ENTROPIA — Simetría (review)

Album · 2010 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2011-02-18
The Block

Poetry in Motion

After some listens to this album I took some time off from listening to it. Then for some reason, I don’t know why, I was tempted to give it another couple of spins about a month later; and here I am. At the first couple of listens I was like, okay this isn’t a bad release by a relatively new band. I was happy with it, since they put it out on the internet for free download, but overtime I became more than just satisfied with it, I really began to enjoy it, a lot.

One song that I would like to point out on this album is “Teorema”, which showcases every thing that I like about this album. For one, the opening riff in guitars and bass is absolutely top notch, and not to mention kind of catchy. From there it transfers into a more pronounced and technically difficult rhythm that adds a lot to the overall feel of the track. Then, throughout the song it goes back to the first riff that opened the song, but with a different twist to it. In some spots it’s in a different key, and in others the rhythm is changed a bit, but you can still tell it is that same riff. Gabriel Chaparro, keyboards, and Nicolas Aparicio, guitar, are just two musicians who I want to point out. Both are excellent in soloing and in carrying the melody of the album, and they really show their talent. One thing that I noticed was that when I heard a guitar solo, a keyboard solo or riff was soon to come. This style added a really cool touch to the album that made it predictable, but that is okay with me. Two songs that I would like to point out for this very case are “Teorema” and “The Cube”. Not only does “The Cube” have great musicianship it also features sounds, and riffs, that are very Dream Theater like in both sound and complexity.

Now some people might see that and automatically think that Entropia is a Dream Theater clone. Well, they’re not. They may have some songs, such as “The Cube” and “Poetry in Motion”, that have Dream Theater tones to them but they also integrate their own sound into it so it fits just fine. One way that they show their own style is in the vocals. Juan Manuel Gûiza is very talented vocally and I really like his style. Sometimes it reminds me of Road Salt One, modern-era Pain of Salvation mixed with a James Labrie type sound and other times it is just hard to explain, but I do like his tone, and quality of voice. One thing that I don’t like though is sometimes, such as in “Poetry in Motion”, Juan Manuel Gûiza seems to be pushing the words out in a hurry rather than taking his time. This allows for a somewhat muddy sound, and seems to speed up the tempo even though the band is playing at the same speed. This though, is the only thing that really caught my ear.

The production is pretty standard, but that being said, they did this all by themselves, which for me adds so much more to the album. The sound is crisp and clear, and absolutely perfect in every way; I never noticed a single hiccup throughout the whole album.

One of the best things that Entropia could have done, besides naming their band after a Pain of Salvation album :-), was put it up for free download. Since not many good bands, that I’ve heard, have come from Colombia, so most bands from there don’t get that much recognition. But now many people, prog and metal fans alike, can enjoy Entropia’s great sound. For a great release in “Simetría”, Entropia gets 4 stars.