GUTTER BALLET

Why I like so much this album? Great question. First thing. I bought it for the cover (In the past I did that a lot of times and it really works with albums like Leftoverture, Awaken the Guardian, Misplaced Childhood and Images and Words!) This painting is really beatiful and when I saw it in the store it was like somebody was calling me inside throught a mirror: come here... Those days (no internet!) in my country it was really impossible listen rock music in the radio, so I had to have faith in my own feelings and I pick up this piece of art. The combination with the dancer, the piano and the white Ibanez guitar it's just... beautiful. And what about the music. The first time you listen a band is always very special 'cause you don't know what you will find. At first, with the killer riffing in Of Rage and War and the desperate Jon Oliva shouts (perfect for the lyrics) I think woa! what a tremendous such trash metal band (bay area sound). But then, a delicate piano introduce one of the best metal, progressive, symphonic or rock songs ever written: Gutter Ballet. That was I ever was looking for, how to combine the power of hard rock and the beauty or classic prog rock (like Opeth in XXI Century). Temptation Revelation is a piano piece that introduce the best ballad written for the Oliva brothers, When the Crowds Are Gone, with a guitar solo that Chris probably is playing now every day in heaven. And then again Chris -a very underrated guitar player- plays with the acoustic guitar Silk and Steel a little piece who could sign Steve Hackett or Steve Howe in a classic album from the 70's. Then the album come back to the metal territories with a bunch of pieces that are instant classics to me. I enjoy specially the superb Summer's Rain intro and the frantic rhythm in Hounds. Well I could say a thousand more things, but my english it's not very rich and I leave you to discover this joy by yourself.