El Legado
Darksun
•
June 16, 2004
Spain is known to have many Power Metal groups. This is the second album with these characteristics of origin and musical direction I'm reviewing and just like Abyss' Sin Angeles, it is fine.
El Legado is not a plain Power Metal release; it has profound Progressive and Symphonic influences. The whole atmosphere is quite pompous and undoubtedly dreamy.
The keyboards' presence is intense and in combination with the various sound effects and the intros of the songs they create an impression of epic lyricism. Add some powerhouse and narrative solo and chorus vocals and surprisingly heavy guitars and you'll have a sharper option of the forsaid lyricism, which is much more effective than the attempted one of other similar releases. The lyrics are in Spanish, as you can see by the titles, but even so, El Legado could easily be perceived as a North European album with Folk details. But if you listen to it carefully you will discern an acoustic guitar so sensitively played as only Spanish can.
Dani G., the vocalist, is also playing guitar in the album and he is Darksun's main lyricist, composer and producer. Or maybe I should say the almost exclusive lyricist and composer with some help by Tino Hevia, the other guitarist. Dani's voice responds perfectly to the absolutely high demands he has set. Maybe his texture is a little bit unusual but on the other hand one might consider this to be more than positive. He has a clean-cut articulation and certainly technical education and he gets even better the higher he sings. It seems that in some occasions only the creator can perform his work as he means it to be performed and you will agree with me if you listen to A Donde Van Las Almas (where the souls go), a ballad which is the most sentimental song of the album and La Llama Immortal (immortal flame).
Credits should also be addressed to Helena Pinto, who exhibits a noteable inventiveness with her synths, so that everybody else takes advantage of the multiplicity of their use and Pedro Junquera, who leads perfectly.
In general, Darksun form a solidly structured band who put themselves in some kind of danger by choosing to use their native language. As I don't know what their target group is though, I prefer not to make any further comments on this. Besides, Spanish sound familiar to me and the majority of the people I know think that its sound is pleasant and elegant.
The whole total definately deserves your time but El Legado (inheritage), A Donde Van Las Almas and El Ultimo Viaje (the last journey), which is dedicated to refugees trying to reach Spain by sea to find a better life, according to Dani, are domains you should search more. And it would be a fantastic idea to visit Darksun's site which is probably the best band site I've ever seen! Dani Cabal is not only a competent drummer but also a great web-designer!
And a friendly advice: Dani, find a new, a little bit more original name for this fantastic band you have. Be sure there's no way I'll miss your next release.
9 / 10
Almost Perfect
"El Legado" Track-listing:
Mas Alla Del Arco Iris
El Legado
Traicion
Veo La Luz
El Bosque Encantado
Dentro De Ti
A Donde Van Las Almas
El Ultimo Viaje
La Llama Immortal
Corazon De Dragon
Gloria Y Poder
Darksun Lineup:
Dani G. - Vocals & Guitar
Tino Hevia - Guitar
Pedro Junquera - Bass
Dani Cabal - Drums
Helena Pinto - Synths
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