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Delta
Album: Black & Cold
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Label: Nightmare Records
Track Listing
01. Man Behind the Masquerade
02. Choir of Loss
03. My Turn
04. Two Bullets
05. Song for the Oppressed
06. I Can’t
07. Solfreludio
08. Black & Cold
09. Contrapunto I
10. On a Thread
11. Burning Soul
Reviewer: Doug
Delta, a neo-classical power metal band from Chile, have been building up quite
a name for themselves after opening for major acts such as Stratovarius and
Dream Theater. With Nightmare Records support, they are getting a U.S. release
in hopes to spread their name to a wider population outside of their homeland.
Was Black & Cold the right moment to expose them to the rest of the nation?
Being familiar with Richard Andersson’s various projects, I initially found
Black & Cold to have a similar style and feel to his first work in Majestic.
Delta even has a progressive tinge to them using odd time signatures and complex
song structures found regularly in progressive music.
After further listens, I came to the conclusion that the band has a lot in
common with Symphony X as well. Utilizing sweeping keyboards arrangements and
the occasional multi-part choral harmonies, the band brings about a bombastic
tone at just the right time. The singer, Felipe del Valle, even takes a similar
approach to his vocal delivery like Russell Allen.
Being the keyboard nut that I am, I have to point out that founding member
Nicolas Quinteros does an amazing job with the electronics. His playing
certainly stands out strongly on every song and will even dominant a few of
them. He really cuts loose on “Song for the Oppressed” with a blisteringly fast
performance and then further proves his talent by showing us he has great
self-control on the ballad, “I Can’t.” Not to slight the other band members, but
he frequently overshadows them.
However, that is not to say the other members do not posses their own talents.
The guitar parts are particularly well done and I especially enjoyed the dueling
keys versus guitar on the instrumental piece, “Solfreludio.” They also emphasize
the bassist on the album by having him standout more than some other bands tend
to do, and he even gets solo parts to play.
Final Verdict
The new album from Delta, Black & Cold, was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Given the obscure cover art, I had little idea of what I was getting myself into
when I found this gem. The group doesn’t sound as tight as the accomplished
bands they have played with before, but given enough time, they very well could.
Anyone who digs neo-classical metal would do well to seek out this treasure.
Rating
8.50 out of 10
Delta Official Web Site
Delta on
Myspace
Delta - Burning Soul
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