JESÚS DE CHAMBERÍ

MAGO DE OZ continues to prove me wrong in different ways: on one hand, I used to think of them as a repetitive if-you've-heard-one-song-you've-heard-them-all power metal kind of band, which they clearly aren't, as they add elements of all kinds of music to their sound and create very entertaining power metal songs mixed with folk and even traditional rock n' roll; on the other hand, I used to agree with their status as a prog-metal band. Now I'm not so sure.

Jesus de Chamberi is a metal opera, but unlike other works that share this definition, here we only have one singer who tells us of all the details and the events. An adaptation of Jesus Christ's life to the fiery Spain of MAGO DE OZ, the story is interesting, entertaining, irreverent. The music that accompanies it changes style as easily as the main character changed water into wine: from pure power metal to folk metal to bar-rock n' roll in the blink of an eye. Some songs lack any distinctive elements but some manage to shine through ("Hasta que tu muerte nos separe", "El fin del camino", "Jesus de Chamberi").

The album is uneven and difficult to categorize as progressive since the music is rather very traditional in its form. What could bridge that distance could be the constant addition of elements of different styles of music into one cohesive unity. In the end, Jesus de Chamberi is a very enjoyable work that needs no genre to be appreciated. Not as good as their later Gaia, I'll give it 3 stars over 5.