RODRIGO SAN MARTIN

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!

Rodrigo San Martin continues to impress me. After the occasionally shaky "There's No Way Out," I am pleased to say that "Eyes" sees San Martin returning stronger than ever. The heavier, more metallic elements that appeared on "There's No Way Out" are back, but in my opinion they're used much more smoothly here, more seamlessly integrated and less disjointed. All told, then, this is a really excellent album that combines compositional maturity with an excellent ear for melody.

"The Mask" kicks off the album with a wonderfully melodic piano part. An awesome female vocal part quickly joins in, and with it San Martin quickly proves that he can write vocal melodies with the best of them. I feel like a broken record since I'm pretty sure I've written that in all three reviews of San Martin's material that I've done, but it really does need to be driven home. After this, there's a heavier section, which, unlike the heavier sections on the previous album "There's No Way Out," fits in seamlessly. Totally gone is the somewhat disjointed feeling that, in my opinion, marred that previous album. Here instead we have heavy, distorted vocals over pounding guitar riffs interspersed with delicate, chanted sections in a way that works perfectly. A great guitar solo, perhaps one of the best from San Martin yet, leads into a much softer, atmospheric acoustic guitar part that almost has classical leanings. The vocals return, and lead a triumphant crescendo that closes out the track.

"Destroy The Signal" comes next, immediately launching into an extremely heavy, riffing guitar part. Almost as suddenly as it appears however, it drops away, leaving very pleasant harmonized vocals singing over synth, bass and percussion. The heaviness returns for a brief instrumental section in the middle, as well as a vocal reprise at the end of the song. "Destroy the Signal" is definitely a more straightforward track than was the opener, but that certainly doesn't hurt it, and it's a great rocker.

"Amanecer" starts with a very rhythmically interesting bass part that's quickly joined by matched synth and guitar lines. These two duel it out for a while before dropping out and allowing the female vocals plenty of space to return over the bass and percussion. After a brief period of this more minimal arrangement, the guitar starts riffing under the vocals before the vocals drop out entirely for an extended instrumental section. This finally all culminates in a peaceful, Genesis-esque closing section before the riffs return and a brief guitar solo and vocal section close out the track.

"Interludio" is exactly what it sounds like: a calm, acoustic guitar led interlude that sets the mood very nicely for the second half of the album.

"Ahora" begins this second half with guitar and organ playing in tandem to create a very vintage, rock-y sound. This gives way to acoustic guitar and bass as the vocals enter, which this time around feature not only strong melodies but excellent harmonies as well. An excellent instrumental section takes up a good chunk of the track, recalling classic rock with its dueling organ and guitars but also providing a definitively metal edge with the sheer intensity of its riffs. About halfway through the track the acoustic guitar/vocals duo returns, and for the rest of the track these heavy and light sections alternate, complementing each other very well.

Finally, we have the epic closer "Con los Ojos Abiertos," which begins with a soft and atmospheric intro section occasionally joined by some minimalistic vocals. There's also some faint soundclips of people talking present, but they're hard to make out and serve the track very well as background ambience. After a brief but beautiful acoustic guitar solo the vocals proper enter, accompanied by swirling synths and delicate piano. Bass and percussion come in after a while to help build up the arrangement, and after another vocal section the song launches into a crazy instrumental that features solos of all kinds as well as more back-and-forth between heavy and light themes. This is followed by another atmospheric vocal section, with spacey, dream-like synths playing over a similar voice clip to the beginning of the track. More guitar solos follow, leading into yet another vocal section, this one over a more metal instrumentation. After another instrumental section the track concludes with a great, energetic finale, featuring orchestral arrangements and a great closing guitar solo.

While I would still recommend starting with San Martin's debut "1," I have to say that this is probably the most compositionally accomplished album from him yet. The songwriting is much more concise (with the exception of the epic closer), and with that comes a lot of tightness in the composition as well. There's no wasted time on this album, no sections that drag on or feel out of place. A really stellar effort from a great musician and composer.

