THE GREAT ESCAPE

"The Great Escape" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Spanish instrumental technical/progressive metal act Continuo Renacer. The album was released through Erzsebet Records in October 2011. It's the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from 2005. The trio lineup who recorded the debut album is intact on "The Great Escape".

Stylistically the material on "The Great Escape" is a continuation of the fusion influenced instrumental technical/progressive metal style of the debut album. Continuo Renacer are incredibly well playing and the high level performances are definitely one of the greatest assets of the album. The music is fairly heavy at times and the fretless bass playing provides the music with an extra dark technical edge. Artists like Spiral Architect and Twisted Into Form aren't the worst references, if you can imagine how their music would sound without vocals. The combination of fusion/jazz influences and the relatively hard edged metal elements work well, but there is more to the music than that, as Continuo Renacer also incorporate atmospheric sections and several great guitar solos. Fredy Pel'ez again guests on keyboards (like he did on the debut album), and plays both leads and provide atmosphere to the music.

"The Great Escape" features a powerful, clear, and detailed sounding production job, and everyting on the album just reeks high class and quality. High level musicianship, adventurous and powerful compositions, which are both immediate enough to enjoy instantly, but also complex enough to have longivity, and a of course the above mentioned professional production values. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)