Detailed Reviews [Entrance - 1999/2004 - "Entrance" ]

Prolusion. ENTRANCE has only one official recording thus far. The band's eponymous debut album was first released in 1999, but was unavailable outside Chile until Mylodon Records reissued it. The review of Jaime Rosas Trio can be read here.

Analysis. Unlike any kind of so-called spatial arts, music is practically indelible, because it exists in immaterial form. It's impossible to touch it like a sculpture or picture, etc, but it can be imitated, too. Though even in this case we mostly meet a partial imitation, which appears either as a strict or free interpretation of some musical work or style. These young men have a mighty benefactor in Dream Theater and have an irresistible passion towards them. While following most aspects of the music of their teachers in absentia, vocals included, they are a bit inferior to them in musicianship and performance. So here we have a group of virtuoso players performing kind of a classic contemporary Prog-Metal, which is arguably the most widespread in today's scene of this genre. Although the music is rather complex, there are few arrangements on the album that would be unpredictable to the experienced listener. All eight of the songs (no instrumentals here) are made up by the approved-by-time scheme - which Dream Theater first applied on their famous "Images & Words" - with the approximately equal number of intricate and more accessible numbers. A 'necessary' complicated ballad wasn't forgotten, too. It lies at the third position and is the longest track here, by the way. I have ears to hear that this album possesses a wide variety of essential progressive virtues and is good, overall, but I also hear how strongly it lacks originality. So there is no wonder that it impressed me much less than any of the other works by Chile's progressive rockers that I've ever heard.

Conclusion. Entrance appeared before me as a more or less good copy of the most influential contemporary Prog-Metal act, yet, not a clone, which would've been by all means on par with the original. Well, the band deserves to be called a Chilean Dream Theater, but personally I don't think it's a really good title. On the other hand, I am certain that many Prog-Metal fans will eagerly accept the album.

VM: December 2, 2004