GRITARÉ

When Progressive Metal meets Jazz/Fusion .

Yoohaaa..!!! A prog band from Chille? Oh man, I have never imagined that I have the opportunity to put my views on a band coming from non famous progressive rock lands that we typically hear. That's the beauty of exploring prog music - it does not really matter from where the band is coming from; and music is inherently a very universal language we can talk all over the world with no physical as well as mind boundary at all. Well, I have to be careful on saying this thing as due to physical boundary I have no luxury of attending prog concert that usually performed in the west. I envy on you guys who can enjoy prog gig anytime you want down there in the west. But it's okay, it does not limit me to explore the music from all over the world.

MATRAZ gives another perspective in the way that it blends an energetic prog music with their own language in its lyrical part. I fully respect because it provides a different nuance compared to the English language commonly used in music. This second album combines various styles: symphonic, progressive metal and .jazz / fusion style! What a unique blend of styles! I remember when I reviewed AGHORA couple months ago where I enjoyed an excellent blend of metal and fusion styles. Matraz's music is different. The jazz nuance is delivered through the touch of piano (mostly) by Diego Aburto. All of their compositions were built around progressive metal scene with heavy riffs. It's different. That's why it deserves detailed review.

Gritaré (7:47) opens the album abruptly with heavy guitar riffs that create a trae image of progressive band with symphonic touch - through the use of keyboard sound at background. It may remind you to bands like Nightwish or Evergrey. The guitar solo fills the opening part backed with soft keyboard sound and dynamic drumming. The music turns into heavy riffs augmented with dazzling drum sounds and keyboard work. With this kind of opening, it suffices to say that this is a prog met track. You bet! The powerful voice of female lead singer Loreto Chaparro enters the music nicely, accompanied with softer riffs. As she sings a long, the music turns slowly with and reaches the part where piano enters the music with jazzy style. The music turns into uplifting faster tempo with guitar riffs and screaming vocals. Overall, it's a prog metal tune with some flavor of jazzy piano (not much).

Redencion (6:17) opens with soft music dominated by piano sounds followed with some soft guitar riffs but the piano maintains the jazzy style. Quite a unique blend, actually. As the music moves forward, the guitar solo performs its role to bring the powerful vocal enters the scene. This time I still do not know is this a jazz/fusion or progressive metal? Even when the rocking guitar solo demonstrates its expertise followed with single layer keyboard solo, there is a blend of metal and fusion on rhythm section. It's clear enough whenever piano takes the solo part, the accompanying rhythm section sounds like a jazzy tune. It's a stunning piano though! Again, the guitar shows its excellent solo in a truly rocking track. Oh, what an excellent song!

R.E.M. (4:20) - uhm, I hope that this title is nothing to do with pop rock band REM. This track opens with wonderful piano solo backed with guitar riffs and produce a combined styles of jazz and metal. Basically, this track explores more jazz than metal itself. The metal part is indicated through the guitar riffs but the overall music flow demonstrates jazz/fusion style. Despite riffs, the guitar also produces clean play. It reminds me somewhat with Pat Metheny, partially of course. It's a nice instrumental part that if we listen to it alone seems like produced by a fusion band.

Sangre Derramada (11:39) is relatively long track that begins with a mellow singing part and some work on piano. The lead singer demonstrates her capability in delivering low and high points in quiet passage during opening. For those of you who favor or enjoy Joe Sample kind of music (hey, I'm listening a wide variety of music - not just prog rock), you may like the piano fills right after the first lyrical verse. For me personally, this part is a kind of relaxing even though most of the time I do not really favor jazz / fusion. At approx minute 4 plus, the music flows with solid bass lines that bring wonderful piano solo. What makes this song marvelous is the demonstration of its lead singer singing potential through the part that starts approx minute 5 until 6. It is then followed with another great piano work. Oh my God . I swear that this part is truly killing me (even though I do not favor jazz). But this jazzy part is excellent!! The rocking guitar solo part is also stunning! It's truly a progressive music in its true meaning!

