Second studio album from this Argentine band with a traditional vibe that could easily pass for one of those American bands from the eighties, a pure US Power Metal sound with a groundbreaking singer.
Matvey is a band from Rosario, Argentina. They debuted in 2012 with the LP "Reinando entre colinas" (Reigning Among the Hills), and just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared again.
In 2017, we heard from them again, and in 2018, Thundersteel Recordings released their EP "Wild Street," with four tracks, also released on cassette. In 2020, they self-released "Burning Streets," an album that Metal On Metal distributed in 2021, reissued by Thundersteel Records with additional material. I now have it in my hands, which I'm already enjoying, and which I'm going to tell you about, because from the initial and direct "I Can't Stop," I was hooked.
Pure heavy metal, that's what this Argentine band offers. Quality, direct heavy metal. Matvey supports their work with an intense rhythm section featuring powerful drums and an intense bass. Above them, the guitar of Diego de Santiago, a guitarist with exquisite musical taste, serves the song, offering rhythm guitars full of melody.
Pablo Podesta's voice reminds me in part of that of Jeff Martin, the vocalist of Racer X, whom we last heard from in 2016, when he returned with Blasted to Static before disappearing again. These Argentines remind me of Racer X in particular, when they accelerate the pace considerably, although there isn't as much guitar spectacle here.
The songs feature intense, effective, and simple riffs, accompanied by good choruses, which makes the album draw you in from the first attempt and get you hooked by the second. If you keep playing, you'll end up loving it. The Argentinians present a number of well-crafted songs on this "Burning Streets," demonstrating a high level of songwriting.
Yes, the quartet knows how to do it, hooking you in with good melodies and choruses for songs that invite you to constantly sway your neck. Perhaps I would miss a solo here and there, something that would give them a note of excellence. In any case, the songs are so good that perhaps adding a few more solos could ruin them, as I think happens with the bonus showcase "Evil Forces," because what's clear is that the group strives to deliver songs, and they have that. Some, like "Sinners," even have that edge that you know will work live.
If you're a Judas Priest fan, you're bound to like them. Songs like "Fast and Dirty" show they have the DNA of the Birmingham band, although on "The Masters" they sound like pure Accept. I love it.
They don't invent anything, nor do they need to. They simply offer good Heavy Metal, with a bit of muscle and at times epic, but without excess. Natural and sincere, with an international reach, which should have been achieved by their use of English, a resource they didn't employ in their early days.
This reissue includes an exclusive track, "Crying Like a Child," and the 2019 single "Evil Forces," with its corresponding b-side, "The Masters," an excellent addition to a beautiful reissue, carefully prepared and including the lyrics.
Too good to be ignored. The best I've heard from Argentina since the legendary Rata Blanca.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=RlSQ8I1Drds&t=61s
