Customer Reviews

Gaia (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a really good cd. It meshes kind of Metal/Industrial/classical/traditional spanish music. Gaia, the second song, is an incredible work that lasts for 11 nonstop fantastic minutes of pure musical joy. La Conquista that follows it picks up the pace even more making it an eventful ride. Throughout the CD you will be taken on almost a rollercoaster ride of music as it goes from fast to slow to moderate to fast etc. Great CD, worth the 50 odd US dollars they're asking for it.

I don't know where I heard of this band and why, but I must admit that it is one of the strangest bands ever. Its not that they sound weird, but they are a celtic prog metal band who sings in Spanish.

Strangeness aside, they are really good. The song arrangements fit right into place and they weave around celtic melodies with relative ease. Also they manage to sing celtic music in spanish and not sound completely ridiculous as some other bands would, and for that they deserve at least some credit. I am not sure what they are singing about, so that the cheese factor of which others spoke is lost on me.

Actually, I love not understanding metal bands. They very rarely have anything good to say, but they have a good mouth with which to project their vocals. If you never heard Mago de Oz find their records and listen to them, again and again.

Es un magnifico disco, es el mas reciente de Mago de Oz y es bastante bueno, claro no mejor que finisterra o folktergeist pero si es un cambio muy bueno y necesario en su musica, tiene una muy buena historia y sobre todo, siguen tocando igual de bien que siempre. lo recomiendo, es buenisimo!

mago de oz is one of the best ive heard, not only because they are grate musicians, but also because they have created a new way to enjoy music by adding violins flutes and keyboard to a metal background with really meeningful lyrics that will blow your mind, dipping their fingers in to music they will take you for a ride from the most simple rock and roll to the most complex oberture , you dont really need to speak spanish to enjoy their music, just listen to it, it will blow you away. now this album in particular is exelent, has more slow songs than previous albums but that doesnt mean its boring, not at all in fact, if some people concider that as a downer, you could say that they compensate this by including more sophisticated orchestral arrangements keeping you interested to the end, with songs going in to the 20 min range, you could say they have used every bit of their talents to keep you on the edge without beenig boring, mixing dozens of styles in a way that sounds perfect... thats a challenge... thats Mago De Oz.

This album is fantastic! This is the album I listened to when I was first introduced to Mago de Oz and fall in love with their music. I did not hear all their albuns yet but so far this is the best! If you are a rock person don't m iss it!

Mago de Oz is, unfortunately, not very well known here in America, but they're definitely one of the top bands in the entire world at the moment. "Gaia" was my first exposure to MdO, and from the very first listen, I was simply blown-away. There are other metal bands that blend genres - Rhapsody being my personal favorite, but no one does it as organically as Mago de Oz. This music sounds like it was simply dropped from the heavens into the laps of the incredibly talented musicians that make up the group.

Essentially, Mago de Oz is "folk metal." They perfectly blend power metal (think Iron Maiden, Edguy, or Sonata Arctica) with heavy folk, celtic, and gaelic elements. Piano, violin, flute, and other wind instruments are incorporated heavily into the music, and even if, like me, you don't speak Spanish, and have no clue as to what the lyrics are about, it's almost impossible to resist the urge to sing along with these masterpieces. The packaging is also absolutely brilliant. Acclaimed Spanish artist Gaboni draws their album covers, and his style is basically to create a picture that you look at for hours on end and still find new things. He (and the band - the drummer's stage name is Txus di Fellatio) also have a great sense of humor - some of the discoveries you'll make within the album cover include a gelatanous creature rolling a huge joint; R2-D2 out of commission with a brick through him; the grim reaper wearing eyeglasses over his eyeball-less skull, and a dripping condom hanging off of his scythe. There's lots more to discover as well, which is somewhat symbolic of MdO's music - it's wonderful on first listen, but with each new listen, there's more to discover and love. The vocalist is absolutely brilliant, and the Spanish language really works perfectly for this band - I'm very glad they didn't try to "go English" with their music.