Trazma (5:46) begins nicely with guitar work that projects the image of prog met scene. But hold your thought for a second! And .. see how the band brings its music into quieter passage with soft and floating piano sounds and wonderful vocals! The music turns into faster tempo with some guitar riffs but it's still maintaining the guitar riffs. The keyboard solo that follows is really excellent. This track demonstrates the right balance between two styles: jazz (through piano solo) and metal (through guitar riffs). Another excellent track!

Condor (6:28) opens with ambient keyboard and guitar fills featuring bass guitar solo. Yes, bass guitar takes the main melody. Looking at this opening part, it's a jazzy tune, you may guess. Having featured a relatively long bass solo, the music turns into excellent piano solo. I would say this track is 90% jazz music with very little influence of rock.

Sobreviviente (18:33) is the album's epic that concludes the total music offering. It starts mellow with an ambient symphonic keyboard solo, followed with some piano fills. Drum beats gradually enter the music with some keyboard's sound effects, followed with vocal line. At approx minute 4:35 the music turns into a faster tempo with prog metal nuance. The music changes - sometime abruptly - into various styles with prog metal dominance. I would say that this track is 80% prog met scene and the rest is jazz / fusion indicated by the sounds of piano. In the middle of the track there is an obvious guitar solo typically exist in any prog metal music, combined with a stunning keyboard solo! Basically, this track brings the listeners into various kinds of emotions.

SUMMARY

It's an excellent progressive rock music combining metal and jazz/fusion styles. However it may not appeal to "pure" jazz lovers as the music is progressive in nature. For those who love the heavy side of prog, ie. Prog metal may find this album "weird" as it explores their music stream into jazz style. This is based on my assumption that typically many prog metal fans that I have known do not favor (even HATE!) jazz music. My advice is only one for this category of people: be open mind and enjoy this music. Unfortunately I have never listened to the band's debut album "Tiempo" so that I can comment how the band has progressed since its debut. Despite the excellent compositions offered by this album, I have some reservations toward this album:

1.) Most of guitar riffs were produced with relatively "rough" sounds that give me a sort of distorted sound for my personal taste. It should be polished in such a way that it produces a well rounded (bit softer) sound. It's probably a production issue. But, don't take my words bluntly. I know that some people who love death metal would love this sound.

2.) There are some segments with not really smooth transition pieces.

I conclude this album with an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars rating. I salute this band from Chile for producing excellent music! Recommended! Keep on proggin' ..!!

Yours progressively,

GW

This record is a great surprise in the world of metal prog. After their really promising first effort, 'Tiempo', Matraz released an even better second record, in part thanks to the substitution of their previous vocalist with the versatile female vocals of Loreto Chaparo. What we have here is a blend of the good old metal prog à la Dream Theater (in their best moments, take 'Awake' replace Kevin Moore with Jordan Rudess and James Labrie with a female vocalist and you are not very far from the music you can hear on 'Gritaré') and jazz- fusion. The vocals are very good and as I let you suggest previously, they are clear (most of the time) as they can take a more aggressive way (the first track, but I think this was meant to fit the music which has a fast pace). The music is very rich in odd-time signatures and the members of Matraz take care never to fill the room. Moreover, the keyboard parts sound very delightful, reminding a lot the solo keyboard stuff of Jordan Rudess. I am glad to see that Matraz use their own language in their records, which adds to the originality of their music. Matraz are not another cliched metal-prog that appeared to garner a wide audience, they created a musical language that can appeal much more to fans of classic prog-rock than to the average metal fans, like did A piedi nudi in Italy some years earlier. Complex music, with melodic passages and great vocals are enough elements to rate this album with five stars.

I have had the pleasure of late in talking with Alfredo (the vocalist on ANGULART's first album) about the amazing music that has come out of his country of Chile. He has mentioned more than once that I need to hear this record from MATRAZ. I had already reviewed MATRAZ previous album called "Tiempo" and really liked it, but he said this one is better. And he is right ! The biggest change between the two albums is the former bass player and vocalist leaving and being replaced by two people. A new bass player (Jorje), as well as a female singer named Loreto Chaparro. She apparently was (is?) a vocal instructor, and it's easy to tell she would be perfect for that job. We are blessed to be able to hear her sing on this record. There is something about this music that makes me feel good. And I know what it is, it's Loreto's vocals whenever she is singing normally that makes me feel like i'm home. That is the best way I can describe it, and it's a huge compliment to her. She can also really let it rip vocally, but it's her calm, natural voice that is so satisfying. All the vocals and liner notes are in Spanish so I can't give much more information than I have.

