GAMA DE ESPECTROS

Last year (2011) I atended to a prog rock festival in Mexico City, with several bands from the city of Queretaro, one of them was Delta Red, a band I did not know, but left me with a great taste of mouth. Their concert was full of energy, they were four young guys trying to eat the world and do what they want with it, which is how I felt their performance, so I was really happy to discover a new band from my country with music of great quality.

I got their debut album, released in 2009 and entitled "Gama de Espectros", here they are a power trio playing heavy prog music, when I saw them they were four people, with the addition of a keyboard player, so my experience in both branches is actually different. This album features 9 songs that make a total time of 66 minutes of great heavy progressive rock, but warning, if you like this genre you will like the album, otherwise I believe it is not for anyone's ears.

They open with "Gama de espectros" which is the longest composition, so it is a challenging way to start an album, a CD that actually features several mid to long length tracks. In this first one they show since the first moments they are an instrumental band, with heavy guitars, powerful drums and a solid bass. This is like a jam that flows very well, but what I like the most is when they decide to slow down, at minute five, so the heavy notes does not tire the listener because they bring diversity in the piece, adding even some jazzy moments.

"Estampida" is a nice song that blends heavy prog with soft moments, actually one can appreciate the song is divided in two halves, cool. And better is "Segunda Premier" whose bombastic start is very promising because it is full of energy and the anxiety of leaving all the sweat in the studio, in the stage, everywhere, that is what I like about Delta Red, they will to leave a mark can be appreciated even in some moments of their music. This is another long song whose content offers several changes in time, rhythm and mood, that let us know their compositional skills, so in spite being a young band, they show a mature structure.

In "Cuarto Oscuro" they bring a more relaxed tune, while it seems to explode sometimes, it remains in the same softer vein, at least for the first minutes. Here I like the work of the drummer, and of course the addition of a saxophone, which adds a special flavor to the sound. So far my experience with the album is great, but to be honest, there are some moments when I feel a bit tired, feel that this is not truly my cup of tea, and I realized about it while listening to "Día fuera del tiempo" followed by "Ciempiés", two of the shortest tracks of the album, with an alike style, though with great quality (I like the funky guitar in the latter). The compositions are good, I must say, but my enthusiasm is not the same as in the beginning. This was the main difference I found between their live performance and this album, in the first I was thrilled all the time, in the last only in some moments.

My interest returned with "El dique" because to my ears this is one of their best compositions. It is a blend of heavy prog with some jazz elements once again, but also with some psych nuances, so it is a bit different from the previous tracks. "Opus 14" is a cool track actually, here I like a lot the work of the strings (both, guitar and bass), mostly the guitar, I think there are moments where it sounds different from the other songs, they are not heavy, this time they have some kind of fast crimson-esque style, if you know what I mean. This is another highlight.

And the album finishes with "Venus" which is an 8-minute track that sums up what the music of Delta Red is about. So as I previously mentioned, if you like heavy instrumental prog then you will surely like this album, I like it, but not love it, and I think the band can actually deliver a more solid upcoming album, now with the use of synths. Hope I can see them live soon again, and hope to listen to their next works. My final grade will be 3 stars.

Enjoy it!