ACERO – En Pie De Guerra

Virgin nature, pineapples, Caribbean Sea. That is the picture that commonly forms itself inside one’s mind when the talk comes to Costa Rica. While all of that is true, one thing is missing: True Heavy Metal. But even that is possible in one of the nicest countries in the world.

Acero hail from Middle America and claim to be the first Costa Rican Heavy Metal band, with a history that goes back to 1985. It is pretty much impossible to prove that, but what is certain is that En Pie De Guerra is the second release of Acero after Pasado Y Presente, 2002, so it took them 17 years to record their first song. The word Acero means “Steel” and is a very fitting name for a band of the above mentioned style.

Originally, the band played cover versions of old Metal heroes like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, something they still do. In 2007 they even played a big Judas Priest tribute concert in Costa Rica. With that being said, the influences are crystal clear and the target audience is defined: If you like Stained Class, Killing Machine and British Steel, this one is for you.

So is this a must buy for the fans of classic Metal? Unfortunately, no. The opening track “Heavy Metal” is not the best choice as it is the song where the vocal limitations of singer Adrian Moya are most obvious. Not that he is a bad singer, not at all, but especially in this song he just tries too much, and does not accomplish all. After one manages to get through this one, the album becomes much better. “Todo Esta Bien” is a great Metal track, absolutely unoriginal and old fashioned but good nonetheless.

Also several other tracks are very enjoyable. “El Poder Del Oraculo” is a long, but good song, “No Puede Ser” is straight Metal with balls, and the final title track is epic and nice. Almost in the middle of it all, an instrumental track called “Solsticio De Verano” makes the listener look up as it is seven minutes of a Maiden/Priest mélange that cannot deny its influences. While singer Moya is not bad, it is interesting that the instrumental is one of the strongest songs on the album.

On the downside we have a few compositions which are just mediocre, and with a genre that is over 30 years old, that is just not enough. The aforementioned opening song “Heavy Metal” is one, “La Tempestad” with a rather obscure symphonic chorus that seems misplaced, and a boring standard Metal track called “Mundo Nuevo” will not find their way into a Metal fan’s CD player often. Overall, the album is ambiguous in quality, light and shadow stand side by side – the production leaning towards shadow – and that makes it everything but a must buy. Then again, who would not want to have an album from a Costa Rican Metal band in his collection, especially now that one knows it is not bad? Right.