Customer Reviews

Ciudad De Los Arboles

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mago de Oz may well be the most talented band in the world. They play a seamless blend of classic 80's style heavy metal with Celt-Iberian folk music. All the tunes on their latest masterpirce are full of power and majesty. Their vocalist, Jose Andrea has a great voice. He does not squeal or growl but he really can sing in the tradition of old school metal.
It is difficult to compare Mago with other bands since their sound is unique. I would advise those who are already fans to buy this album immediately. In my opinion, these guys just keep getting better. For those not familiar with the group, give this a try if you enjoy great folk metal. I assume that since this is an English language site, most of those reading this rewiew are native English speakers who may be reluctant to listen to Spanish lyrics. No worries! The music is so awesome that it stands on its own. For Spanish speakers, Txus' songs are as poetic as ever.
The folk influences are Celt-Iberian, probably Galician, with a bit of Basque and even a dash of mariachi. In addition to guitars. bass, drums, and vocals, their are also bagpipes. flutes, piano, syths and excellent choirs in places. All of this is flawlessly performed. I cannot think of a more talented and versitile band. Some of the keyboards remind me of Dave Greenfield of the Stranglers.
I really cannot recommend this cd enough. Mago de Oz has a Myspace page where you can listen to samples from this and other releases. La Ciudad de los Arboles is too beutiful to describe with words, it must be experianced!

I picked up a copy of Mago de Oz's latest release - La Ciudad de los Arboles (which if my high school Spanish serves me translates to "the City in the Trees") - knowing next to nothing about the band. I vaguely recall that Deep Purple legend Glenn Hughes did some live appearances with them at some point. Anyway, it was cheap and I was bored so I gave it a try.

Whatever I was expecting, this wasn't it. I guess you have to call Mago de Oz Spanish Folk Metal, and honestly I had no idea there was such a thing. The band takes a straightforward hard rock (and at times heavy metal) sound and infuses it with Celtic elements and melodies for a truly memorable experience. The lyrics are in Spanish, so I have no idea what they're singing about, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying Finntroll or Korpiklaani either. The melodies are completely infectious, and the metal elements definitely get the blood pumping. The occasional female vocals are a nice touch as well.

Given the surge in popularity of the pagan-type Nordic folk metal bands, I could definitely see Mago de Oz appealing to the more open-minded fans of that scene. It's probably not heavy enough (no harsh vocals) or Viking enough to completely satisfy the kilt-and-broadsword crowd, but they do share a lot of similar elements. Actually, they're probably closer to Skyclad than the Pagan Fest bands.

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun with a new metal discovery. I have a smile on my face just writing about it. I give La Ciudad de los Arboles a big thumbs-up, and recommend them to just about any open-minded hard rock and metal fan. This definitely won't be the only Mago de Oz disc I pick up.

I have been listening to Mago for years and this album seems like a continuation of the past records but with a female vocalist added to the band. Their folk/rock style just never gets old and they get enough twists on their songs so they never get boring. Even though this is in Spanish, I urge rock fans to give it a listen just for it muscial content, you might be surprised.

But... it seemed to lack that little final stretch that could have made "La Ciudad de los Arboles" yet another brilliant story-telling effort by Mago.

Still, the musical excellence and the lyrical creativity remain intact.

I guess the main issue I had with this piece is that it left me wanting more.

Mago's previous works are comparable to modern-age operas (and yet with the classical ancient feeling of medieval music). Like Pagliacci or Cavalleria Rusticana, La Ciudad de los Arboles feels somewhat incomplete, too short, with too much potential story-telling left behind.

OTRA VEZ MAGO DE OZ LANZA UN DISCO DE CALIDAD. LA VERDAD QUE ES PARA SER UN DISCO DE TRANSICION ENRE GAIA 2 A GAIA 3, EL DISCO ESTA BUENISIMO. AUNQUE MUSICALMENTE NO ESTA TAN AMBICIOSO COMO GAIA 2, CUALQUIER FAN DE MAGO DE OZ PUEDE APRECIAR LA BUENA MUSICA QUE SIEMPRE NOS BRINDA MAGO DE OZ. LAS LETRAS, AUNQUE TODAS NO SON ESCRITAS POR TXUS, SON DE MUY BUENA CALIDAD, DANDOLE ASI UN POCO MAS DE PARTICIPACION A LA BANDA. TODO BUEN FANATICO DEL MAGO, DEBE TENER ESTE DISCO.

Recomiendo este material teneis que escuchar bien las canciones para entender, ademas cuando grita VIVA MEXICO en Y ahora voy a salir, los mago reconocen que mexico les ha dado mucho apoyo VIVA MEXICO CABRONESSSS!!!!!!!!!

I'm a fan of these guys and own a few of their cd's which I really enjoy so when I saw this new cd, which translated means 'Die Stadt der Baeume', I bought it. They haven't broken any new grounds with new album but it's still very good and you get the same ol' mix of power metal and celtic music. There are 13 tracks with 10 songs a quick intro and outro and an instrumental.

As usual they created a very fun album that will have you tapping your foot from their catchy and fun melodies and singing along with the chorus. I think most of the songs stand out and will keep your attention except for the last couple of songs but they are still good and worth listening to. Although it's not as good as Gaia 2 or Finisterra this is still a good album and it will keep you entertained the whole way through without having to push the skip button.

I would recommend this to Mago fans and anybody who likes good music even if you don't understand Spanish because it won't disappoint. I've seen a version of this cd that includes a bonus dvd on the German Amazon but for some reason they don't have it here yet so if you want that one then you have to look else where.