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One thing that makes me love metal is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. You can have the over-the-top eighties power
metal, and you can have the bottom of the barrel sludge that sometimes takes on the name death metal. Sandalinas is closer
to the former than to the latter.
It is not quite a cd filled with fist-pumping metal anthems, but does contain a good amount of nods to that brand and
tradition of metal. The opening song, Living on the Edge, sounds like the feel-good metal of yesteryear. The album then continues
mixing this style of song with the traditional ballad, that most metalheads would deny liking, but would play them over and
over again in their locked room with no one else around.
This album seems to having everything down pat. They are not wannabes trying to mock this genre. They seem to be die-hard
fans of a withering tradition, that are very talented on their respective instruments. There are keys in the background of
the ballads that do not subtract from the song. There are swooping guitar gymnastics in the faster paced pieces that add to
the feeling, they do not do any unnecessary wankering.
This album is quite a change of pace for me, so my verdict will be different. For the style, this is a great album, and
should be picked up by fans of that particular style. My ruling is then for those death\black metal elitists that find themselves
picking up this disc. Most of the times a cd like this would not be displayed with your other cds, and would end up in drawer
where no one will find it. My judgment is that these fans display it, and display their love of all things metal.
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