4/5

This sophomore effort from multi-instrumentalist Rodrigo San Martin, while definitely still an incredibly impressive album, I think falls a bit flat compared to the excellent debut album "1". The sound has been varied from that album, featuring guest vocalists and containing an overall heavier tone than "1" had. While there are definitely great moments, "There's No Way Out" doesn't feel quite as consistent to me as "1" did.

"4378th Day" starts off with some great, cinematic synth chords that help set up the feeling of the track very nicely. Some awesome, jazzy acoustic guitar comes in over this and solos for a little while before the roles swap and the synth takes a melodic lead while the guitar puts down a nice, picked background. Gorgeous vocals from featured guest vocalist Jelena Perisic come in soon after this, and San Martin proves that his ear for vocal melody hasn't faded since his first solo album "1". It's about this time that percussion joins in as well, and the track continues for a while in the very laid back, relaxed vein that it started in. It's not until about the 8th minute that the tone of the track changes, with electric guitar coming in and a series of wicked keyboard solos serving as a bit of an instrumental break in the song. To me it feels like this ramping up of intensity could have come a bit sooner: the first 8 minutes of the track feel a bit homogenous, even if they are very pretty. Once the break comes, however, there's no looking back: the aforementioned synths solos are matched by guitar, and there's some really excellent orchestral parts toward the end of the track as well. As with the previous album "1," I can hear a lot of similarity to IQ in parts of this track. In the last few minutes of the track there's a reprise of the vocals, followed by a frantic final two minutes with plenty of guitar soloing and orchestral parts that make for a great finale.

"No" is significantly shorter than the opener, and it starts off on a completely different vein, with an almost funky bass line and only minimal keyboards. It's a much heavier track as well, with near constant guitar riffing behind the vocals. "No" is a drastic departure in style from anything San Martin has done up to this point, with a sound far closer to AOR then to the delicate, folky symphonic music he's mostly made before this. There is a softer middle section of the track that again features Jelena Perisic, but to be honest, I feel it sort of clashes with the heavier beginning and ending of the track. All in all "No," while an interesting change of style, ultimately leaves me kind of cool.

"War, Act 2" is the epic closer for the album, and it, like "No," begins on a heavier note, with distorted, riffing guitars that almost sound like they could have come from a Dream Theater release. After about 2 minutes the track drops into a far more relaxed vein, with minimal, almost ambient music behind the repeated vocal mantra "where do we go from here?" It's a haunting, mysterious way to begin the track, and the acoustic guitar lines that join in only help to add to the effect. The vocals stay low as well, even as they move away from merely the repeated mantra of the beginning of the track they remain remarkably restrained and low key, which serves this section of the song very well. After another minimal instrumental break, the arrangement fills out a little bit, with acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion setting up a jazzy, open atmosphere that would sound carefree if the accompanying lyrics weren't so bleak. A very strange, almost avant-garde section follows this, with some faintly atonal synths very faintly soloing before an equally off-kilter guitar solo takes over. This is a far cry from the delicately beautiful melodies of the first album, and it's a very interesting change of pace, though I must confess it doesn't do as much for me as most the first album did. After this a more conventional metal section begins, interspersed with sparse, folky acoustic guitar sections. It's an interesting juxtaposition, if a bit jarring, and I applaud San Martin for inserting such drastically different sounds into his music. Towards the end of the track the laid back vocals return, as do the dreamy, mysterious guitars, and it's on this note that the track fades out and ends.

I really hate to criticize an artist for changing their sound (we do claim to like PROGRESSIVE rock, after all), but "There's No Way Out" just doesn't strike me as being as strong as the first album. Where "1" was dynamic, fluid, and delicately beautiful, "There's No Way Out" feels a bit more disjointed, and while the heavier sections are a nice change of pace I don't think they're as effective as they could have been. Nonetheless, this is still a good piece of work that certainly has its moments; I'd simply recommend starting with "1".

