METRÓPOLIS

Metropolis. it's a Dream Theater album, isn't it?

Metropolis, by Polimetro, is an album inspired in Dream Theater's music (I can even say the band itself is inspired in Dream Theater). There are several similarities in the music. In fact, that was the strongest critique to Polimetro's work, the lack of new ideas and to be just a copy of the North American band.

Metropolis is a 12-track album which starts with a short atmospheric synth intro, and ends with a 3-minute instrumental track calmer than the previous songs. The inner 10 tracks, the core, respond to a pre- established structure, classic in the rock planet, of a 5+ minute song with lyrics, chorus, and a time for solos. The music itself is guitar leaded, just like heavy metal, with notable uses of the keyboard, in a very Kevin Moore style.

'Sola' is the isle on the album. It starts like a ballad, or a mellow song, with just a synth doing the background, in a way of an orchestral array, while the singing leads the song. At the 3 minutes point starts a piano and then comes the whole band with distorted guitars and everything. 'Sola' is dedicated to Sola Sierra, president of the AFDD ("Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos", the association of the victims of Pinochet regime), who fought with all his life for justice and truth, until she suffered a cardiac arrest and she died in 1999.

Critiques apart, Metropolis is a great album, with good songs and a good job by the musicians, with the ability to interpret complex stuffs at moments, and to create a real progressive album within the limits of 6 minutes by track and the classic time signature 4/4, which governs almost the entire album. My highlights: all the last segment, 'Guerras Eternas', 'Luz y Sombra' (the promo single), 'La Traición', and 'Episodios' (my very favourite one).

Polimetro is a very unknown prog metal band from Chile. They release a single album in 2000 named Metropolis. From the begging of the album 'till last note I can trace influences from where?? Dream Thater of course, even the title of the album is an DT clone (DT release a year prior Metropolis part II), but, there is a but, the album is very solid prog metal effort even is influenced by americans in many parts. Very well played album full of great interplays between musicians, stunning and fast key passages made by César Anguita combined very well with the guitar chops and great voice of Ricardo Susarte. I like a lot this kind of prog metal, up tempo with nice and complicated changes between guitar riffs and key passages melted in great unison with the drumers elements. Every pieces stands as good in my ears, not a weak moment here, even the slow pieces are ok , where the voice of Ricardo Susarte shines all the way. To me is not just another prog metal album and band from the thousands that emerged in this decade, is a great prog metal band that for some reasons never made it in prog circles. Laberintos, Fabulas and Sola are excellent examples how great this bands was in prog metal scene from CHile and from South America aswell. So, I give to Metropolis 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, excellent work by this unknown prog metal band from Chile.