Soul Apart: Road to Self (2009)

Argentinian band SOUL APART started out as the creative vehicle for vocalist and keyboardist Guido Lisioli back in 2004, a project he found more fulfilling to work on than the bands he were involved with at this point. A few years later the project had developed to become a band, and following an initial demo from 2007 work commenced on what was to become their official debut production "Road to Self", which was finalized and released in 2009.

On this disc we find a band that has a good go at producing an innovative blend of stylistic expressions. South American folk music, tango and cinematic new age oriented soundscapes tightly interwoven with sequences of a more defined progressive metal and power metal expression.

A key feature throughout are symphonic backdrops, often floating textures with slight fluctuations in the calmer passages, whereas the harder hitting parts tend to feature keys utilized in a slightly more dramatic manner. The piano has a central role throughout too, in particular as the main subservient instrument in the mellower vocals parts. Wandering acoustic guitars is an infrequent visitor in the mellow passages, while dampened riff patterns is the name of the game when Soul Apart heads into realms of a distinct metal oriented nature. With varying degrees of pace and intensity as required. The most striking feature are the vocals however. Lisioli has a versatile voice, and have opted for a broad range of deliveries on this disc, from whispered mellow spoken parts to intense and twisted growls, and having a go at most vocal styles in between these two along the way.

But as creative and innovative as the approach is, the execution leaves quite a bit to be desired in this case. Adequately performed, the drum motifs a tad on the simplistic side perhaps, but other than that with a decent quality. The vocals does get a slight negative from me however, Lisioli still has a bit to learn in terms of delivery techniques in my opinion. But when that is said, his performance does suffer quite a lot from what to my ears appears to be a major flaw throughout. Where the key words are mix and production.

A minor annoying feature on this disc is some sort of tape hiss like sound that come and go infrequently, to name one slight detail at first. A major annoying feature is the mix itself. The mellow parts tend to be compressed and loud while the harder hitting ones appears to be much less compressed, and perhaps even dampened ever so slightly. From a listener point of view, admittedly one who is spoilt rotten in terms of experiencing excellently made albums, it's weird to listen intently on a mellow piano and whispered vocals part followed by a forceful power metal sequence when the former appears to be much louder than the latter. The effect is probably planned, but it's executed in a manner that feels contrived and sterile rather than natural and organic.

The arrangements themselves also appears to suffer in general. When too many instrumental textures are utilized they have been assembled in a manner that makes them cancel each other out rather than supplementing each other, and on regular occasions I get the impression that the vocals have been mixed as to appear beside the instrumental backing rather than to be a part of the larger whole. And unless the vocal delivery is pitch perfect this will affect the vocal experience negatively for the sensitive listener. Add in some instances where the instrumentation overpower the vocals, more often than not in the mellower parts of the compositions. To me this adds up to a mix and production flaw, and one that in sum is a major one.

An innovative approach and compositions of general good quality, at least as I regard them, does salvage this disc from being a failure. The end result will be an acquired taste due to the aforementioned shortcomings, and listeners with less sensitive ears than those of yours truly should find this disc to be a rewarding experience if a blend of folk music, cinematic new age oriented passages and refined energetic metal sounds like a good idea. But if you suspect or know that your perception of music falls within a sensitive description should approach this CD with some caution.

My rating: 53/100

Track list:
1. Point of Departure 5:22
2. The Always and Forever 4:43
3. Moonson 3:55
4. Southwest Tango (Grey Melodies) 5:28
5. The Three Steps of Circle 13:05
6. Existencial Fear 5:02
7. While the Rain Cries 8:23
8. Road to Self 4:52
9. Last Minute Bells 6:37
10. Rose of the Swamp 6:16
11. Road to Self 5:44