Felix Martin - The Scenic Album

Felix Martin

The Scenic Album

by Tuoksu Holopainen at 07 October 2013, 6:27 PM

Venezuelan 14-string guitarist Felix Martin released his debut album, aiming towards a varied Progressive Jazz influenced Rock / Metal sound and displaying a great virtuosity on his instrument.

The album kicks off quite abruptly, showcasing a complex structure from the very beginning. The sound is a blend of progressive rock and jazz. The short first 3 tracks "The Tango" I, II and III are easily enjoyable and very lighthearted, though a little eerie at some point. And yeah, you can absolutely hear the tango sound, obviously bringing the Latin American touch to the table. Moving on to the more interesting titles and yet the most interesting stuff; "Spam II" in which we can hear the outstanding drumming of Marco Minnemann and the great bass work by Nathan Navarro. "Triangle Tune" sounds familiar for some reason, still in the same vein of the rest of the material on this album, which actually has nothing new per se to offer. It's still very good nevertheless. The song trio "Viroliano Tries Prog", "Viroliano Tries Jazz" and "Viroliano Tries Metal" is a very pleasant display of Martin's shifting between the different genres.

To sum it up, this album is quite solid as a debut, feeling a bit overwrought but having a very good flow, especially thanks to its short running time. It's however recommended mostly to Prog-heads, since it might feel a little too much for those who are not so much into this stuff. One would definitely expect better material from Martin in the future.