Band:	Quelonio
Album:	Vicio Y Virtud
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	2009
A review by:	Ernis

01. Dame Placer
02. Juego De Miradas
03. Ave Fénix
04. Vicio Y Virtud
05. V
06. El Grito De La Realidad
07. Por La Espalda
08. Tu Fuego
09. Buscando Una Luz
10. Aquí Estoy
11. Cima De La Eternidad
12. Susurrando Al Viento

It's nice when bands are creative while choosing names for themselves, for instance being inspired by nature. We already have Sirenia (sea cows) and Tristania (plants) and Quelonio (chelonia - turtles) will probably also fit this company. Speaking of Quelonio, they are a Spanish act from Valencia who have been around since 1996 already and during these years they have worked in the fields of rock and heavy rock/metal. Vicio y Virtud is their second full length album and features the new vocalist Teresa Broseta who is the third female singer to perform in the group. Now let's see what Vice And Virtue has to offer.

The album's style leaves an impression of heavy rock music with a slight 80ies and 90ies atmosphere. A big pro of the music are the song texts in Spanish language. Lyrics in a native language make every band stand out in a way and give quite an advantage as opposed to all bands singing in English. The clear sound of Spanish also suits the overall style of the album rather well. What also makes the album good is the singer Teresa who has a decent and strong voice and necessary abilities to express the heavy style in a genuine manner. At quite a lot of moments she sings similar to the leading Italian female rock artist Gianna Nannini and also to Doro, mother of metal. Although the German group Warlock was in several ways catchier and easier to follow, Quelonio also do a good job representing the style and I think those who appreciate Nannini's and Doro's vocals will also like this band.

Some weak points of the album. There are quite a lot of nice moments that are catchy and take the listener away but there are also lots of moments when the connection between the potential audience and the music gets thin and it is easy to lose attention. In places there is too little tension, necessary for pumping the listeners up. The songwriting and performance may have been done in a grand manner but sometimes this is not enough whereas some slight riff and rhythm changes can make adrenaline flow a lot faster. If there are nicely performed and good riffs and passages they will, nevertheless, be less prominent if the stitches joining them start to unravel.

The highlights of the album are "Juego de Miradas", a simple and catchy song, the title track "Vicio y Virtud" being the heart of the album and the best representative of the album's good features, "Buscando una Luz" and "Aquí Estoy" with wonderful melodies. In general the stronger and catchier songs gather in the second half of the album. As a heavy metal release this album is not that groundbreaking but as a Spanish heavy rock release it is a nice one especially due to the quality vocals of the frontwoman.