SAL Y MILETO

Latin America has really stepped it up in the last couple decades in regards to metal bands emerging from every possible nook and cranny however the tiny country of Ecuador hasn't seemed to emerge as one of the stand outs, however there are plenty of interesting bands that have come from that nation sandwiched between Colombia and Peru with the Latacunga based SAL Y MILETO being on the top of the list. I'm not entirely sure what the moniker refers to. SAL is the Spanish word for 'salt'. Y is 'and' and MILETO as far as i can tell can only refer to a region in Southern Italy where a battle was carried out in 1807. Some sources claim that MILETO represents poetry and comes from a Greek city from where the philosopher Thales was born.

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.