"Gritare" opens with riffs and prominant synth runs.The drumming is outstanding as the sound is quite heavy. When Loreto sings the song slows down as if to listen. Piano arrives 4 minutes in and this album has a boat load of beautiful piano melodies. She gets aggressive vocally with a heavy soundscape before 5 minutes. This contrast of mellow and heavy continues. Some great guitar 7 minutes in. "Redencion" opens with a pleasant melody as Loeto vocals go from edgy to beautiful. The guitar is on fire and a synth solo follows.The climate and tempo continues to change. Some killer guitar 5 minutes in with her angry vocals.The contrast between her vocal styles is cool. It just makes her natural voice seem even warmer and more beautiful after I have heard her sing with an edge. "REM" is an instrumental of mostly piano as heaviness and guitar come and go.

"Sangre Derramada" opens with a mellow soundscape of piano, drums and vocals. A change arrives 3 1/2 minutes in as the drums sort of rumble in. A nice vocal melody a minute later with piano and drums. Guitar 7 1/2 minutes in as drums and piano carry on. The guitar gets quite aggressive followed by vocals. The last minute of the song is mellow like the beginning of the track with piano and vocals. "Trazma" is apparently an anagram of the band's name. It opens heavily with some great sounding synths. The sound softens as vocals and piano come in. Passionate vocals take over as heaviness comes and goes. She's great ! Nice synth and drum work as well. "Condor" opens with a pastoral mood that continues for 3 minutes. Then a jazzy atmosphere comes in with some gorgeous piano and light drums. Guitar takes the lead 5 minutes in. Nice. Emotional too. "Sobreviviente" is an 18 minute epic to close out the album. This song has so many twists and turns. Heavy and mellow. Vocals, guitar, piano and drums all get a chance to shine. Outstanding track ! It ends with marching style drums and vocals.

4.5 stars. Apparently the title of this album means "I will shout". Appropriate as far as i'm concerned, because I want to shout for all to hear "Get this album !". And not only this album but the many great bands of Chile. SARAX, EXSIMIO, LA DESOOORDEN, ANGULART, FLOTANTE and TRYO and that's just off the top of my head. There is more !

With the entry of a powerful female vocalist and the enhancement of the instrumental input, Matraz was ready to move forward with their sophomore release "Gritaré". Considering that the band's sound has now begun to flirt with prog-metal and has leaned toward a more bombastic framework, similarities could be found with Entrance and Toccata. Still, there is also some preservation of the jazz-inspired colors that had made the best of the previous abum's fusion-oriented passages. All in all, the band's nuclear sound has been enriched and empowered. The opener and 'Redención' both create a proper mood to set an adequate ambience for the whole listening experience: 'Gritaré' most certainly rocks convincingly throught each and every pore of its architectonic complexity; 'Redencion' build on that track's force and gives it a moderate jazzy spin to the basic cadence. 'REM' is the first instrumental, set on a piano-led scheme that ultimately indulges in a dynamic mixture of jazz-rock and heavy chops, with all these elements fused in a solid progressive framework. The other instrumental is 'Cóndor', which is overall more relaxed, set on a dreamy melodic sense where the jazz-rock element is dominant, ultimately leading to a fusion-infused coda that brings colorful atmospheres to the fold. Between these two pieces are 'Sangre Derramada' and 'Trazma'. The former is an absollute highlight, a solid, delightful 11 ¾ minute excursion that starts as a vocal-piano duet, then graudaly building up to a central jam where the bass and piano flourishes install a safe environment for the outstanding spectral display of vocal deliveries and guitar phrases, all of it wisely sustained by the drummer. Near the end, we come to enjoy what is arguably the best guitar lead in the abum, and then, the song is wrapped up by a brief reprise of the first section. Brilliant! 'Trazma', on the other hand, brings back the moods already stated by the first 2 pieces, with an emphasis on the rock factor - good but not that great, which can be felt especially after being treated with 'Sangre Derramada'. 'Sobreviviente' occupies the album's last 18 ½ minutes, and by doing it so robustly, it brings a perfect climax. The meditative mood of the first section (with lyrics narrating the mysteries of the human soul) may remind us a bit of 'Sangre Derramada', but after the 4-minute mark, things shift to a more intesn motif, built on a confluence of standardized prog metal and Yes-like old school symphnic prog. The subsequent melodic and rhythmic variations are cleverly linked, going all the way to the ceremonious coda that reprises a portion of the opening section. This is how the album ends, and let me tell you that this is the album that defines the type of progressive trend that Matraz was aiming at. Very good album, recommended to all symphonic prog lovers everywhere.

