A HANDFUL OF EARTH

It's generally believed that most bands improve in their releases after a debut album. If this is to be true with Salva, then this is a band that will have to be watched carefully in the future, since what we have here is a really solid debut album.

Salva's music is the result of a combination of many different styles: mainly keyboards- dominated symphonic rock, but you can also find here some hard rock (two out of three members of Salva mention Black Sabbath as one of their favourite bands), folk influences, and the occasional jazz part. For me, the summit of the album is the track "A Thousand Deaths"; if played at the appropriate volume, this song can finally convince your neighbours that you are suffering from some kind of schizophrenic syndrome, if you know what I mean (how can this guy be listening to so many different musical styles at the same time?).

The cons? Well, for me the main one (maybe the only one that I'm aware of) is that I find the programmed percussion rather weak throughout the album, and I think they would greatly benefit from the inclusion of a drummer.

Overall, and considering the rating system in Progarchives, I'm convinced this album deserves four stars: not really a "masterpiece", but certainly a wonderful addition to your collection. And, like many other reviewers, I'm already expecting what is to come, but at the same time I'm sure this album will return very frequently to my CD player. Well done!