FREAK

Was not aware of Alejandro Matos until another of our members suggested I check him out. This was the first of his works I listened too and found it quite interesting. Mr. Matos is clearly a talented multi-instrumentalist and composer. I found the song writing and composition very interesting-dark, moody, a bit brooding, but not depressing. He is listed as crossover prog, but I found a lot of early King Crimson influence in this work-a good thing.

My biggest issue with Freak is the vocal performance. The vocals don't display much versatility or range and as a result the melodies don't deliver much emotion or power. It's unfortunate because the music is enjoyable. I must admit that this is my first taste of prog not sung in English and I had reservation about being able to enjoy it without being able to understand the lyrics. Didn't mind the language issue, but did mind that the vocals took away from the overall quality of the work. Four stars for the music and composition, 2 starts for the vocals, so a solid 3 stars overall.