MÁS ALLÁ DE TU MENTE

Interesting story around this short-lived act from Maracay,Venezuela, led by female guitarist Maria Ciliberto and formed in 1977.The desire of exploring new music horizons and the beauty of Symphonic Rock,which reached Venezuela by the time,led this lady to form initially a group of 13 musicians.Soon the line-up was limited down to seven musicians on guitars,bass,vocals,drums and bass.The main composers were Ciliberto,keyboardist David Maman and guitarist Antonio Rassi,who composed the ambitious long first album of the band in 1978,entitled ''Mas Alla De Tu Mente''.

I really do not know if this is a concept album,all indications show that it has to be,as the music is often interrupted by spoken parts by a narrator.The overall style is Symphonic Rock with touches of of Space Rock,Fusion,Opera and Electronic Music and all kind of synths thrown in.The musicianship is mostly great,, sometimes melodic,other ones quite complicated,but the production doesn't help really.Vocals are warm and sensitive,both male and female.There are plenty of piano interludes throughout,flashy synth-driven solos and Classical-inspired passages in the style of RICK WAKEMAN with many interplays between them.This symphonic-oriented music is often combined with Fusion-esque parts,including groovy guitar and bass playing and fast electric pianos.A weird combination of styles ,which eventually works well,resulting a nice journey through an ambitious effort.If only the production was slightly better...

The band had an intense live activity at the time with a unique approach,playing the album almost in an operatic/theatrical way with explosions and special effects on stage along with a forty-member choir,breaking all grounds in the Venezuelean rock scene.The show sould have been definitely a lifetime experience.The album comes strongly recommended to all fans of keyboard-driven Symphonic Rock with no scare of some Fusion hints here and there...3.5 stars.