PERSONA

Second work by Alejandro Matos that I checked out this week. An interesting mix of styles with some very, very good guitar work throughout. Like his next work Freak, there is a strong dark and moody feel to this release that makes it an enjoyable listen. The arrangements are good, with the guitar as the center piece. Some excellent heavy tracks, especially "Dos Mil Anos De Tierra." As with Freak I got a feel of early King Crimson in some of the tracks.

As I mention in my review of Freak, my biggest problem with Mr. Matos' work are the weak vocals. He is an excellent composer, the works are very well arranged, the playing is top notch, but the vocals bring them down. That is unfortunately true on Persona as it is on Freak. It's really too bad. With better vocals these are easily 4 star releases. A solid 3 stars with the hopes that the vocals will improve in the future.