QUANTUM PHASE TRANSITION

Releasing their only other album to some acclaim in 2020, five years later the Spanish band has had time to grow around Jose Ruiz's wonderful guitar skills into something that is garnering quite a lot of attention.

1. "Patibulum" (9:10) AISLES or LAZULI-like sophisticated and idiosyncratic smooth prog in which the band tries to "sneak" in some death metal growl passages. (17.5/20)

2. "La fábrica de barro" (6:25) Now this is more like it: the Latin/Spanish roots can really be felt in this one (as well as some Texas Southern Rock ALLMAN BROTHERS style). The use of cheesy synth-keyboard sound and some questionable effects on the other instruments almost ruins the vibe for me, but I cannot deny this as great music. A top three song, for sure. (9/10)

3. "Dunas" (9:09) a had a feeling that there was more hybridized Mexican-1980s New Wave in store for me on this album, and here it is. There are some interesting riffs and motifs off-balanced by an equal number of cheezy-simple elements. This continuous theme leads me to beleive that this band is only an album or two away from an absolute stunner: something that will make them a name to remember in modern progressive rock music. Overall, this song felt like I was caught in a perpetually repeating time loop of music inspired by STYX's Grand Illusion. (17.5/20)

4. "Brujería" (9:13) a mix of some proficient guitar-centric Classic Rock like SANTA ESMERALDA or GHOST MEDICINE and CHROMA KEY. The solo acoustic guitar section in the seventh through ninth minutes is most excellent--and welcomed--finishing with the perfect acoustic whole band ending. Definitely my favorite song on the album. (18/20)

5. "Evolution" (18:50) a very odd collection of sounds, themes, and styles that feels poorly engineered and rather haphazardly constructed. Again, there is the rather unusual attempt to force some death metal growls into the crossover-symphonic music created and developed as the main stylistic palette. There's a lot to enjoy in this song--like the synth-led spacey instrumental passage in the tenth and eleventh minutes--and the electric guitar play in the 14th and 15th minutes, bet then the simplistic bass, drum, and non-lead guitar play and often-annoying synth solos cause me to furrow my brow. (35/40)

6. "Epílogo" (1:56) Tex-Mex distorted Southern Rock guitar plus acoustic guitar duet. Though familiar--like I've heard it before--it's definitely enjoyable. (4.5/5)

Total Time 54:43

An interesting album. It's as if Chilean band AISLES tried to try death metal--diverting so much energy and attention from their normal sound and compositional prowess to do so that they fail to go through the steps to thoroughly polish the songs that they created. In my opinion this band is being far too conservative: they seem to have the talent to do music much more complex and nuanced than this--and they definitely need more time and attention given to their "finishing" polishes.

B/four stars; an excellent collection of diversified music all with the foundation in guitarist Jose Ruiz's excellent guitar playing.

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