Mägo De Oz
Finisterra

Taking advantage of the fact that no one has done it yet, I set out to discuss a group that I find very original and interesting in the European metal scene (sorry for the prolixity, but it is necessary).

Very little known and sometimes underestimated at the international level, Mägo De Oz enjoy great success in their native Spain with their Folk-Power metal. The band is made up of three guitarists, bass, keyboards, flute, violin, drums, and vocals, creating a virtually unique and very pleasant sound to listen to, made more exotic by singing in Spanish. The group was founded by drummer Txus in 1989, but their true masterpiece only arrived in 2000 with "Finisterra."
The album is a very complex concept, divided into two CDs of ten tracks each, dealing with a future and fairy-tale world and a journey to Finisterra, a mythical place that represents the end of all things.

Cd1: After the prologue, we immediately find one of the most beautiful songs on the entire album, "Satania," which starts right off with deadly double bass drums and airy folk melody entrusted to the electric violin and flute. The most pumped-up track of the album and the one where the vocalist dares the most dangerous high notes. "La Cruz De Santiago" is instead a very progressive track, whose most enjoyable parts are always the gypsy-flavored plots performed by flute and violin, wherein the only traditional section is the guitar solo, which, among other things, shows a significant technical level. "La Danza Del Fuego" is a purely folk track with rather sad melodic lines. With "Hasta Que El Cuerpo Aguante," we return to the progressive with many acoustic digressions. "El Señor De Los Gramillos" is a track that is in some ways unusual, possessing a basic riff of Hard Rock origin and only in a narrow central part the usual folkish refrains. "Polla Dura No Cree En Dios" is instead a fun boogie, interpreted in metal style. We then come to the end of the first CD with "Maite Zairut" and "Duerme…," cute tracks, but not very original and the ballad saturated with fiddling "Es Hora De Marchar."

Cd2: The second disc, which I consider the best, opens with a masterpiece: "Fiesta Pagana" is the most carefree power that Mägo has been able to compose. Another masterpiece is the second "El Que Quiera Entender Que Entienda," which starts with a riff that is hard to forget and is the song that best combines the progressive vein with the catchy melodies, another of their prerogatives. "Los Renglones Torcidos De Dios" is another very beautiful track, but it has something similar to the previous one in terms of vocal lines. "Kelpie" is a frantic power full of melody to listen to and listen to again. The subsequent songs are two ballads: "Tres Tristes Tigres" features only flute and keyboard supporting a sad song as the title suggests, the second "A Costa Da Morte" is a bit more rock. The next three songs are also beautiful, but no more when compared to the title track.

"Finisterra" is the pinnacle of progressive and a track that I do not hesitate to compare to the historic "Keeper Of The Seventh Keys" by the great Helloween. Featuring an almost Carmina Burana-like epic chorus, it gives its best, in any case, in the amazing succession of solos that unfolds between the sixth and seventh minute. The whole thing is garnished as usual with beautiful riffs from the folk instruments. An album that suffices and is more than enough to get to know and delve into Mägo De Oz: a must-have disco for power fanatics and those who love experimentation and the progressive trend in metal music.