METROPOLIS VI

And here they gave us another glimpse of their sober and good produced progressive metal, maybe a bit more hard rock oriented this time, making this album more accessible and radio friendly than their debut Saltos en el Tiempo. So among the typical metal songs like Atrapada and Tras de ti, we can hear a pair of mid-tempo songs like Solo un Sol o Sin Motivos, always with a very good taste and competent musicianship.

Sadly, the vocals are still weaker than the rest of the band, singing Marcial out of tune sometimes and with a very limited vocal range. Nevertheless, he makes a decent job in the best song of the album, Sarajevo, a Savatage- influenced song with a great chorus and fantastic instrumental passages.

Sarajevo also contains the best lyrics of the album, which are rather absurd and weak in general terms.

Best Tracks: Solo un Sol, Sarajevo.

Conclusion: Calma an album that still shows the influences of Metropolis VI (mainly Dream Theater and Savatage) and brought nothing new to the prog-metal scene. Nevertheless, in a country with so a limited production in this genre, Metropolis VI shined brightly in the few years that they were active.

Calma has bad lyrics, is not original and contains weak vocals. Nevertheless, it also contains glimpses of real talent inside, so if you are a prog-metal addict, maybe you should give this record and the band's debut Saltos en el Tiempo a try.

My rating: ***

Metropolis VI was born in Madrid back in 2001. I had the luck to see them live in Granada in 2003 in Sala Quilombo, and I have to say that they were just great playing live! I will never forget this marvellous evening of splendid music. And Saltos en El Tiempo, their first CD, is also very enjoyable.

Sadly, the band suffered different problem which led to their break-up years later. But their albums are still here to be discoverd for true progressive metal fans!

Saltos En El Tiempo opens with Destino, a very Dream Theater influenced song with a good bass melody and great riffs. The lyrics are not the best, and the vocals from Marcial are just tolerable, but the song is pretty good nonetheless. The chorus is good and the solo is even better. Reflejos is darker, stronger and it contains another outstanding bass line.

¿Por Qué No? offers one of the best guitar works of the album, especially during the verses and the instrumental section, while Quisiera Volver has another very competent instrumental work, despite the weak chorus.

Hay Algo shows the hard rock influences of Metropolis VI, in the vein of King's X. It has a very catchy riff and even a heavy section which remembers me to another great Spanish band called Los Suaves. Good track! Otro Mundo has an almost jazz beginning, and another Ty Tabor influenced riff. Good verses for another decent song.

Mi Lugar is the best track of the album and it also contains the best vocal interpretation from Marcial, alongside an impressive guitar solo and good acoustics. The very melodic final part is superb! Saltos en el tiempo and Vértigo are a bit darker and heavier, following the influence of Dream Theater, while Tres Minutos is a nice hard rock track with very good melodies during the solo. The lyrics are also pretty funny!

Conclusion: if you want to hear a mixture between Dream Theater and King's X, and you are eager to hear some good progressive metal in Spanish language, Metropolis VI is your band despite the lack of true personality that they always had. The vocals are OK, the guitar and bass playing are over the top, and the rest of the band also made a good job. And the songwriting was also really good! And that's the most important fact.

Moreover, if you don't understand the lyrics please don't worry. They are the worst aspect of this band!

Best Tracks: Reflejos, ¿Por Qué No?, Mi Lugar.

My Rating: ***