Francisco Javier Perez is a composer, arranger, guitarist, keyboardist, video game soundtrack designer, and like a million other things. Seriously, when I looked at his website, I was pretty impressed with his resume. His second solo album, "Cloudfield," only acts as another feat he can add to his pile of achievements. It's an instrumental progressive metal album, featuring a crew of helpers across the tracks, and it lured me into writing about it like a fragrant pie on a windowsill.

This project is one hell of a journey, beginning with "YATAI," a short, soft opener. There's not much substance to it, but it sets the scene for the story - every story needs one, right? "Procyon" properly starts the album, and it features Victor Quezada for a guest solo. The song is filled with metallic riffage, but also light, airy guitars that make for a pleasant listen. The title track is a great display of Perez's keyboard work. It's not a central instrument, but it's nice when played. Keep in mind that instrumental progressive metal isn't the heaviest shit ever (I'm typing this as I'm listening to a twinkly and calm guitar/drum segment), so all you "true" metalheads can piss off. While the reliance on ambience and guitar noodling can bore some listeners, I'm fine. "Correct me if I'm Wrong" features the second guest artist, Eduardo Gongora, for a keyboard solo. It's a chill jam-band song with a touch of metal distortion. Nothing more, nothing less. Gongora's key wizardry is Rudess-level technical and fits well. "A Letter to Myself" is, again, not very metal. Atmosphere takes the forefront, and I hate to say it, but it's boring.

"Tandem" starts bringing the energy back, with rocketing guitars and bursts of piano that call back to earlier in the album. The third and final featured artist comes in the form of Erben Perez and his bass on "Fade." "Fade" is yet another soothing song, and the ever-present bass adds to its effects. "Going Unnoticed" is quite the staccato-fest, with chirpy guitars and, sadly, a slight shortage of the metallic riffs of yestersong. It's still a great song and is composed well, just like the funky closer to Perez's journey, "Tangerine." The electronics give this song an unexpected, groovy twang, and the chugs of metal come back with force.

It feels really wrong to talk about how this album isn't "heavy" or "metal," as "Cloudfield" is an instrumental progressive album, and it deserves to be on this site. Many parts of this LP rely heavily on ambience, atmosphere, and delicate playing, and that's completely fine. I've listened to instrumental metal that gets pretty heavy, and also some way lighter than this. Francisco Javier Perez has delivered a lovely album here.