4:45 AM
Aisles
•
January 17, 2015

Being Chile's arguably most well-known Progressive Music act, eclectic Prog-Rockers AISLES, they piqued interest of foreign ears reasonably quickly, and with good reason. Not 'just another PINK FLOYD clone', their brand of music is touched strongly by Neo-Prog and various forms of Latin music. Their new album, "4:45 AM", veritably bleeds emotion, with each of the tracks telling its own story, with its own special and characteristic embellishments that colour it a different hue from the next; one of the most moving Prog pieces I have ever heard.
The opening and title track comes across as an upbeat and lilting ooze of pure positivity. The guitars and bass glide over eachother like warm currents, the drumming here is rather exquisite with intriguing and infectious patterning. Sebastian sings with an emotive, relatively high-register delivery, is a perfect match to the music, the huskiness in his voice reminding me of ANGRA guitarist and backing-vocalist Rafael Bittencourt. "Back my Strength" is a subversive and ultimately moving piece that edges forward with slow, steady and reverberating pulses, working separately to the beautiful melodies.
"The Sacrifice", the album's star acoustic track, turned out to be one of my favourites. Sebastian sings his best here, I find, projecting emotion as if it were another language. Extraordinarily dynamic for an acoustic piece, the crescendos laced here and there within speed up the current over small waterfalls, that don't so much as crash as they flow back into the river in perfect, circular motion. "Melancholia", the album's 10-minute tapestry (the centrifuge of every Prog album) may as well be crafted of a number of chapters; smooth and silky fusion runs through the Jazzy motions, and begins to expel more and more energy as it reaches frenetic runs, climbing up and up the Prog mountain.
This band seems to gravitate in a magnetic field all on their own with this album, far removed from PINK FLOYD, DREAM THEATER, FOCUS or GENESIS, which I believe says wonders for its testimony as a stand-out Prog release.
10 / 10
Masterpiece

"4:45 AM" Track-listing:
1. 4:45 AM
2. Gallarda Yarura
3. Shallow and Daft
4. Back my Strength
5. The Sacrifice
6. The Ship
7. Intermission
8. Sorrow
9. Hero
10. Melancholia
Aisles Lineup:
Germán Vergara - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards
Felipe Candia - Drums, Percussion
Rodrigo Sepúlveda - Guitars, Vocals
Sebastian Vergara - Lead Vocals
Alejandro Meléndez - Keyboards
Daniel Baird-Kerr - Bass
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