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Rodrigo San Martin - Eyes CD (album) cover

EYES

Rodrigo San Martin

 

Crossover Prog

3.97 | 24 ratings

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memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This is the third studio album released by Rodrigo San Martin, a very talented musician from Argentina who has been pushing hard in the last few years, in order to let his music be known and recognized in his country, and of course, in the whole globe. I've had the luck of following his development, and after having reviewed his previous two albums, now I can say he is a very solid artist who has a lot to offer in this progressive rock realm. The title of this new record is "Eyes", and consists of six songs that together make a total time of 44 minutes. It is also divided in two parts, the first one is called "Wide Shut" and consists of the first five tracks; while the second is "Wide Open", and features the last song (an epic) of the album,.

Well, it kicks off with "The Mask", which has a soft beginning with piano and female vocals by Jelena Perisic. The first couple of minutes are sweet, relaxing and with some classical influences, but later the song changes drastically and becomes heavier, with guitar riffs and keyboard fiesta made by Fernando Refay that produce a kind of symphonic metal passage. There is a moment where we can perceive a male backing vocal, while the music keeps its heavy and emotional journey. Just before reaching the sixth minute, the song slows down and returns to its delicate sound with female vocals and soft guitars.

"Destroy the Signal" is a shorter piece but a very heavy and energetic one, here the guitars and drums make a extraordinary work, giving that sense of power to the listener. After that bombastic introduction, the song slows down a little bit and the voice of Craig Kerley enters. Later the instrumental passage is back with its vertiginous tune; and then, vocals again repeating the structure. In the end, we can appreciate a powerful guitar riff. "Amanecer" starts with tasty bass lines, nice drums and some keyboard atmospheres, later a rockish guitar appears and together create a very nice symphonic/heavy prog track. A new guest female voice enters here singing in Spanish and with a mellow tune. When one listen to this music, it is impossible to deny the progressiveness of it, and also, impossible not to realize about the high compositional skills that Rodrigo San Martin has.

"Interludio" as you can imagine is a short track (1:34) that only works as the interlude of the album. It has a soft and delicate guitar sound with an acoustic background while a nice electric leads with its emotional notes. A somber atmosphere is created by keyboards, and later complemented by mellotron. This track leads to "Ahora", which has an explosive beginning with keyboards, guitars and drums, half a minute later it slows down and Tamara Szych's voice returns with the English lyrics. In this track we can appreciate some nice bass lines, great pauses and drastic changes. The music is a nice blend of heavy rock and progressive rock, and though it does have an old (70s) flavor, it springs a fresh and young sound, full of energy and quality. What I love of this track is how it can produce a vast variety of emotions in such a short time, how it can cut the song in pieces and then stick them in order to make a strong and unique piece. This is one of the best of this album.

Now the second part comes with its most complex and ambitious track, a 20-minute song entitled "Con los ojos abiertos", which starts slow and little by little is progressing, we can listen to some voices and distant noises while a keyboard atmosphere is created. Later Perisic's vocals appear and put their mellow and delicate tune that wonderfully complement San Martin's music. A couple of minutes later the song makes a drastic change, turning into a heavy symphonic song with excellent keyboard solos and a powerful instrumentation, then after seven minutes it slows down and creates an awesome passage that seems to be calm but it isn't because guitars, bass and drums play at an unison letting us appreciate the excellent compositional and performing skills of Rodrigo San Martin. In this long track we have a feast of changes, complex passages made of a vast amount of nuances and textures that produce different emotions. All the little pieces are essential for the song's success, so every little jigsaw is necessary to complete this puzzle entitled Con los ojos abiertos. This song is enough to have a fascinating time, and to understand that in South America we have young and talented artists that must be supported by us.

Well, I am once again happy with a Rodrigo San Martin album, he is more mature now and it can be heard in his new compositions. I strongly encourage people to listen to his music, so maybe in the near future his albums can be physical (now they are only digital), because it would be awesome to have them in our hands. This time, my grade will be four solid stars, but I wish we had a .5 system so this album would be rated with 4.5 without a doubt.

Enjoy it!

memowakeman | 4/5 |

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