SAL Y MILETO

Speaking of literary, according to their website, the band's name is both a literary homage and a play on words. "Sal" (salt), the first part of their name, is the title of a Indigenista novel, the first of its kind in Ecuador, by G. Humberto Mata, a Cuenca author who later resided in Latacunga. The second part is a reference to the Greek Asia Minor figure Thales of Miletius which, in Spanish, is written and pronounced "Tales de Mileto." Joined with the sound of the word "sal," a stealthy pun became the band's name, courtesy of their original lyricist Peky Andino. I speak more on the lyricism of Sal y Mileto below.

Sal y Miileto burst off the disc with "Mal Komun," a strong showcase for intriguing vocal harmonies, moments of understated thumping bass, and finally, showing its experimental credentials by mixing metal with wah-wah funk guitars. For more in this style, check out the funk-metal of "Vieja con Feedback" and its heavy bass line.

Sal y Mileto in different yet enlightening measures, the music is illustrative of how jazz metal works well as a fusion genre, as evidenced by Sal y Mileto's penchant for alternating rhythms and blistering guitars.

While you listen to the songs, note how the rhythm never rests on its groove; rather it changes tempos frequently. For example, Sal y Mileto slow down to start "Craneo" ("Skull") with a jazz-fusion vibe. The alto sax and ostinato bass take center stage, then the combo picks up speed and breaks out their metalcore chops, and alternate to build up the song's energy. This approach continues on "Debora."

They go hardcore on "Mata el Filter" ("Kill the Filter"). The bass breaks are a fascinating trademark for Sal y Mileto, especially if post-metal is meant to be a deconstruction especially topped by rap and saxophone. (If you think about it, heavy metal growls constitute a highly guttural form of rap.)

"Miles de Dias en el Vértice Suicida" ("Thousands of Days in the Suicidal Streak") starts with a ska jump with slows down into a rollicking romp with cleverly distorted vocals

The alto sax is front and center across many of the songs. This is highly evident in "K-Lindou," which fuses more deeply the band's genre-bending approach in this midtempo fretless bass-led instrumental.

The band's music deftly underscore the poetry of the lyrics. True to their influences, the word "muerte" (death) appears throughout in the lyrics. In the plaintive ballad "El Principito es un Guambra del Calle" ("The Little Prince is a Street Kid"), the song begins with airy guitars and sax. The mood switches to hardcore after a line with that particular word. The downtempo vibe in the plaintive jazz-rock ballad "Soledad" ("Solitude") is smooth enough in words and music to please a Roxy Music fan.

Also, consciousness flows in the words. A strong example of that aspect of the lyricism of Sal y Mileto is in the closing song, "Mi Vida es un Yahuarlocro" ("My Life is a Blood Soup," a reference to a traditional Andean stew), It begins as a nod to their folk and nueva trova roots, even capturing at least in vibe, the classic pan-Latin American three-part harmonies, and they manage to play with that tradition as well. The last word, "maldita" (damned), is the logical ending to an eclectic debut. Not just of the band, but to the fascinating genre-smashing contributions of Rock Libre Ecuatoriano.

Recommend for: to experience how much avant-eclecticism can be expressed in song both musically and lyrically, especially a band that could easily have made itself at home in the prog sensibilities of folk and/or jazz as well as metal.

The band prides itself its independence and ability to play whatever it wants and in the process has been tagged as Ecuadoran Free Rock because of the band's unique mix of progressive rock, blues, hardcore, electronica, jazz and heavy metal. The band existed from 1994-2012 and was founded by Paul Segovia, the guitarist and vocalist who experienced an untimely death during the band's existence. SAL Y MILETO also stood out for having a co-creater named Peky Andino who contributed only a role of writing lyrics. He is a playwright, screenwriter, television director and Ecuadorian actor and currently one of the most prolific dramatists in the country. During its active years SAL Y MILETO released 2 EPs, 2 Live albums and 3 full-length studio albums with this self-titled debut emerging in 1999.

At this stage the band was a quartet and consisted of Paul Segovia (guitar, vocals), Igor Icaza (co-founder and drummer), Cesar Albarracin (bass, flute) and Y Victor Narvarez (guitar) however there must be uncredited musicians on board because there are plenty of jazzy parts with a saxophonist delivering some serious squawks. It's actually rather difficult to classify this band because although they have metal aspects, equal amounts of just plain proggy hard rock, funk, jazz, blues and even traditional South American ethnic music. For the most part the songs are structured with vocals and lyrics are in Spanish however the band adds a lot instrumental overdrive with heavy alternative rock / metal segments, creative guitar and bass slides and bluesy solos as well as bombastic heavy metal alongside folky flute and wild saxophone adventures with a sizzling sax. The idea of incorporating urban poetry into music was the primary inspiration for the lyrics.

The music can go from soft and pastoral to eruptive and even anarchic in no time which creates a sense of excitement with SAL Y MILETO's approach. This is a very eclectic band but somehow keeps the tracks from becoming too different from each other. This is very melodic music and very easy to grasp on the first listen but it has lots of sub-hooks that keep you coming back for more. In other words, this is a very mature and capable band even at this stage in its career. There was obviously a fiery passion burning that the members all agreed upon which is why this works so well. Most tracks employ a funk based groove with metal guitar riffs that sporadically deliver angular time signature freak outs but a few tracks like 'Soledad' are softer more like vocal jazz with some pop hooks. The final track 'Mi Vida es un Yahuariocro' is a pure unadulterated traditional song although it was written by the band.

'Miles de d'as en el vetice suicida' follows the ballad and shows how quickly the band moves on with its eruptive metal opening that then fades into a cerebral style of space rock. All in all, SAL Y MILETO is a vibrant Latin prog band that delivers a style unlike anything i've heard before and does it in a way that is instantly captivating with strong melodic hooks, just enough metal bombast and various escapades in jazz, space rock and other styles and while the ethnic touches aren't the prominent feature on this debut, they do add a sense of authenticity to the band's origins when they do emerge. This one was a huge surprise as i knew nothing about this band except they were from Ecuador as i'm trying to expand my awareness of prog and metal bands from lesser known nations of the world. Definitely interested in exploring the band's following albums because this one is a winner for sure.