ALMS, speaking of the album and his project, said: It is of great pleasure for me to announce that my new album, ‘The Trial’, is about to be released by Epictronic Records. I’m really looking forward to working with them and excited about what may come from this and where it will lead us.
The story behind ‘The Trial’ begins under the covid lockdown. I had been reading ‘The little treaty of the big vices’, by José Antonio Marina, a psychological essay about the roots of Evil and the Seven Deadly Sins. Thinking about how, historically, religions have always played a decisive role in conducting human behavior against our own nature, the idea of a dialogue between God and Alms on this matter was very appealing to me. This led me to other lectures, including the Holy Bible, which gave me more perspective on the topic as I managed to put my own ideas in order. That is how ‘The Trial’ was born: Alms was about to face God’s judgment for committing the Seven Deadly Sins, while he would claim his human nature as a part of himself, the essential part without which existence is not possible.
This time, I counted on the following collaborators: Rafa Yugueros (drums), Carla Martín (violin), Julia Sariego (choirs), Alain Frenette (French narrations), and María Volkova (God’s voice). Everything else was recorded by myself at my own home studio, taking charge of the mixing as well. The mastering was made by Mario G. Alberni, and the artwork was made by Layo M. Beiro, a truly gifted artist and a good friend of mine. It is important to mention that, besides the front and back cover of the album, Layo painted a series of illustrations that depict his own vision of each and every sin, all of them included in the booklet.
With a structure following the operatic format, ‘The Trial’ is a concept album that can be labeled as Symphonic Progressive Rock, in which besides the classic-rock elements, instruments such as flutes, mandolin, oboe or violin contribute to creating the atmosphere and landscapes of each and every passage. It is a very heterogeneous album in its style, as I drink from many different influences: folk, rock, classical music… all of them converge to make ‘The Trial’. I hope you like it!