El país de las nubes

Mmm, Mexico! The land of tacos, guacamole and hardworking, honest and family-driven people brings us Noesis, an extremely unknown progressive metal band that relies heavily on instrumentals. Some argue that they did do vocal work on Raices, their second output, but El Pais de las Nubes is a completely instrumental album that is heavily influenced by classical music, which lends strongly to the progressive sound that the band thus assumes. Now, exactly how good is this stuff?

Extremely good; a pure endeavour of excellence. Really, what more did we expect from four Mexican brothers, knowing that Mexicans all highly value family relations? This project was blessed to excel from the very start!

The guitar work throughout the whole album is extremely tight, reminiscent of Carlos Santana's playing style. Yes, folks, here in this band, we have hidden gems! Heavily influenced by Santana and classical music, the guitars take on a clear sound despite the generally below average recording quality that carries the notes played strongly. One very notable exception is the opening riff of the title track, El Pais de las Nubes, which sounds as though it could have been a Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne riff. Some might even assert that the riff would be right at home with thrash metal. The riffs are very emotional, and one can tell that the guitarists just have so much passion for their music, for the guitar. They practise what I like to call soulful playing, in which one can feel all the emotion and soul that the artists put into playing their instruments. This promises for a delicious auditory experience.

The amazing thing is that many of the songs on this album are actually covers of timeless classical pieces, and the way the guitar work is done is so that you feel as though the elements that made the originals so classy are retained. Granted, I am not as proficient with classical music as I am with metal music, but this is the vibe that the album gives off. Any fan of classical music should be able to identify at least 3 familiar pieces; after all, this is the amount that I, of inexperienced classical background, managed to notice.

Drumming-wise, the drums are not really notable throughout the whole album, except for certain parts in which the drum work suddenly seems to become tougher to pull off. Otherwise, the drums are not really the main focus; however, this should not deter the reader from discovering this album, as the limelight is on the soaring guitar work and tight, technical, classical-influenced playing anyway; Noesis has always been more inclined towards the classical side of their music rather than the metal side. The drums tend to serve largely as a form of pacing for the guitars to shine. However, I would not discredit the drumming as certain parts can be quite tough to play, as noted earlier.

While the album appears to be relatively short, having only nine tracks and clocking in at 37:48, the approximate 40 minutes for which the album will be playing will not be anything less than a heavenly listening experience. Certain tracks tend to stand out for me, such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, El Pais de las Nubes, Un silencioso amor, Neblina and Sones y Jarables Mixes. I feel that these tracks have an overall better flow than the others and convey strong, soulful playing. These would be the easier ones to appreciate Noesis for. Don't ignore the rest of the album though! If five-ninths of the album are already so amazingly strong, who's to say that the other four tracks, of which two are musical interludes, aren't any better? As the saying goes, one man's meat is another man's poison. Perhaps if the reader were to go discover the album instead of reading this review any further, he or she would be able to identify THEIR favourite tracks! Now go hunt, and enjoy this wondrous, will-take-you-to-another-place debut from Noesis, Carlos Santana's newest band!