(Symphonic Metal) Solsticio - Lost Souls - 2012, MP3, 320 kbps

The best kept secret of Argentina is back. What I’m talkin’ about here is Solsticio, which convinced me with their first EP “Winter Solstice”. Now they issue their first debut record “Lost Souls”. Thanks to their great performance, Solsticio could perform as support act of former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen and received a great deal of positive feedback.

The path that led to the debut record was far from easy, because drummer Sergio Prieto left the band for personal reasons after the recording process. Concededly, he still played two shows with Solsticio after the release of “Lost Souls”. Fortunately, drummer Pol returned to the band which he left two years ago.

The three tracks “Free Me”, “Lost Souls” and the Loreena McKennitt cover version “Mummer’s Dance” are from “Winter Solstice” EP. Concededly there are five new songs, which I want introduce you.

“Triumph” starts with Tango sounds before it’s gettin’ heavier and Carolina starts singin’. Vocally she reminds me a little bit of Tarja Turunen, because their voices are similar.

“Fairytale” begins orchestral and its atmosphere reminds a little bit of the hit single “Hijo De La Luna” by dutch singer Loona. Carried by this classic music guise Carolina’s singin’ fits right in before Pablo pushes away the spherical sounds with guitar tunes and it gets heavier. On 4:00 the guitar solo by him is overwhelming.

“Greed” has a smooth Nightwish touch and reminds of “Century Child” days. What the song makes special is Pablo’s catchy guitar tunes and Carolia’s vocals. On 1:50 Indian sounds start before a break occurs. This break is over when Pablo sets the guitar tunes again.

“Celtic” begins with an Irish Folk touch. I liked it much and it’s a welcome change from the other bands which relate a certain scheme. That’s definitely not the case in here. In addition here is the perfect example how a symbiosis of Folk and Metal should sound.

“Lost Souls” is a further listenin’ enjoyment of Solsticio, that convinces me and I’ve a lot of fun when I listen to it.

Eight points are for the powerful production and for the musical performance. I give another point for the cover that is a further link to the Argentinean origin next to the musical influences. I very much appreciate this, because they never deny their roots! So I think this is a thing that I feel strongly about. (by Dominic Latscha [GryphonMetal.ch])

Javi (Javier Davalos) - Bass
Pol (Pol Rodriguez) - Drums
Pablo (Pablo Ruiz) - Guitars
Caro (Carolina Guedes ) Lead vocals & Keyboards