Band:	Beto Vázquez Infinity
Album:	Beto Vázquez Infinity
Style:	Symphonic metal
Release date:	2001

01. Until Dawn (Angels Of Light) [feat. Tarja Turunen]
02. Wizard [feat. Tarja Turunen & Sabine Edelsbacher]
03. The Battle Of The Past [feat. Fabio Lione]
04. Sadness In The Night [feat. Tarja Turunen]
05. Through Times Part I
06. Through Times Part II [feat. Candice Night]
07. Golden Hair [feat. Candice Night]
08. Infinity Space
09. Through Times Part III [feat. Candice Night]
10. The Laws Of The Future [feat. Tarja Turunen & Sabine Edelsbacher]
11. Promises Under The Rain [feat. Tarja Turunen, Sabine Edelsbacher, & Candice Night]

Ever wonder what it'd be like if Enya fronted a rock band? Look no further.

Of the various "guest-fest" metal projects that sprang up in the wake of Ayreon, (Avantasia, Aina, more recently Avalon) Argentina's Beto Vázquez Infinity seem to have gone largely ignored. Is it simply down to geography, or maybe the low profile of Beto Vázquez? Could it be that the band's name doesn't begin with A? Or does their music just suck? Looking at their self-titled 2001 debut, it's hard to say.

The roster of guest vocalists is far and away the most impressive Vázquez has ever assembled. Top billing obviously goes to Tarja, the presence of whom I suspect is the main reason most people have even heard of BVI. Besides the mighty-lunged Finn, we have Candice Night, Edenbridge's Sabine Edelsbacher (then a recent debutante), and Fabio Lione, back when him guesting on an album was still vaguely novel.

With Tarja, Sabine and Fabio singing on it, even at this early point in their careers, you'd be forgiven for thinking this album was destined to be a symphonic metal fan's wet dream. Problem is, there's not a lot in the way of metal going on here.

Like I asked at the beginning of this review, if you wondered how it might sound if Enya crossed over into rock, the opening 20 minutes of this record should give you a reasonably good idea. Dominated by Tarja, plus a duet with Sabine on "Wizard", the opening three tracks are conspicuously similar to the "Lappi" suite that rounded out Nightwish's Angels Fall First.

I don't know if Beto and friends set out to do their own tribute to Blackmore's Night when they conceived the five-song "Voyagers Of Time" suite that constitutes the album's middle. Maybe they just couldn't contain themselves when they found out they'd secured Candice Night's services. Either way, that's how it comes across at first until the nifty instrumental "Infinity Space", where Argentine shredder Pablo Soler injects some much needed heavy. Oh, and the suite closes with a sax improvisation.

Beyond Soler's very welcome cameo, the closest to metal BVI gets is the second Sabine-Tarja duet "The Laws Of The Future" and closing track "The Battle Of The Past", the latter of which strongly echoes Kamelot's "Parting Visions". Other than these, ethereal balladry reigns supreme.

Its lack of overt "metalness" aside, this isn't a bad album. There's no denying it drags in places, but it serves up enough Tarja to make it worth her fans' attention. Be warned though, a healthy appetite for ubiquitous synthesizers and Turunen's full lyric soprano is damn near compulsory to fully enjoy this.


N.B.: In the broader context of Beto Vázquez Infinity's discography, this debut screams missed opportunity. In the thirteen years since, Vázquez and chums have switched to playing honest-to-Moses symphonic metal (of highly varying quality), but haven't really come close to assembling such a high-calibre ensemble of guests.