3/5

It's a pretty bold move to release as your first album a single, 40 minute track. It's an even bolder move to write, sing, and play every single instrument on that album. But you know what? I think that Rodrigo San Martin has a right to be bold. '1' is a fantastic piece of progressive rock, one that anyone should be proud to have for a debut album. Fans of Phideaux should find a lot to like here, as should fans of any of the 'big' symphonic bands: there are traces here of Transatlantic and IQ as well. For the most part, though, this comes off as a very original, fresh piece of music, and one that comes highly recommended.

'1' begins with a spare guitar part which is quickly joined by some high, ethereal, incredibly melodic vocals. This is soon joined by percussion, bass, and a variety of synths that give the beginning section of the track a decidedly neo-prog feel, very much in line with the music of IQ. In fact, some of the guitar parts sound to me like they could have come straight off of their 2004 album 'Dark Matter.' At about 5 minutes in a new theme is added, and the track takes on a heavier tone that recalls sections of another prominent modern prog band, Transatlantic. If you're familiar with their albums and know of the heavier section in 'Stranger in Your Soul,' then you have a decent comparison point for this music: undoubtedly symphonic, but also heavy and even approaching metal. Some rather technically impressive acoustic guitar parts make an appearance during this section as well, made all the more impressive by the fact that San Martin is the only player on this album.

After this a bit of a more atmospheric section begins, with a variety of synths setting up a harmonic background for a spoken word section that sounds like it consists of excerpts from the bible. I will confess that I'm not a huge fan of spoken-word sections like this, but here it works out alright, serving as a sort of bridge into the next section, which features orchestral string sounds heavily. A more minimal, piano-led section follows this, in turn, and it's here that the vocals return as well, this time in a more grounded, mysterious style than the opening. A string and guitar section follows this, and to be honest, it's here that a bit of a structural problem emerges, as this section, with its swelling orchestral parts and guitar soloing, really feels like a finale though the track is less than half over.

I can't criticize this too much, however, as it transitions very nicely into a very pretty piano part. Eventually synths and bass are added in to help elaborate on this theme, and it quickly develops into a full blown instrumental extravaganza, with an excellent guitar solo going over chorus-like vocals. Almost exactly at the 20 minute mark the sound cuts out completely, and there's a little bit of a break while a recording of what sounds like a record being flipped over is played. It's a fun little conceit to demonstrate the nature of the piece, but I wonder if actually dividing the album into two halves wouldn't have been just as effective.

When this 'second side' begins it has a far more jazzy feel to it than anything from the first half, with a piano part and some excellent, laid back guitar soloing setting the mood quite nicely. Subdued but still incredibly melodic vocals come in over the motif that develops from this. I really have to hand it to Mr. San Martin, the vocal melodies here are excellent; I'd be tempted to say they're even on par with Phideaux and the like. Another heavier section follows this, with a fiery guitar solo standing out as the highlight of this section. We're treated to a reprise of that gorgeous vocal melody from the beginning of the 'side' following this, before the tempo picks up and a new melody begins. Percussion takes on a more prominent role, and a gorgeous combination of synth and guitar makes up most of the background music. There's a fairly long instrumental section that follows this, going through another heavy stage before briefly returning to a soft vocal section. This doesn't last long, however, as the heavy riffing quickly returns and with it come the most insistent vocals yet. I can hear a lot of IQ resemblance here as well. Unfortunately, with this section comes my second complaint about the album: the vocals just don't seem powerful enough to me. I don't know if it's in the way they are mixed or in how they were delivered, but the recurring cry of 'let me out' seems so faint compared to the music that I think this section lacks a bit of the power it could have had.

Again, that's a fairly minor complaint against how good the album is in general, and the finale shows that there's certainly nothing wrong with San Martin's vocals in a general sense. Delicate and emotional, the final line of the song, 'I refuse to let/the world torn apart' is delivered with a breathtaking sense of finality and it's a near-perfect ending for the song.