"Gaia" is highly recommended for any music fan, anywhere in the world.

Great album that will introduce you to the metal/progressive made in Spain. The celtic arrangements are excellent. This is a great buy that includes a DVD, dont miss it! I hope they tour one day here in my country,Puerto Rico, and have the opportunity to see them live.

Estamos hablando de un grandisimo grupo de estudio que a su vez es un málisimo grupo de directo. Una lástima.
El disco merece la pena.

Gaia by Mago de Oz is the first part of a Trilogy. It tells the story of a woman that's been executed. The ghost of this woman (later discovered to be Gaia, Earth Goddess) appears before the Senator that approved the execution. Alma (or Gaia) tells him the story of an Aztec girl named Azzak, so now we are transfered centuries ago at the time of The Conquest of the Americas. The song set is:

-Obertura MDXX: This is a pure Classical piece. It contains an Epic touch, it has a vocal chorus, strings, wind instruments. It is perfect and fits the theme: Spaniards just discovered American land.

-Gaia: It starts off with 4 lonely piano notes. Keeps on slow until the guitars and drums come in. It's astonish to hear how powerful this song gets. We have the first guitar solo pretty early in the song and then immediatly converts in a Folk interlude. Somehow the keyboard gain more and more power, converting the song into pure Power Metal. The last part comes back to the riff and now we hear a priest reading the Psalm 23. Alma was executed.

-La Conquista: It is a powerful Rocker. Talks about the conquest. I don't like this one too much.

-Alma: It talks about diseases killing the vulnerable natives. It's pretty Folk, and the keyboards. The keyboards are marvelously played in the interlude.

-La Costa del Silencio: This became a band's classic and favorite. It is pretty catchy and mostly a Folk song. It talks about how man are killing the Sea and the creatures in it.

-El Arbol de la Noche Triste: It is a pretty known historical event, when Hernan Cortez was defeated for the first time by the Aztecs. Most of his men were killed and he lost the stolen gold. Cortez cried under a tree that night. This event is known as 'La Noche Triste' ('The Sorrowful Night'). That's what the song is about, but combines it with sexual metaphors.

-La Rosa de los Vientos: It is a symphonic piece. It's a poem that talks about faith, letting go of your anger and counting to ten. It is pure brilliance.

-La Leyenda de la Llorona: I love this piece. It is an instrumental-Folk song. The flute-violin duo is amazing. This could be easily be taken for a pure Folk song by natives, but it has a small electric guitar part.

-Van a Rodar Cabezas: No doubt, the most powerful song from the album. It's a scream of revenge against those outsiders. Legendary Argentinean guitarist Walter Giardino (from Rata Blanca) plays the solo in this song.

-El Atrapasueños: It's talks partly about a Native American tradition. A dreamcatcher prevents you from having any nightmares, they say.

-Si Te Vas: It's a Metal ballad with a Celtic touch. It's one of my favorites.

-La Venganza de Gaia: This song ends the first part of the Trilogy. Some of the main attractions of this song are the different musical styles in it. For example, there is Progressive, Power, Funk, Folk, etc..

Este disco marca un giro un tanto radical en cuanta a las letras y al estilo que traía Mägo en discos anteriores. En este disco están más abocados a la protección de la tierra y sus seres (Gaia: la madre naturaleza). Sin embargo, mantienen el estilo Rock/Fulk/Celta de discos como Finisterra. Este cambio más que todo en la letras no caído bien a los oídos de ciertos fans que son un poco más metaleros y gustan más de discos como Jesús de Chamberí y La leyenda de la mancha.
Personalmente el disco me gusta, es solo que es un poco "suave" (en lo que a la letras de las canciones se refiere creo que el más suave y "romántico" de todos), aun así hay que darle una oportunidad al disco y escuchar el mensaje positivo que intenta dar.
Eso sí la calidad del disco, sobre todo la mezclas y la claridad del sonido es superior a los discos anteriores.