My appreciation for the new album by Spanish metal heads Saratoga lasted precisely 24 seconds. At 0:25 exactly the horrible vocals of Leo Jimenez (yes the same mentioned to promote the Dragonfly album) kick in. His screaming and shrieking voice spoils all there is to like about this release. That’s too bad because ‘Tierra de Lobos’ features some more than decent music.

There’s nothing wrong with the powerful drums, the deep bass and the occasional guitar solo. As a matter of fact, the musicians impress.

There are some clever breaks and the music is in perfect balance. Tracks like ‘Necrophagus’ and ‘El Jardin De La Niebla’ grab the attention and keep it for the full five minute. But man, these horrible vocals! This album won’t get any time in my cd player until I buy one with a button to mute the vocal channel. ‘Tierra de Lobos’ is a lost opportunity!

This one gets four out of ten with, and eight out of ten without the vocals (an average 6).