So though there are occasions (though very rare) where '1''s reach exceeds its grasp, for the most part this is a superb piece of music that's overall very consistent throughout its epic running time. I look forward to reviewing Mr. San Martin's other albums in the near future as well, especially after being reminded by this album what an impressive composer and musician he really is. A darn good album and an incredibly impressive debut.

4/5

This album is a significant improvement respect to the already very good "There's No Way Out" specially thanks to the effort of Ludmila Clemente at drums and Fernando Refay at synths. The first nice thin is that the album is logically split into two parts of about 20 minutes each, like it was a vinyl. So we have an "Eyes Wide Open" (this is what "Con Los Ojos Abiertos" means) side and an "Eyes closed" one.

Starting with the "Open" side, it's a side long track (it's nice speaking of it like a vinyl) made of seven distinct parts with no gaps and with a little of neo-prog influence. The song features the excellent vocals of Jelena and has some very rocking moments. Also the transitions are very well done. In particular the transition between part two and part three that's very heavy. A piece of music that can be considered progressive metal. Part 4 with the radio voices below a fretless bass starts very floydian, with the vocalists reminding of Mostly Autumn and Rodrigo's clean bluesy guitar like Clapton in Pros and Cons of Hitch-Hiking, just before a very good solo in a prog metal style. However all the seven parts have their good moments and in the complex this is one of the best long tracks that I've heard recently. For its structure and the passages between metal and melodic moments I think it can be compared to some parts of Ayreon's The Human Equation, also because Jelena's voice is not too dissimilar than that of Heather Findlay.

The "Wide Shut side" starts with a melodic piano intro. "The Mask" is another song in 3 parts. It has a structure similar to the epic but there's a lot of piano and classical influences. The second part is an instrumental that reminds to Renaissance until guitar and keyboards enter and change it drastically. Here on Part two the keyboards deserve a mention as the solo reminds to Vitalij Kuprij for the speed and the sound, but there's also an excellent guitar riff immediately after, followed by part 3 which features acoustic guitar and voice. Fans of Mostly Autumn will surely like it.

Now some prog metal. The link that Rodrigo has sent me contains this song in two versions: with English lyrics (Destroy The Signal) and Spanish (Destruye la Señal). The song alternates very heavy instrumental riffs and very melodic singing. A short powerful rock song for all the prog metal fans.

"Amanecer (Dawn)" has a very good "retro" taste. It's a song that if it wasn't for the "modern" sounds and the excellent production could come directly from the 70s. Heavy and melodic on which I hear echoes of YES, Renaissance, and 70s in general.

The minute and half of "Interludio" is a short guitar instrumental on which Rodrigo shows his guitar skill. Listening to it and to its jazzy sequence of chords I think To Pat Metheny and to Phil Sheeran, until guitar and organ start the last song of the album with an intro that could stay on an Uriah Heep album. "Ahora (Now)" has English lyrics despite the Spanish title. It's another melodic rock song with very rocking breaks and pauses. Again, Uriah Heep is the reference that comes to my mind. It's a very good closer.

It's a very good album on which the level of all the songs is constant. There are no weak moments and in its genre together with the last Yesterday's album, is the best thing that I've listened to in the last months.

Strongly suggested to anybody who loves any of the artists that I've mentioned. Rodrigo San Martin is a young artist already at his third full length album. While his second effort was promising, this album confirms all the expectations. Check it out.

I was reminded about this album by the previous reviewer whose review appeared on the front page. I remember when I first heard this, and didn't think much of it. Well, it's definitely a grower, but one that will take time obviously. I was reminded of Requiem Apocalyptique, another one song album solely created by one person. Likewise, this album does not have the sense of a complete, well refined effort, despite the best intentions of Rodrigo - but his efforts are still cause to be positive. It is a noble first effort, and I think, for the open minded of progaholics, it's a good album to dig up. When I think of the drawbacks, the only real one I have is that, as with many one song albums, every moment must count. I think that about four or five minutes could have been omitted and the album would have lost none of its luster. But these are petty concerns, and in the general, I am quite positive towards this album. It's not essential, but it's worth discovering.

