href='http://becker.cj.free.fr/myprogmusic/com/albums.php?langue=A&idspot=spotify:album:5p9rXxjISi08dB0RDwZx0z' target='_blank'>'Against Myself', this is still the Spaniards who are in the spotlight, but this time with a formation that is tagged heavy metal. In this style, the Spaniards are not strictly speaking a nation which is very active but we know the talent of melodists of the artists of the countries of the South of Europe in the song and 'Avalanch' is part of it and already has an imposing discography but never really managed to make a worldwide reputation, perhaps because they continue 25 years after their first studio recording 'La Llama Eterna' to release albums sung in Spanish. And yet the last album 'El Secreto' also exists in English version ('The Secret'). 2023 therefore sees the release of a new album 'El Dilema de los Disoes' which sees the line up evolve since the leader 'Alberto Rionda' is now the only guitarist, 'Jorge Salán' having left the ship, 'Nando Campos' replacing 'Dirk Schlächter' on bass and 'José Pardial' replacing 'Israel Ramos' on vocals, the latter being a guest on one song. On the other hand, the well-known 'Mike Terrana' who officiated for a long time with 'Tarja' still provides the place of drummer and we also find the keyboardist 'Manuel Ramil'.
No surprise with this new opus, we navigate through a succession of melodic compositions but although this formation is tagged in power metal, I find that this album is very soft compared to the label they claim : at the start, with the mid-tempo 'Expulsando a mis demonios', we have a demonstration of it with a musical theme characteristic of the Spanish song and an epic atmosphere as desired brought by a provided orchestration, then, 'Ceniza' continues with a new catchy composition with new catchy melodic lines and the two compositions which follow, 'Cuatro Elementos' and 'Sonrisa De Un Ángel', are not left out with refrains which will certainly be taken up in choirs in concert. First break ballad with the very beautiful 'Sentido' which brings us back to the best metal power ballads and which highlights a beautiful vocal performance by 'José Pardial', the Spanish language bringing a very particular warmth. The second part of the album is like the first with new melodic hymns and we will not miss 'Confianza Ciega' with the former singer 'Isra Ramos' who returns to service on this title and who forms a beautiful vocal duo with 'José Pardial'. We also find this Spanish melodic spirit in the following titles and 'Horizonte Eterno' (see the video above), 'Tumbas y Reyes' and the eponymous title of the album are further proof of this with catchy melodic lines, the metal side being quite discreet. And to finish, the beautiful acoustic ballad 'Más Allá De Las Tinieblas' (a little too short for my taste) ends this album in a very beautiful way in a style reminiscent of 'Love of my Life' by 'Queen'.
In summary, the Spaniards of Avalanch' release a very beautiful album filled with catchy melodies on first listening and 'El Dilema de los Dioses' is more like melodic hard rock with icing on the cake, this inimitable style of the Spaniards to bring a very particular warmth and, as such, I find that singing in Spanish is ultimately a plus that greatly contributes to it... | |
