Entre el Cielo y el Infierno

I had a story with this album: I read somewhere that "Entre el Cielo y el Infierno" had a much heavier sound than Rata Blanca's previous works, and this caught my interest. And one day, watching in my town's record store, I saw this album at a good price. After thinking a little, I decided to buy it.

We all know what was happening with Rata at that moment: Bistolfi left, not happy with the little participation in the band's previous disc; and Barilari also abandoned Rata Blanca, arguing family issues. Besides the band did not have any longer the popularity of a few years ago.

After those unfortunate events, Mario Ian and Javier Retamozo entered as replaces, and Giardino decided to take another direction in the group's sound. And so we start with "En el Bajo Flores" (In Bajo Flores), from the beginning much heavier than anything that RB did - Note: Bajo Flores is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires - which starts with a good distorted riff. It's a fast song with powerful and simple riffs, and a great solo. The keyboards can barely be heard in a little piece of this song. Then comes "Bajo Control" (Under Control), a song built over the same riff repeating itself all along. It can be repetitive, but I actually like it.

Other songs that are well done are "Sombra Inerte del Amor" (pay attention to the initials: SIDA - spanish for AIDS - and you'll understand the meaning of the song), a good mid-tempo; "Patria" (Homeland) a heavy ballad in which the guitar solo is a piece of "Aurora", a patriotic song; "Sin tu Amor Nada Existe" (Without your Love Nothing Exists), "Máquina" (Machine), similar to "Bajo Control", but slower and with much double-bass drum work; and the bonus track "Banda Viajera" (Travellin' Band), a cover of that Creedence classic, in a heavy, speedy version (it's one of the highlights of this disc)

The Band:

Walter Giardino: the lead guitarist and the main composer of Rata Blanca is always the star (what did you expect?), In this album he throws a big bunch of metallic riffs and shredding solos, especially in songs like "Sombra Inerte del Amor", "Obsesión" and "Máquina".

Gustavo Rowek (drums): for me, this guy made his best performance in this album (correct me if I am wrong), with his classic double-bass drum (particularly on "Jerusalén", you can hear the double-bass from beginning to the end), mixed with some good techniques.

Sergio Berdichevsky (2nd. guitar): here the shadow of Giardino can be more appreciated, he makes a good work too, throwing base riffs and power chords.

Guillermo Sánchez (bass): the bass work in Rata Blanca is always the same, making the base notes or following the guitars or the double-bass parts, without place for an improvisation. Decent, but not impressive.

Mario Ian (vocals): this heavy metal singer may not have a melodic voice like Barilari (it's similar to Blaze Bayley when he was on Maiden), but anyway he makes a decent performance, and fits well with Giardino's musical proposal.

Javier Retamozo (keyboards): he was somehow the "victim" in this album. Due to Giardino's desires (more heavy guitars pulled to the front and less keyboars), his instrument is the least heard here, covered up by the guitars.

Conclusion: I enjoy listening to this album from time to time, but honestly, I can't recommend it to anyone. If you like the classic Rata Blanca or you know them for their most well-known songs, you might hate this record. But if you're looking for a good heavy metal album in Spanish, perhaps you might give it a try.