Uno.

This is the first album by Rodrigo San Martin, a true Argentinean talent whose compositions talk by themselves. When I was introduced (by him, in fact) to his music I felt lucky and happy of knowing that there is talent everywhere, and to know that progressive rock is alive and kicking asses. And though I admit I prefer much more his "There's No Way Out" album, it is evident that since his first work he made visible his skills as composer and performer. And I say this, because the album was composed and played by him in its entirety.

So here this one-man-band offers an ambitious one-song-album in which we can appreciate a symphonic oriented sound, changes in rhythm and mood, a diversity of passages, and a great blend of nuances, textures and melodies. I invite you to download the album through his website (it is free) and prepare for this 39-minute epic. Worth mentioning that with our help and spreading the word, his music will be better known, and he may be releasing the albums in CD in the near future, and not only in digital versions.

The song starts soft with acoustic guitar and delicate vocals in English, little by little other elements are appearing, such as drums and mellotron. It progresses, it flows and when we less expect it, changes. After five minutes a heavier tone enters and creates a sound that has nothing to do with the first minutes. A blend of styles make this a very eclectic album, because besides the previously mentioned symphonic sound (mainly due to the keyboards) here we can find some heavy prog moments, some spacey ones, and even some lighter and catchier ones, which make me think is the reason San Martin's music was labeled (wrongly) as Crossover Prog.

After ten minutes there is a beautiful instrumental passage where keyboards and drums join, creating a hopeful sound which all of a sudden will be vanished due to the entrance of the doubled- edged piano, because it creates a calm, but also a tense and nervous sound. Then vocals return, as well as the mellotron, which is essential here. A long instrumental passage comes later and finishes after the twentieth minute; the sound disappears and then the second part of the song/album begins.

Piano notes and a warm and bluesy guitar at first, then atmospheric keyboards complement it. A couple of minutes later vocals enter in a really soft way, giving us a melancholic sound. But guess what, it is only another passage because later the song explodes and its heavier side appears for a brief moment, just before being replaced by some spacey and atmospheric keyboards. Though changing so many times in a few minutes may not be the best formula, here it does not really harm the music, one can let it flow and enjoy it, having in mind that some passages would have been better if they lasted more. The rest of the song is composed by the same elements, by the same changes, until it delicately finishes.

For a debut album, and for a man who did it all, this is a wonderful work by Rodrigo San Martin, congratulations for that. Though I have to admit that the album is not flawless, no, it does have some weaker and plain moments, and I am sorry, but I am not that eager regarding his voice. On the other hand, the song is well-crafted without a doubt, and it shows that we have a new talent rising, aiming for reaching bigger goals. So now after two albums, I am truly interested in his third, which is about to see the light. My final grade will be three strong stars (3.5 would be better).

Enjoy it!

After the first minute of the first listening I was alread oriented to the four stars. The symphonic keyboards with no percussions are very close to my tastes and also the acoustic guitar, if just a bit less "acoustic" could remind to Andy Latimer. When the singers enter it goes close to prog-folk. Imagine Heather Findlay singing here.

Rodrigo San Martin, from somewhere in Argentina is a multi-instrumentist. The only thing that he doesn't play is his voice, for this reason the arrangements so cured in detail and the good level of the composition is amazing. I think he's a bit weaker in drumming, probably using a human instead of a machine at the drums could bring getter results. He's an excellent keyboardist, instead and absolutely not bad at guitars, too.

The first of the 3 tracks of his album: 4378th Day, is quite an epic. Its defect is a little lack of continuity, but we have forgiven Marillion's Grendel for more than this. Each single part is very good, but they lack of "connection". As counterpart the sung parts are between Mostly Autumn and Renaissance. The two singers are good enough even if far from Haslam/Dunford.

