LA ISLA DE LOS MUERTOS

The lyrics are in Spanish but I figured this must be a concept album because of all the spoken vocals and sampled sounds, and indeed I found out it is a concept record. This takes away a lot of the enjoyment from this record for me because the music seems to take second place to the concept.

"Transformacion Del Mito" features violin, faintly spoken words, along with birds chirping and water sounds. A rhythm comes in that is almost waltz-like as piano joins in. Not a fan of this one. "Pardos Fueron Frente Al Mar" opens with these methodical male vocals. It turns jazzy before a minute. The two male singers are speaking. A nice heavy soundscape 3 minutes in with some good sax. Thunder and rain before 5 1/2 minutes. Great sound a minute later with actual singing. "Algo Tenia Que Ver La Luna" opens with the sounds of waves, sea gulls and a ship. A catchy sax / drum melody takes over. "Pero Dios Los Visita" is led by smooth sax with again spoken vocals.

"Me Pregunto Entre Todas Las Preguntas" opens with more spoken words but it changes to an amazing soundscape of heavy drums and scorching guitar. "En Los Ojos De La Muerte" is good as vocals,bass and drums all sound excellent. "Caleta Tortel" features a nice drum / violin melody. Some cool bass 1 1/2 minutes in. "Seguramente Encontraremos" has a one minute intro that I love. It reminds me of why I like music from Chile so much. Spoken words and violin follow. "Las Palabras Viajan En El Viento" opens with sax and drums. I like it. Violin 3 minutes in. "Bajo Pisagua" opens with acoustic guitar and violin. Samples a minute in. "Lo Que Ha Quedado Solo Esto" has more samples of water and birds. A catchy melody a minute in. Vocals follow. Marching style drums late.

There are flashes of what this band could be if they just played music, but this is all about the concept. Good, but that's all.