Mares de dolor

Female Fronted Melodic Power Metal band Juicio de Dios (or Judgement of God) formed as long as 10 years ago and has since then released two demos, before gracing the world with their debut Full-Length “Mares de Dolor”. I remember hearing their demo a few years back, and liking it quite much. They had some line-up changes before the release of the album though, so I was eager to find out if they were still able to impress me.

Melodic Power Metal is a spot on description of the music on display here. All the Power Metal elements like the double bass and fast riffing are present. The melodic part is largely accomplished by keyboard passages and the style of guitar playing. The opener of the album “La Luz del Sol” sets the tone for the rest of the album, it’s a pure and fast power metal track boasting some great melodic riffs and a symphonic backbone created by the keyboard. Worth mentioning is the title track of the album, which starts out slow with a piano intro but steadily builds up to Power Metal speed. Nicely done. While listening to the album it becomes apparent that the musicianship on display here is excellent, and equally important: so is the song writing.

Lead vocalist Neus has a very melodic, but powerful voice which fits perfectly with the music. She is supported by male choirs at times, giving the whole a somewhat bombastic feel. Furthermore, the album features a number of guest vocalists from established Spanish bands, Manuel Rodriguez (SPHINX) on the track “No Hay Rival” and Dani G. (DARKSUN) on the track “Cielo Sin Luz”. All lyrics are in Spanish, making it hard for me to comment on them, seeing I don’t speak Spanish at all. But hey, good music is good music, regardless of the language.

The production and presentation are excellent, which is no big surprise seeing this is a label release, but still worth mentioning. Furthermore, you get your moneys worth with this release, seeing it clocks in at over an hour. Quality and Quantity so to speak.