Argentinian project RIPIO is the creative vehicle of one Eduardo Costanzo, presumably a guitarist from the onset, who handles all instrument and vocal duties when he records his material. So far he has released 5 CDs documenting his skills as a composer and musician. “Marcado por la Locura” is the most recent of those, and was self released in 2013.
The previous album by this project revolved around a well produced, lo-fi sounding variety of basic metal, a production with it’s fair share of charming features but also weak spots, smaller details lacking that made the end result a limited one in terms of enjoyment and very much stapled as an underground production. While the main premises of the music itself is fairly similar this time around, other aspects of this most recent production of Ripio have been upgraded, the end result being an album generally better, but also revealing to a greater extent some of the key weaknesses in this project.
The main premise of the compositions revolves around compelling riffs and riff structures, with easygoing guitar solos. That was the case last time around, and that is still very much so. This is fairly basic metal, with well developed guitar details in general and riff constructions in particular as the main engine of the material. Costanzo has a knack in crafting those, and that continues also on this album. Mainly old school metal, although some of the songs here have a bit more of a hair metal touch to them. Presumably a result of the mix, production and choice of guitar effects.
Ripio have gone for a fairly toned down guitar sound this time around, a warmer, organic sounding expression, and one that sounds fairly professional at times too I might add, which adds a sheen of quality to this album. Presumably emphasized by a toned down production as well, the mix and production comes across as rather smooth, with few or no rough edges appearing in a well balanced mix throughout and with a bit more room for the bass and drums to shine as well.
While this generally makes the compositions as such come across as more interesting and of a generally higher quality, this is also a move that gives a stronger emphasis to Costanzo’s vocals, and that he comes across as rather more ambitious in the vocals department isn’t the best of developments either. While he is able to hold a tune, he doesn’t have a great singing voice. Thin, fairly light and slightly off, producing a distinct voice that will alienate quite a few listeners. On this occasion he’s also challenging the borders of his range on a few occasions, the end result of which is fairly detrimental, at least as far as my own perceptions of lead vocals are concerned. So those who know they have set tastes in how lead vocals in metal ideally should sound might want to approach this album with a bit of caution due to that.
Still, at best this is charming, old school heavy metal with a nice, toned down sound that actually gives these compositions a fairly soft and accessible overall nature, heavy metal of the kind even those not all that fond of the genre might nod along to. At worst the songs are pedestrian and with a vocalist biting over a bit more than he is able to, but I respect someone who is challenging his borders and want to expand them. All in all a charming but uneven album of old school heavy metal, wrapped in a soft and accessible coating, where the main divisive feature will be the untypical voice of main man and metal enthusiast Eduardo Costanzo.
My rating: 68/100
