RED WINE – Sueños Y Locura

Spanish band Red Wine’s Suenos y Locura (Dreams and Insanity) can teach you a good lesson — you don’t have to be able to understand the lyrics to appreciate the band. The CD is sung entirely in Spanish, except for the track “Kill Me In Dreams,” which is in English. Still, lyrics do enhance the overall enjoyment of any album, so using a text translator to figure out what the hell they are saying would probably make the CD that much better.

The CD begins with an instrumental intro, “Suenos y Locura,” which builds on to the second track, “Renacer,” (Reborn). This is the most Spanish sounding song on the CD, with a joyous shout along chorus that sings about burning skin, the fire in your eyes looking back on yesterday and not losing faith in yourself. This is a happy, progressive sounding song.

Red Wine has a distinct sound, akin to Alder-era Fates Warning. They don’t waste time being pretty or too melodic, but bring to the table a very heavy, fast and clear sound. The song “Pesadilla,” (Nightmare) is a brilliant song with a great chorus, fast guitars, bombastic drumming and excellent vocals.

“Sombra De Poder,” is another example of Red Wine at their peak. The keyboards accent the driving tempo here, and singer Mario puts an edge in his voice, where most of the CD his vocals are smooth. The best part about the vocals — no vibrato! Again, this song has a shout-along chorus, with the full band singing along. Great screams on this one, too.

The song “Fuego En La Sangre,” (Fire in the Blood) gives you another hint as to what the CD is about. Nightmares, fire and blood are referenced many times throughout the album. The chorus here, if deciphered correctly, is about being immortal and free when nothing can you stop you. Again, it’s a bit of a happy tune.

The one song where they slow it down a bit is “Tras El Portal,” a slow, atmospheric song that shows the beauty of the Spanish language. This song has acoustic guitars, keyboards and strong vocals. Red Wine shows that they are versatile here, capable of changing tempos without losing an iota of quality.

The fastest song on the CD is “Kill Me In Dreams,” and a great way to close the record. This has a Hammerfall feel to it, or maybe old-school Helloween. The chorus here, “There’s a light at the end of the path we’re walking through … we’ll reach it, but until then, just KILL ME IN MY DREAMS,” is another well written/well sung job. Again, Mario screams on this one, and his high register is fluid and impressive.

For fans of this type of music, it’s an interesting addition because most progressive/neo-classical CDs today are sung in English, even though the majority of musicians making this style of music usually speak English as a second language. Plus, shouting along in Spanish with their choruses just feels right. Suenos y Locura is just an excellent CD.