LA LEYENDA DE LA MANCHA

These Spaniards are an absolute blast to listen to,very entertaining to say the least. I've seen them described as Celtic-Metal, and with the flute and prominant violin it makes sense.Take away the violin and this is an easy 4 stars for me. It's not that I don't like violin it's just I prefer my Metal with bass, guitars and drums. Old school. And the violin is all over this album. The vocals are in Spanish and sound great.

"En Un Lugar..." is the short intro track that opens with bagpipes followed by a "battle" sample then flute and violin. It kicks in around a minute with the drums out in front. "El Santo Grial" opens with heavy SABBTH-like guitar with drums. It's uptempo as violin then vocals come in. There is a definite IRON MAIDEN flavour here. Blistering guitar before 3 minutes, violin follows. "La Leyenda De La Mancha" opens with attitude but that changes when the violin arrives. Contrasts continue. Great sound before 2 minutes. "Noche Toledana" is a short instrumental. "Molinas De Viente" is a powerful song with violin and vocals. It does settles before a minute but contrasts continue.

"Dime Con Quien Andas" is laid back as reserved vocals come in. Violin follows. It's heavier before 2 minutes. Nice. It settles 3 minutes in as the guitar solos beautifully. Violin is back. "Maritornes" is uptempo as violin comes and goes. A good rocker. "El Balsame De Fierabras" has this great sounding rhythm like a JUDAS PRIEST tune. Guitar solo 2 minutes in. A fun song. "El Pacto" is mellow as violin comes in. It kicks in around a minute and vocals join in. Guitar solo 3 minutes in. He's lighting it up here. Vocals and violin follow. "La Insula De Barataria" has violin and flute in it. It's heavier 1 1/2 minutes in but it's brief. "El Templo Del Adios" is laid back with violin, vocals and strummed guitar. "Requiem" opens with solo, almost spoken vocals. Synths then drums join in as he starts to sing. This is catchy and it's building. Great sound before 3 minutes. "Ancha Es Castilla" is a mellow tune with picked guitar, violin and reserved vocals. Not a fan.

So a pretty good album that could have been a killer one for my tastes sans violin.