Chykle

"Jaque Mate" is the greates Argentinian Heavy Metal and/or Hard Rock song ever recorded. So great in fact that it was recorded twice, both as a title track for this farwell-album by the infamous CHYKLE, as well as re-recorded by the Mangialavores' later outfit EL DRAGON on the "Metal"-compilation 2 years later. It's simply one of those perfect 10/10 HM tunes, with vocals, riffing and most prominently a drive only matched by the most kült & legendary old NWOBHM singles. Add to that the unmistakable, raw and gritty voice of Olaf Mangialavore and what do you get? Exactly: P-e-r-f-e-c-t-i-o-n. Unfortunately the album as a whole is a flawed affair.

On the upside it's the only one of their albums that feature a real drummer, but the production is still rather thin and almost completely lacking of low end. Musicwise it's however much better than the almost-complete trainwreck of their highly unnecessary "Nave Acuario" sophomore LP, and apart from the title track there is also the powerful, uptempo "Resistiendo Sobreviviendo" and punchy "Alma De Rock And Roll" that could rub shoulders with the best numbers off the upcoming El Dragon LP.

I know I use the word 'catchy' a lot in my reviews, but if there's anything that seem to permeate Olaf Mangialavore's songwriting both in Chykle and El Dragon, it's the obsession with catchy chorus and bridges, much more so than is the standard for HM/HR songwriting in general (I would almost make a power-pop reference here if it weren't for Olaf's madman voice steering us in an entirely different direction). Even in an otherwise pedestrian rocker like "Hiroshima Enola Gay" this talent shines through in all it's glory.

Otherwise the trad Hard Rock-portion of the album is best represented in the slow and pounding "Poker De Medianoche", while the overly mellow "Caviar Y Champagne" is pretty close to awful and a quite horrible choice for an opening track. The last 2 numbers is another disappointing dip in both heaviness and quality and as a whole I'd still proclaim their debut "Relampago De Rock" as the strongest release in their discography. An intriguing band any way you look at it though.