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With a sleeve designed by Mattias
Noren I expected this band to be in the progmetal direction but not
the all instrumental Mexican trio which combines progrock with
fusion elements which it really is. With the opening track ‘Garhi’,
Metaconciencia immediately illustrates it’s roots by including a
fair amount of south-American elements. Especially the acoustic
guitar has a strong ‘flamenco’ feel. And guitars is the name of the
game as electric, acoustic and classical guitars are the main
ingredients on offer here. The superb classical guitar in ‘Alh 84’
contains references one would associate with the band Philharmonie.
The instrumental nature of the song is disturbed by female
announcements regarding astronauts and UFO’s. During ‘Paradigma’ the
band even sees the possibility to give their guestdrummer a chance
to deliver a short drumsolo before the atmosphere of the composition
changes featuring a ‘twanging’ guitar and funky bass. The California
Guitar Trio is all over the place during the acoustic ‘Péndulo’
including tons of technical tricks.
Although Metaconciencia is a group
effort it is nevertheless mainly Fransisco Estrada who puts his mark
firmly on the demanding music. Best example for his masterly playing
has to be ‘Improv’ which, as the name reveals, concerns a pure
improvisation which was recorded in just one take and most certainly
without overdubs. ‘Bestiario’ seems like an interesting song because
here Ricardo Moreno whom most of the time devotes himself to
acoustic guitar also includes keyboards. His organplaying adds
elements of ELP although certainly not as brilliant as Keith Emerson
himself ! The additional keyboards do however push the guitar
towards the background which delivers a completely new sound. One
wonders what would happen should the band decide to take on an extra
keyboardplayer ! With ‘1899’ the band pays tribute to the Mexican
composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) which has Ricardo Moreno on
bass and Fransisco Estrada on synth guitar. The endresult is rather
dark experimental music with a hint of blues incorporated.
Guitar enthusiasts will most certainly enjoy this album because all
aspects of their favourite instrument are highlighted here.
Throughout their original material you still hear their Mexican
roots adding a special flavour to their otherwise outstanding album. |
