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Cruz D Malta - Cruz D Malta CD (album) cover

CRUZ D MALTA

Cruz D Malta

 

Progressive Metal

3.98 | 7 ratings

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memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Excellent Mexican prog metal!

A couple of months ago I read a review of this album and got interested on the band, due to the positive feedback they've received, later, when I realized they were Mexican I really felt the urge of getting it, since I am an eager supporter of Mexican prog scene, no matter its branches, prog metal this time. And then I understood why the good words about them: the album is so good.

Cruz d Malta released a self-titled album last year 2011, and since then they have been trying to get to more people and places, so their music can be better known world-wide.

Coming from a small city in the centre of the country, they are looking for gig places, for places to buy their album and of course, for people who can buy it. So I truly invite you to support them, they deserve it. Well, the album consists of seven compositions that make a total time of 76 minutes, it is a long album, actually. It opens with "Antagonia" a twelve- minute track in which we will appreciate since the very first moments, their quality as composers and of course, as performers. This quartet has the basic instruments: guitar, bass, drums, keys, and with them, they create very good prog metal music with complex structures, good riffs and some emotional moments. Worth mentioning that they are an instrumental band.

"Hierro y sangre" is another long track, actually the most of the songs are above eight minutes, with the exception of the last one. In this track I can feel a Rush inspiration in some moments, though they are not actually metal, the heavy sound reminds me a bit of them. What I like of the music here, is that all the four members' job are essential to its success, I mean, it is great to listen to those inherent guitar riffs, but also great to appreciate to the heavy drums, to the strong bass lines and to the excellent keyboard atmospheres.

"Rebelión de los santos" continues with that complexity, a well-structured track in which we have a constant sound, though in moments it becomes a bit more aggressive, faster and more emotional. Here we can listen to a keyboard solo which is really healthy for the sound because it gives importance to that instrument, so they don't only focus on guitar riffs. Once again, here we can clearly appreciate the musician's skills. A great song!

"Renacer" passes the eleven minutes, and it has a different sound at least in the beginning. It is calm, atmospheric, relaxed at first. After a couple of minutes the structure changes a little bit, though the sound is still gentle, charming, letting us know that they are also capable of creating non-metal pieces. The song continues with this distinctive sound for the whole duration, making a considerable change in the album's line, a very good change actually, that let us rest for some minutes from their heavy and powerful sound.

The longest track is "Instinto animal" in whose 16 minutes we will find once again a feast of musical elements, going from guitar riffs, heavy and powerful moments, to some changes in mood and style, as well as some changes in the instruments leadership. The first minute has calm guitar notes which all of a sudden become heavier and more metal oriented, when it happens, the other instruments join so we have now a true prog metal track. After five minutes there is a passage I like where keyboards produce a dark atmosphere, a tense and nervous sound which all of a sudden vanishes in order to opens the gates to soft and delicate guitar notes. Dark and tension in one hand, peace and tranquility in the other hand are shown in this particular track. As you can notice, this is an ambitious and challenging song. Applause to these guys!

"Transición" is another long and great composition, here the soft and charming sound returns. The first minutes have pretty good guitars well accompanied by drums and the atmospheric keyboards. It is good how the song is progressing little by little, adding different elements while the seconds pass. After seven minutes that soft sound vanishes and the prog metal is shown once again, with nice musicianship and well crafted textures. A heavier sound continues for the rest of the track, with keyboard solos and an inherent power and energy.

The album finishes with "Un mundo de sueños" which happens to be the shortest composition. In these five minutes we will have some melancholy, a song that clearly says goodbye. This was a great choice to finish the album.

What a great debut from Cruz d Malta, I really hope they can get more exposure here in Mexico and why not, in the whole world. This is a strong album that I recommend to fans of progressive metal, I am sure you will like it. My final grade will be 4 solid stars.

Enjoy it!

memowakeman | 4/5 |

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