From the symphonic opener to the funky-fusion that opens "No". Just few seconds and we have a sort of Ian Anderson converted to hard rock. The chorus is quite pop, so we have three genres in the same song. Arjen Lucassen should like this track. Very nice synth-guitar solo.

"War, Act 2" opens like Black Sabbath, then when the distorted guitar goes somewhere else, the acoustic that replaces it seems coming from King Crimson. This is only the intro of this long epic. It starts effectively after two minutes, when keyboards and voice are still Crimsonian even with a touch of blues enhanced by the acoustic guitar. This sound reminds me to a great newage guitarist, Phil Sheeran or sometimes to the bluesman "Snowy White" but the melody has the little dissonances that are characteristic of this kind of music. I think also to bands like "Akt", but less experimental.

So an excellent album. I keep the first impression.

Amazing musicianship with beautiful vocals and emotional soundscapes.

Argentine multi instrumentalist Rodrigo San Martín has produced a wonderful album of emotional, beautiful passion. He is joined by the talented lovely and hauntingly sweet voice of Serbian singer Jelena Persic and Craig Kerley from the US. Immediately on the epic '4378th Day' the symph prog music may remind one of Pink Floyd, especially the chord structures, namely the opening track reminds me of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond''s intro. However the great thing about Rodrigo San Martin's style is that he does not shy away from his home culture, and the passages of music are unreservedly his own, with Argentinian nuances. Having said this, the vocals are English and exude a power that strikes me on every listen. Jelena's vocals are multi tracked into a high and low part. There is a sadness in the tones but it tugs at the emotional level augmented by some genuinely moving lyrics; "You're the leader, You're the light, You will be the one, The end is near, now it's time to change, open up their eyes, and set them free, The end is near, no matter what it takes, sacrifice your life, that is your fate." The violin is complimented by sweet flute that has the power to bring tears to the down in heart. Music somehow plays on the emotions when it is played with such passion and I had watery eyes when I heard this. There is so much heart and soul poured in to this album that it never ceases to lift my spirit. The spacey keyboard solo on this track resonates with me at a deeper level, it is high class musicianship and builds to an excellent fast paced tempo and blistering guitar solo. It breaks into a symphonic flute and violin concerto. Distorted guitar blasts break the ambience and I was mesmerised by the beauty of dark distortion clashing with light rays of beauteous keyboards and ethereal vocals. This is a master class performance blending ingredients of controlled progressive tension and chaotic release of musical forms, a myriad of emotions encased in a tumultuous soundscape- the best song on the album.

'No' begins with a pulsating bassline and strong drum beat. Craig joins Jelena on vocals this time. He sounds great, putting a lot of inflection into the phrasing. The distortion of guitar is welcome, breaking up the beat over sustained keyboard pads. Craig and Jelena blend well together and this has an infectious melody that grabs hold quickly; "this is the last time, I surrender to you". The wah wah guitar solo is terrific on this track. Overall it is perhaps the most accessible of the three tracks due to its structure, length and melody. The lyrics are compelling, especially Jelena singing; "Do you wait all day, like I always, Do you laugh like mad, to and you, And I'd like to tell you what's going though my mind, But I'm afraid". This is a bit more radio friendly but that is okay as a break when the rest of the album is so wildly inventive.