More than progressive metal

Matraz is a relatively obscure progressive metal band hailing from Chile. They have existed for some time, formed in the late 90s. However, after their first album Tiempo in 2001, their lead singer left the band, and the band spent 3 years finding a new singer, the talented female singer Loreta Chaparro, and recording their second studio album Gritare, which was released in 2004. Now the presence of a female singer in a progressive metal band may seem odd and out of place to the common listener - and it is one of the many quirks and interesting aspects of this Chilean quintet that makes the band truly special. As a progressive metal band, a Dream Theater influence can also be expected, and is present. However, the band has a distinct and signature flavor that they have effortlessly weaved into their music - jazz. And before the jazz purists spit out their coffee and scream that jazz metal doesn't exist, you must listen to this album. The seven track album is a beautiful display of the harmony between the two contradictory genres of metal and jazz, and the band has truly made a gem of an album with this effort. Mending melody and intensity without effort, virtuosity and emotion without pause, and metal and jazz with delight, this album truly is more than progressive metal.

The album's opener, the title track, is a fantastic summary of what the listener will find on the album. The song opens with a very typical progressive metal passage - guitar riffs, synth backgrounds, and a steady, mechanical drum and bass line. However, the song soon breaks into a melodious harmony of jazzy piano chords, clean guitar soloing, and the characteristic female vocals that give this album such a wonderful charm. The song has a fantastic dynamic permeating it, switching frequently between metallic sections and jazz sections, all coming together in a beautiful blur of genius progressive metal. This format is much the same for the rest of the album, with beautiful guitar and piano lines complementing bass lines, both of the fretted and fretless kind, and a fantastic dynamic between progressive metal and jazz rock.

But of course the entire album is not one monotonous style or theme repeated over and over. The album's varying feels and emotions send the listener on a joyous ride of well- crafted compositions and diverse styles. The instrumentation is crisp and well-practiced, taking from the technicality of progressive metal, but it is also gentle, meticulously placed, and free-flowing, taking from the fluidity of jazz. The music is calming and soothing as well as exciting and exhilarating. But the album isn't just a nice jazz record. It has its kick ass metal songs, with some pretty great riffs and epic instrumental sections to boot.

In a lot of today's cut and dry "progressive metal," it's hard to find a true masterpiece. Either the band is simply trying to copy Dream Theater, are fantastic musicians but terrible composers, or just don't know what they're doing in the music business. However, every once in a while I'm able to find a truly exemplary group of musicians. Either they really know what they're doing in all aspects of the music they play, they have an uncanny knack for writing good songs, or they have a really fantastic sound that's unique and well unutilized. Matraz have done it all. The five musicians are all wonderful instrumentalists (or a wonderful singer), their songs have a catchy and well-composed edge, and their sound is unique in much of today's progressive metal. The album is well produced, composed, arranged, and presented. Matraz have truly blown me away with this effort. I've become much more conservative of my 5 star ratings over the past few months, but I can easily say this album is a definite masterpiece of progressive metal. 5 stars.

again 3.5 really

Second album from this discret band, releases in 2004 named Gritare is another worthy affair. Even the instrumental passages are quite similar in manner of composing, some parts are more experimental then on their first album. A change in voice here, a female singer Loreto Chaparro who done a good job, but I prefere their first album, was little more eleastic in arrangements. Anyway gain long complicated prog metal parts with jazz fsuin interplay very much in vein of LTE or bands with this type of sound. Nice symphonic jazz metal with solid musicianship. A very strong band who manage to release only 2 albums and then gone into oblivion, I've never heared osme news about them for quite long time. Anyway both albums are recommended for sure.