is evident here, you can tell it by the sound, its changes and the variety of figures and textures they bring. Worth mentioning the drummer's work, he is extraordinary, always marking the rhythm in time and space, a great reference. 'Gravedad Cero' is a masterpiece, ten minutes of very ingelligent, greatly composed heavy prog made by four talented (and Mexican) musicians. It is wonderful to see how this song has everything one can ask, passion, power, technique, mood changes, a pleasant sound without a doubt. What I love the most is that none of the members/instruments stands alone, all of them are equally necessary, all of them have something to say and add to the sound, so the communion they four created is amazing, really promising for their forthcoming studio album.

The last song in the DVD is 'Luz en el s'tano' which has a much calmer sound at least in the first two minutes, because later the guitar announces an explosion will come right away, and yes, it comes. A great keyboard solo can be heard here while the bass marks a great rhythm. Another change comes later when the music slows down. Great track!

But the CD continues with three more songs, the first is 'Opus 14' in which once again we can appreciate their high quality as composers but also as performers, because as one of them said in the interview, this live version unveils their true quality with no production tricks.

When I listen to their 'Gama de espectros' album there are a couple of moments when I feel a bit bored, something that never happens here, so that's why I am excited to see their new material, I assume several songs from this live combo will be featured there, so that's good news. 'D'a fuera del tiempo' is another cool track, though I must say it might be my least favorite of this release, which does not mean it is weak, not at all. And finally 'Impro' which as the title suggests, I assume it was a live jam that was wisely recorded and included here as the last track. It starts with electronic sound, very different from the previous songs, later it vanishes and little by little the instruments are joining, creating at first a relaxing atmosphere but as you can imagine, the music flows and became heavier and heavier. Great!

After listening/watching to this gem, I still wonder how Baja Prog organizers don't invite Delta Red, man, they would make the crowd explode. But well, if you have the chance, please get this record, it is really good, believe me. Almost, almost a masterpiece.

Enjoy it!

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