Masterly – ‘Sin Identidad’

Masterly - Sin Identidad ArtworkThis Barcelona mob get off to a less than masterly start by failing the first test of any band, never mind one from an overseas country submitting their material to an English language website:  not only do they provide very little supporting material – no biog, no background information, not even a copy of the album artwork (which, as you can see, we tracked down ourselves) – but what little collateral comes with the mp3 file fired in PM’s direction is all in Spanish!  We know music is supposed to be a universal language but, guys, please make a bit of an effort if you want to be taken seriously by those whom you are trying to impress…

Having said that, PM is not a site to shy away from a bit of hard work, and so some internet searching reveals that, yes, this is a five piece outfit from Spain, and this is their first album. And, to be honest, it’s not a bad effort.  Not great, but not bad…

Very much in the classic vein that one finds where hard rock and heavy metal collide, ‘Sin Identidad’ (or ‘Without Identity’ for those of you whose Espanol is as pathetic as mine) is well written and well performed – and well produced to boot.  While it does struggle – somewhat ironically – to find a solid identity, veering between classic rock and more modernized power metal, it nevertheless manages to hold your attention through the length of the 13 songs – an attraction aided by Sergi’s impressive vocal performance and some neat, extremely harmonic guitar melodies which repeat themselves throughout the length of the album to give it a rare consistency of sound.  It’s nothing innovative or knicker-gripping, but it’s accomplished and a worthy debut.

So, sometimes it is worth doing a little digging rather than dismissing something out of hand because those responsible have not thought things through properly:  maybe next time they’ll deliver on the promise of the album by getting their PR campaign right.

Tracklist:

Intro Aprendiz / Aprendiz / Sicus / Labertino / Las Heridas / Desde El Otro Lado Del Cristal / Princesa / Asesino / Trece Segundos / Tu Ultina Cancion / Sin Identidad / Vuleve A Dormir

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About Mark Ashby

no longer planetmosh staff