Infinity (Beto Vazquez) - Flying towards the new horizon 3/5
Reviewed: 9-28-07
Tracklist:
1. Cardassia and bajor
2. After the tempest
3. Lord of the sky
4. The tunnel of the souls
5. Time of reflection
6. Soldiers of hope
7. Star losers
8. Secret
9. She is my guide
10. Sunrise
11. Dreaming in clouds
12. Tale of the black tower
|
It's quite sad, but the fact is, my wife listens to country and not metal. Don't be too sad though (hehehe), as I've managed to incorporate a few metal CDs into her life and one of those is the Beto Vazquez Infinity 's/t' debut. The reasons she likes it are obvious; it's one of the lightest CDs I own (it's mostly atmospheric/symphonic metal, bordering on rock), is very melodic, and features some magnificent vocals. Also, Beto Vazquez managed to grab a variety of popular musicians/vocalists, including Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish), Sabine Edelsbacher (Edenbridge) and some others. The CD even contains a great power metal song with Fabio Lione from Rhapsody on vocals. Since Beto is a keyboard player, there are plenty of keys, but there are some very good guitar parts/solos too. Really, it's an excellent CD, a family favorite, and surely a classic as well.
With his 2nd CD 'Flying towards the new horizon', Beto has more of an actual band; guitarist Gerardo Elsegood, drummer Norberto Roman, male vocalist Victor Rivarola and female vocalist Vero Aiudi, while Beto is on bass and also handles the keyboards of course. But he's still brought in a lot of guest musicians from bands like Celesty, Secret Sphere, Dynasty, and many others from his home country (Argentina). In addition, female vocalists Sonia Pineault of Forgotten Tales and Quinn Weng from Seraphim make an appearance (each providing the vocals on one song - Track 8 "Secret" and track 9 "She is my guide" respectively). So this CD is similar to the debut, in that there is a variety of musicians/vocalists and it kind-of has that "super-project" feeling.
There are 2 major differences between 'Flying towards the new horizon' and the 's/t' debut though. First off, this CD is a lot heavier/faster and most of the CD can easily be labeled symphonic power metal, though there are still some songs in the atmospheric realm. Do you need some band comparisons? Ok, after 4 or 5 spins it hit me, this CD is in line with material from Skylark, Gutter Sirens, Landguard and Final Chapter. You know, the unique symphonic power metal style that's not quite as powerful as bands like Seyminhol, Thy Majestie, Rhapsody and so on. Don't expect a tremendous amount of speed though, as there are slower songs too (similar to what's heard on the debut). I assure you this is mostly power metal, but Skylark, Landguard, etc. are on the lighter side of the genre and this CD is too.
The other major difference between this CD and the debut is, unfortunately, the quality is somewhat lacking here. Don't get me wrong, there are memorable parts/songs and flashes of strong melodies, but the production is fairly thin (a la much of Skylark's discography) and regarding the songwriting, this simply doesn't match the debut. The songs range from decent to very good and there are definitely highlights (track 5 "Time of reflection" and track 11 "Dreaming in clouds" for example), but this is kind-of a let down for me, as there was a 6-year gap between the CDs and I was hoping I would have another excellent (or even better) CD to share with my wife. I personally still find it to be a solid CD, but I haven't even played this for her and I don't plan on it. Between the increased heaviness/speed and overall (lower) quality, there's not a chance in hell she'd like it. So picture me a bit disappointed, and I'll now head off to find the next family favorite.
CLINT
MORE REVIEWS... FULL REVIEWS
MORE REVIEWS BY CLINT... CLINT
MAIN -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z -
MISC
Email: metalcdratings@yahoo.com
