El tiempo es tan pequeño

OCONNOR – EL TIEMPO ES TAN PEQUEÑO.

Once upon a time there was a metal singer called Claudio O’Connor, who was the vocalist of huge bands as Hermetica and Malón, then he started his solo career with two memorable albums “Hay Un Lugar” and “Yerba Mala Nunca Muere”, he established and gained many popularity outside metal with his third release “Dolorización” and now he is probably aiming to mass media recognition by becoming more bland and soft with “El Tiempo Es Tan Pequeño”.
By far this is his weakest release up to date. This one is softer with more ballads and less apparent heaviness, even his vocal range is not as sharp and evil as before, he now uses a cleaner voice. The album has less ups than downs than what it’s considered metal by mass media in Argentina (Nativo, Carajo) and it is far more consistent than those too. It still has some worthy tracks into it but it is no way near the first two releases, the guitar tone is watered down and the semi-sabbathian influence is almost gone.

The album starts off with “No Te Aflijas” which is a quite cool song that relies on a slow but heavy riff that is repeated throughout the whole song, it includes also includes a decent solo. “Y Pensar” is very bland for a band like Oconnor; it sounds like The Beatles but a little more rocker. It’s not a joke; I’m being serious about how it sounds. Then we have the title track “El Tiempo Es Tan Pequeño” that is a lame and boring ballad that is a let down on the album. After a while the metal returns in the form of “Te La Dan” which is a good mid tempo song with a catchy riff. O’Connor’s vocals are watered down a bit but the song is nonetheless enjoyable. Next is “Sangre Para El Rey” that starts with a catchy and effective riff and then gains more melody especially on the chorus. Then comes “Es Tu Ley” which has some crunchy guitars and a very clean voice by O’Connor, the song ends pretty cool. “Yo Aprendí De El” has some very generic bland riffs that combined with the ballad-like moments make this one a really lacking song. The only good part is when O’Connor uses his evil and sharp vocals on a part of the chorus but that doesn’t save this song from being rubbish. “Deseo” is a hit ballad that is even played on the mass media radios, as a song is a lot better than the other ballads on the album, but it’s another boomer. “Alma Seca” is one of the strongest tracks on the album, the guitar riff is awesome and so the solo is. The vocals are fine, there are some good bass lines and the drumming fits well too. The album ends with “Dijo Dios” which is maybe the best song on the album, a killing and grinding riff, catchy vocals and a memorable chorus.

Alejandro Cota played some decent riffs but the majority of them were generic and bland. On the other hand, his soloing is pretty decent, although that this is his worst performance in an Oconnor album up to date he still manages to conserve his dignity. Hernan García delivers some good bass licks and even does some backing vocals which are quite weak. Pablo Naydon’s drumming is convincing, he was the original Oconnor drummer back in early 1999 but he left the band before they recorded the first album and now he is back to record this one. The clean voice used by O’Connor becomes a major annoyance through the album, although that in the end Claudio delivers some sharp and screechy vocals that preserve his integrity.
Some other downs of the album include the over-used generic riffs and that some guitar work is boring or even very soft. This one is a forty three and a half minute lasting album that doesn’t do much for me, except for a couple of songs.

Diagnose: the album is very hard to digest especially if you have listened to Oconnor since it was very but very heavy, in his first two efforts.