2011 was an intense year for Metal. We saw releases from the likes of SYMPHONY X with "Iconoclast", DREAM THEATER with their "A Dramatic Turn of Events", THEOCRACY's "As the World Bleeds", BEYOND CREATION with their massive debut "The Aura" and many, many more. Well you can add another epic album to the list of amazing records that came out that year because MAESTRICK's "Unpuzzle!" is yet another 2011 reissue. This Brazilian Progressive Metal band, that leans more toward the Progressive genre, crafts the most unique form of music. This album has a ton of different sounding music. The opener "H.U.C." is a straight forward Prog Metal track while others are folksier and Progy and still others vastly different. The closing track is an epic twenty minute adventure titled "Lake of Emotions" and it earns its title aptly. This song is over flowing with emotion and feeling, especially from the dueling guitars and harmonious vocals. In fact this entire album is laced with emotion from all members as if they are longing for you to hear what they are bringing to your ears; as if it's implicit you hear the message that flows through their music. Now whatever that message maybe I'm not entirely sure because half the tracks on this record are in a language foreign to me. However, the music overall sounds very positive. The production leaves a little bit to be desired but it's still decent. The percussion work on this album seemed watered at best for a Prog record. The drums were muffled throughout the record making the rather lack luster and plastic sounding drumming even harder to hear. If I had to pick the weakest element of the album it probably would be the drums. An instrument that is usually the weakest audibly on most records is quite strong on "Unpuzzle!". The bass is strong and prominent from start to finish and it really helps to solidify the music whenever you hear it. The guitars and vocals are definitely the focal point of this music and being in the spotlight they fulfill their leading role very well. The solos and guitar harmonies are all done with feeling as I stated before making this album extremely remember able. These guitarists may not be the best most technical guitar players but they know how to play with feeling and that counts for a lot. The vocals were very strong and clean, without any rough growls. This vocalist could very well sing for a power metal band if he chose, that should give you an idea of how strong he is vocally. The singer does have an accent but it's not too distracting. Besides these normal musical elements they added a few folk instruments here and there to add character to an already strong album.

MAESTRICK is a most fascinating band that deserves your attention. "Unpuzzle!" is full of Prog elements any progressive fan will adore. I played this album multiple times before finally sitting down to write this review because I wanted to make sure I understood all this album had to offer. This record is one that will need to be played multiple times before you can fully enjoy the experience. I instantly liked this record after the first play through but it wasn't until my third or fourth listen that it really clicked with me. "Unpuzzle!" is one of those albums that gets better with each play because you discover something new every time. I hope you take the time to listen to this album because you will find that it truly does deserve that exclamation point.