'War, Act 2' is a 21 minute prog epic. It has a killer metal riff that crunches among the blastbeats of very fast percussion. The heavy section breaks into a King Crimson style guitar passage that builds to pitch into the aggressive distorted riffing. I already love this and we are only 2 minutes into the epic. It grabbed my attention and constantly surprised me with new detours into styles of music that compete against each other, light wrestling with dark. The lyrics are sung by Jelena quietly and with melancholy beauty; "This empty feeling inside me, Expands and corrupts and destroys and consumes, Where do we go from here?" A lot of the power of the piece is the consistent building towards darker emotions, the inner voice that may haunt all of us at some stage in our lives, the feeling of emptiness that strikes us at our lowest moments. The music echoes these feelings with sporadic drumming and sustained keyboards under complex guitar soloing. The acoustic flourishes are effective at 8 minutes in, lending a splendorous emotion to the music. The tranquillity of this passage is augmented by Jelena's pleading vocals; "I have become everything I despise, I have become the same thing I always fought, This is goodbye, this is not what I wanted, this is goodbye, I'm out of here." The King Crimsonesque guitars return over chaotic percussion and the sound is so reminiscent of "Disciple"-era Crimson that I was forced to take notice. The lengthy instrumental section is masterfully played by Rodrigo. The lead solo simply takes off into full flight over layers of bass, guitar, keys and great programmed drumming; sheer prog bliss. At 13 minutes in there is a booming bass solo over strange guitar chords. The drums move into an odd metrical pattern as twin guitars solo and trade off, then there is a great raucous section that breaks suddenly into some folk acoustic. Suddenly a burst of insane guitar crunches in that is soon returned by soft acoustics again. One never knows what to expect next as the music is always progressing and experimental. At 16 minutes a killer riff grounds the ambience to pulp, and the metal prog sound is joined by impossible hyper speed double kick drumming and a fast tempo locks in with incredible raging speed. This explosive section slows into a quiet passage as if anger is overcome by the melancholy of regrets after a fight. Perhaps the music is personifying the rollercoaster of emotions experienced by the protagonist. The lyrics seem to echo this sentiment; "the end has come, now it's time to change, "The time of men has ended, And now's the time for individuals, No one to follow only ideas to share". It ends on a very nice instrumental passage focussing on keyboards. What an amazing epic; outstanding structure and musicianship. The image of the maze with blood spatters in the booklet may be echoing the sentiments of the obstacles we face in life's difficulties, the maze we are trapped in entombs us, the sacrifices we make to get out of the maze are necessary, and the pain we have to deal with after the trials changes us internally.

I end this review by recommending this to anyone who loves to hear music that blends into light and dark, acoustic and distortion, symphonic and metal. The vocals throughout are lovely thanks to the talented Jelena, and Craig adds just the right aggression and passion in 'No'. Rodrigo is a virtuoso who structures his compositions with detours into heavy rage that leap out into sudden rays of light with keyboards and acoustics. He injects moments of break neck speed riffing and drumming and then launches into complex lead breaks and keyboard solos. The overall feel apart from these metal blasts, is more akin to the symphonic vibes of Pink Floyd or the polyphonic guitar work of Fripp in King Crimson. I was pleasantly surprised that the album delivered so much in only three songs. Perhaps it is a bit short for an album and I wanted more, but that is better than wanting it to end of course. Each song is completely and delightfully different, and Rodrigo's music is some of the most dynamic and exciting I have heard from a multi instrumentalist.

Download now on Rodrigo's website - it is free and it is excellent music!

Let me first of all praise Rodrigo for bringing his music to our attention. This is an album which will give the vast majority of ProgArchives many users a lot of pleasure. So go & get it, guys.

Rodrigo San Martin has almost commited an artistic suicide on this album by creating a forty minutes long one piece of music & playing all instruments himself. This is extreme difficult to carry off, bordering to impossible. But Rodrigo has come very close to do just that. Frightening close.

The music is both very intelligently crafted and full of innovative playing. It is clear that Rodrigo has a vision and he is carrying it out here. The music is a mix of symph, neo, fusion and eclectic. It can be compared to both Genesis, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant and Yes. Melodic prog in other words. Melodic and with a great, huge sound where a lot of details has been crammed in. The sound is contemporary and sounds like this decade. The sound is great, in fact. So is his vocals too and all instruments. The songs are also tinged with a lot of jazz. Oh yes, you guys will really enjoy this album.

The quality is very good throughout. Shockingly good, in fact. So why only 3.5 stars ? A couple of great tracks is missing and that's why. I am a very strict taskmaster, remember. But this should not scare you away from this album whose artwork is great too. I am looking forward to sink my teeth into his second album.

3.5 stars