The Weeping Hero (Llanto De Un Heroe - Avalanch)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Llanto De Un Heroe - Avalanch
Date:	02/02/08 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Skilfully balances melody with a harder edge.

Disadvantages: Overlong and very repetitive towards the end.

Avalanch's mix of melodic power metal with slight progressive touches can't help but be reminiscent of the more famous bands practicing the same style, chiefly Symphony X and Adagio. This band's Spanish background doesn't imprint itself on the music in any significant way, which is a bit of a shame, but it at least means that fans of this brand of slightly pompous but ultimately highly entertaining power metal will still enjoy what Avalanch has to offer.

There's a folk element underpinning this album, one that only really comes to the fore in the two brief interludes of tracks one and five, but that also plays a part in determining some of Alberto Rionda and Roberto Garcia's lead guitar melodies, and this singles this band out from more straightforward power acts. Victor Garcia's vocals don't hold any surprises, squeaking Spanishly and never losing falsetto, but the guitars have a satisfyingly heavier tone than many power and speed metal acts, and this helps the band to maintain a level of authenticity (while also furthering the Symphony X comparison).

With a few slower and more consciously epic offerings in the form of 'Por mi libertad,' the title track and the even grander 'Cid' that pulls out all the customary conceits such as choral vocals in its later stages, this is clearly attempting to reach grander heights but ultimately doesn't succeed quite as well as more experienced bands. The compulsory ballad 'Pelayo' is rather boring also and overlong at seven minutes, only really developing any life later, and editing seems to be a problem that affects this album consistently, especially as every track seems to take an awfully long time to fade in from silence, very rarely grabbing the listener's attention from the onset.

On the rare occasions that this is achieved, with the heavy, inventive and incredibly enjoyable guitar riffs of songs like 'Torquemada' and 'Polvo, sudor y sangre,' the album is at its very best.

1. Intro
2. Torquemada
3. Por mi libertad
4. Pelayo
5. Vientos del sur
6. Polvo, sudor y sangre
7. Cid
8. ¿Dias de gloria...?
9. No pidas que crea en ti
10. Cambaral
11. Aquí estaré
12. Llanto de un héroe

Summary: Avalanch's second album (1999).