Acid Rain: The Descending Line

Acid Rain are a progressive metal band from Argentina and The Descending Line is the band's first full length release. They released the EP One Night Of Reflections in 2006. Playing on this album are Sebastián Fernández (lead and backing vocals), Mariano Revilla (electric, acoustic and Spanish guitars), Andrés Blanco (piano, keyboards, backing vocals), Ezequiel Giménez (6 string and fretless bass, backing vocals) and Martin Magliano (drums and percussion). Since this album has been released, Mariano Revilla left the band and has been replaced by Fernando Culen.

This band has plenty of chops, recalling such bands as Dream Theater and Circus Maximus, although Acid Rain are not quite up to the musical standards of those bands. The band displays tight musicianship throughout The Descending Line with guitar riffs aplenty and tasty keyboard work, making for some dramatic music. Unfortunately, this is not an instrumental album, although there are four tracks without vocals, and they are quite good. The problem lies in the vocals of Fernández. The man can carry a tune, but at times his voice seems a tad underpowered as compared to the music. He also tends to struggle with the high notes and sometimes tries to do too much, like in the dark-tinged progressive metal of "Never-ending Nightmare", where his voice tends to crack in the upper register.

That said, it is not all bad as there is a lot of good music here, especially the instrumentals. "Doors of the Mind", in particular, stands out as top notch progressive metal with plenty of bombastic flair and catchy riffs. "Memory Waves" is another highlight where Dream Theater-like guitar riffs and Latin flavoured acoustic guitar combine for an exciting listen. The album's last song is the title track, a dramatic and powerful ballad where Fernandez probably gives his best vocal performance on the album.

Acid Rain have a lot of potential and plenty of chops to succeed in the world of progressive metal. Now, if they could just work out the rough spots with the vocals they might really be on to something.

Track Listing:
1. Doors of the Mind (Instrumental)
2. Chasing Dreams
3. Rough Spirit
4. Beyond Reality (Instrumental)
5. Time To Plant Destruction
6. Never-ending Nightmare
7. Hold My Tears (Instrumental)
8. The Light Inside You
9. Memory Waves (Instrumental)
10. The Descending Line

Added: March 14th 2010
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2721
Language: english

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