THE BEAST

Aisles - Beyond Drama - Reviewed By Metal Digest ! Check it out here at this link: https://metal-digest.com/2023/04/25/aisles-beyond-drama/

It’s been quite a wait for new material from the Chilean behemoth of Prog, Aisles. Last time out before everything changed was the epic and densely textured “Hawaii” in 2016; since then, there have been changes to the band’s line-up, including the arrival of a new frontman in vocalist Israel Gil. With “Beyond Drama” there is a noticeable change in not only tone, but direction too. Some of the excesses of Prog are pared back, there is a more concise and accessible nature to the songs themselves. It still sounds like Aisles; just a stripped back GT version to use a motoring analogy. 

Opener “Fast” immediately showcases Aisles new-found approach; just four and a half minutes and packed with all the technical musical goodness they would have previously played out for at least three minutes more without necessarily having anything else to say. The riffing rhythm guitar is sublime; evoking Andy Summers at his most engagingly complex, and the deceptively hyperspeed drum patterns just nail it all together beautifully. 

And by and large, the rest of the album continues with this welcome brevity; this is Prog with a little “p” that you don’t need to make any apologies for. “Disobedience” brings delightfully oblique tonality and Trip-Hop rhythms together in a beguiling and playful mix, elsewhere “Surrender” brings a calming, soporific beauty with the added bonus of superb lyrical guitar work worthy of John Mitchell at his peak melodic flow. 
Admittedly, there are a couple of moments things don’t rise so well using the new recipe; “Thanks to Kafka” is a bizarre inclusion with clunky phrasing and rushed vocals that seem entirely at odds with each other, and “The Plague” (the longest track on the album) feels an anachronism with a somewhat bloated long-form structure out of keeping with the rest of the songs.  

These are minor niggles compared to what is a well written and impeccably recorded collection of modern Progressive Rock. Metal Digest

Release Date: April 5, 2023

Location: Chile 

About AISLES

Originally from Santiago, Chile and with four acclaimed studio albums under their belt, AISLES have become the most important South American progressive rock band of the last two decades. Known for their intricate melodies and expansive sound, the group has toured widely across the Americas and Europe. In their homeland of Chile they've opened for iconic international bands such as Marillion and Focus in addition to playing extensively around the country as headliners.

In 2005, AISLES released their debut album The Yearning in Chile and the U.S., recognized for its elegant and delicate melodic work on songs such as "The Wharf that Holds His Vessel" and "Gray." In 2009, their second album In Sudden Walks, inspired by existentialist literature and theater, was nominated for Best Foreign Album at the Prog Awards in Italy. The group also participated in the 11th version of the Progressif Crescendo Rock Festival in France. Their third record 4:45 AM which investigated human loneliness, received rave reviews and was ranked among the best albums of 2013 by numerous progressive rock media. 

Their most recent album, released in July 2016, is Hawaii, a conceptual work that narrates the life of humanity in space after the destruction of Earth. The double LP was chosen among the best albums of the year by several publications including Prog (England), NeoProg (France), Headbangers Latinos (Mexico), Aural Moon (USA) and Rockaxis (Chile). The success of the album allowed them to tour Europe, the U.S. and Mexico.

In 2018, as a way of concluding the Hawaii era, AISLES released the Live from Estudio del Sur EP along with four videos recorded live, which can be viewed on YouTube. After the departure of their original vocalist Sebastián Vergara at the end of 2018, the band returned in September 2020 with a new singer, Israel Gil, and reignited their artistic evolution by releasing a new version of their 2009 song “Smile of Tears”, from In Sudden Walks. Following the release of singles such as "Fast," "Megalomania" and "Thanks To Kafka" in 2021, AISLES will release their fifth album Beyond Drama in 2023. 

Follow them on Spotify and add to your playlists!

Also available on Bandcamp!

Discography
Beyond Drama (2023)
Live from Estudio del Sur EP (2018)
Hawaii (2016)
Live 2014 EP (2015)
4:45 AM (2013)
In Sudden Walks (2009)
The Yearning (2005)

Follow the band at these links:

https://www.aislesproject.com/
https://www.instagram.com/aislesproject/
https://www.facebook.com/Aislesproject/
https://www.youtube.com/aislesproject
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1aHj1tpKsDAUDDOMZXcjQg
https://aisles.bandcamp.com/