Mestis – En Vivo
Release Date: 25th September 2020
Label: Sumerian Records
Pre-Order: Sumerian Merch
Genre: Instrumental, Jazz Fusion, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Animals as Leaders, Plini, Intervals, T.R.A.M, Arch Echo.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Does anyone else remember live music? I think the last artist I saw was Ravenface towards the tail end of 2019, with the hopeful, albeit now naïve, assumption that I would be seeing many more of my favourite artists on stage in the next year. UK Tech Fest, Download Festival, local gigs and crowded stadiums all now a distant memory, or pushed into 2021 making the planet as a whole a little bit sadder. Javier Reyes has dialled into those emotions we’re all feeling with his latest release En Vivo from his solo project Mestis. The live album consisting of 9 tracks spanning his discography is a fun and heavy middle-finger to COVID-19.
For those of you who know Javier from Animals as Leaders, you can expect some intricate, complex guitar work across En Vivo. The music itself may share some similarities with AAL, but Mestis is a different beast. Taking influence from Latin music, jazz, fusion & progressive metal, you’d be hard pressed to put Mestis into one genre-defining box.
The album covers a lot of sonic ground; Mt. Pleasant does what it says on the tin. The ethereal leads and fusion melodies take you away to your happy place. The bright warm tone and uplifting note choices add a really interesting, palette cleanser-esque break after two relatively heavy tracks. Media Noche is a personal favourite, some fantastic phrasing and sweet lead playing with the electronic pulse really closes the album on a high. The different flavours that make Mestis all have their chance to shine throughout the album, from the heavy, progressive metal riffs in Gentle Giant to the jazzy and atmospheric sounds in the later tracks. Javier made the point to mix the technical elements of his playing with an accessibility the average listener can appreciate; Ever Wonder and Media Noche excel here. Eikasia is where Javier really gets to show off with some great licks and fantastic fretboard control.
The production for a live album is strong, but that is no surprise. This type of music is renowned for the focus on tight production and this is no exception. Javier’s 8 string guitar sounds like thunder at times, most noticeable in the introductory track Gentle Giant. The tones of the guitar and drums do emulate the sound of a small concert venue effectively, with the ambient or electronic leads carrying their weight although not as consistently. One inadvertent outcome of this album was the urge to listen to the album versions. I found myself after a few listens looking forward to certain parts and appreciating different sections enough to add the recorded version to the queue.
Crowd cheers and the occasional conversation with the audience is par for the course with live albums, but being an instrumental project, these are far and few between. A bit of light interaction with the audience helps you remember these songs were from real gigs all across the U.S and Canada. Although the show vibe has been captured well, some of the tracks do feel like a shift in momentum and don’t land as well. Tracks like Sedosa and El Mestizo are enjoyable but you won’t find yourself coming back to them.
A live album was a smart move from Mestis, the album does kindle fond memories of live shows – a community of fans coming together to enjoy good music in a safe environment that we are all looking forward to in the (hopefully) not too distant future. For those needing a quick fix of a live music experience to tide you over until the end of lockdown, En Vivo (Spanish for ‘live’, thanks Google) will likely satiate those cravings.
(4 / 5)
