Drama Y Luz

Now, I've been a Mana fan for quite a while. And I'm not one of those fans that just listen to their singles that get played on the radio... I'm the fan that listens to and knows all of their material.

Drama y Luz is a change to Mana's sound, not that they had a distinctive sound to begin with. One of the things I noticed about Mana in this album is that they're relying on a more Alternative Rock sound, which is a first for Mana. Another thing I noticed about this album is that, creatively, it fails to take bigger risks, risks that, if taken, would have greatly improved the album and my rating. One of my main complaints of this album is the muzzling of Sergio Vallin, the band's guitarist. Not that he was constantly throwing out solos, but the length and simplicity of the solos in this album leaves this Mana fan wishing for more from Vallin. I'll give you a more detailed review as I discuss the songs individually:

Lluvia al Corazon: boring track, really. I was scared when I listened to this song for the first time, fearing that this would define the entire album. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Amor Clandestino: acoustic track all the way. The lyrics are a bit cheesy. Kind of bluesy. It's alright.

Reina del Dolor: a bit better. This song actually has a pop punk feel to it, which I don't mind. Vallin's solo, however, leaves a lot to be desired. It had the potential of making the song greater.

El Espejo: now, this is the gem of the album. The use of violins to build up certain parts of the song makes this song great. Vallin's guitar work, while no solos, is heavy and solid. Certainly, one of my favorites songs from this album, and a good Mana song, overall.
(edit): I just noticed that this song has a lot of similarities to the song Donde Jugaran los Ninos. It's good to have the band releasing this type of music again.

Sor Maria: Mana employs a pretty ambient sound with this song. This gives the song a pretty haunting feel to it, which serves the song well. Overall, a good song.

Vuela Libre Paloma: Synth-driven song. Lyrics are a bit cheesy. Kind of boring, to be honest.

No te Rindas: Two versions of the song. The first one is a ballad. The second one is straight out bachata. Both are good, but I like the bachata version best.

Latinoamerica: a song about Latinos and a call for unity between all people of Latin America. Extremely catchy. The lyrics demand a bit more time to get used to. Straight out hard rock. Fher and Alex's vocals are exceptional, but Fher's voice in particular shines here. Vallin's solo is filled with fast tremelo picking, though it lasts a few seconds. A shame, could've made the song much better.

El Dragon: quite a surprise. Starts out with Led Zeppelin-esque guitar work by Vallin and goes on to a Queen-like chorus (think of the intro of Bohemian Rhapsody). Heavy, really heavy bridge (perhaps the closest thing Mana has done to heavy metal--I'm not kidding). Slow tempo throughout, which fits the song well. Without a doubt, Mana's finest work in this album, and sure to be one of my favorite Mana songs.

El Verdadero Amor Perdona: starts with a middle-eastern-esque guitar riff, which is quite good. The lyrics are a bit weird, but their delivery by Fher is just fine. A calm track throughout, but does its job well. This song confirms a fact about this album: it ends better than it starts.

Envenename: Mana's shortest song they have ever released, clocking at 3:37. Disappointing, since this is my favorite track from this album. Has a really Foo Fighter feel to it, which is just fine by me, since it's really hard and fun. Fher's vocals are great. Chorus is extremely catchy. And this is the only song in this album with a great solo by Vallin.

Overall, a good album, but creatively, these songs feel like they are being held up. By what? The group's desire to simplify their work? The music company's desire to make radio-friendly songs? Who knows. The only songs that escape this critique are the songs the other reviews have already mentioned: El Espejo, El Dragon, and Envenename.

I love this band, and have fervently bought each album as they're released. Sadly though, this record is a huge disappointment. The writing is fine, but the songs are just so bland and uninteresting! I remember the excitement I felt upon hearing Revolucion de Amor for the first time (my first hotly anticipated Mana album since I purchased the ones before after they'd been out for a while). I got a similar feeling with Amar es Combatir. But Drama y Luz sounds like the band just didn't really care. The only memorable songs on this album are "Lluvia al Corazon" and "El Dragon"...the rest of the songs just seem to meld into one another with no distinction. Hopefully this is just a blip on an otherwise flawless catalog.

I am a huge Mana fan who has been looking forward to this album for a long time and sadly I was disappointed. I only like 3 songs from the entire album. (Lluvia al Corazon, El Espejo, El Dragon) The rest of the tracks are very bland, not horrible, but not great. They are not the memorable kind of songs that made Mana famous around the world. I find myself skipping most of these boring songs to get to the three I mentioned.

Save your money. Just buy a few individual tracks or "borrow" this one from a friend.

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