Album Review

Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11

• 12th Sep 2009

Mexican classical guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela showcase 45 minutes of breathtaking guitar mastery on their new album ‘11:11’. Now residing in Dublin and coming from a background in heavy metal, these musical maestros certainly have a unique sound. Following up from the success of their 2006 debut, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quinetro have released 11 tracks paying tribute to their musical influences, these prove to be varied and diverse, making for an interesting album.

Incorporating their trademark fast and furious flamenco style Rodrigo y Gabriela infuse jazz, blues and Latin influences into their acoustic guitar playing. But it is the metal influence which produces the most attention-grabbing sound. The track ‘Atman’, pays homage to the late Dimebag Darrell, of Pantera, and features an amazing electric guitar solo from Alex Skolnick, of Testament. Close to six minutes of frantic guitars, veering away from their Mexican roots in favour of Eastern sounds. There is something dark and sinister underlying in this track. With mixing by Colin Richardson, who has worked with the likes of Slipknot and Trivium, it is not difficult to see why elements of metal timing, playing and production come through on this album.

‘Buster Voodoo’ is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, summoning the epic solo arrangements and riffs. Elsewhere on the album, ‘Hanuman’ pays tribute to the influence of Carlos Santana, while title track ’11:11’ is clearly recognizing the influence of Pink Floyd.

I prefer my music with lyrics and a strong drumbeat, anything else struggles to keep my attention, fading away to background music. But there is no question that ‘11:11’ is an impressive feat with some incredible musicianship.