GRITARÉ

At the beginning of the opening track, I must say that I was a little worried. The predominant influence that could be perceived is Dream Theater, the group orient their songs with an epic feeling that reminds me of power-metal bands. The problem that I have with the first track is that is very similar to other works.

This upset was showed false when in the next track we start to see the jazz-fusion elements they incorporate, putting this element in most of the songs but still maintaining the heaviness that is necessary of the genre, very impressive.

The most "jazzy" instrument in the band is the keyboard, which is in the background or within individual sections playing as a solo instrument. The other musicians insert a more "heavy-metal" feel using a traditional structure of prog-metal oriented to a more grandiloquent sonority. The female vocalist evokes this same spirit and is competent but nothing exceptional.

Although excellent, there are some sections where the jazz-fusion starts to sound too "simple" and I feel this formula was not explored to its full potential, which is sad because they never released a follow-up to this album.

The songs are well composed with good timing inside each section, making the transitions between tracks feel fluid except for the last song, which I think is too long. A band needs to be very competent to make a good 18-minute suite, one thing they don't show here.

This album is an excellent example of progressive metal and should be listened to by fans of this kind of prog. The band work sounds like other materials in some parts, but there is still enough original content here to make the listener engaged to the music that has a potential not full explored but still exceptionally executed. 4 Stars

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