Entre El Cielo Y El Infierno + El Reloj - Greison Theater, Monte Grande 10-05-2025 |

The Memories Pay…

A good night to unload nostalgic feelings, enjoy good music and why not, convince yourself that every past time was better, although sometimes you may think otherwise. On Saturday May 10th at “Teatro Greison”, Monte Grande, Buenos Aires, we had the opportunity to see live what is left of that famous cult band, El Reloj, plus a new presentation of “Entre El Cielo Y El Infierno”, which we could rather define as the part of the heaviest Rata Blanca that should have never been lost, and that, apparently, has a future beyond the memory itself.
We arrived a little later than the appointed time for the start of the show, and so we missed most of the set of “Tiempos Violentos”, a band that is dedicated purely and exclusively to present a tribute to Rata Blanca. What we could rescue is that the band sounded good, being a respectable tribute to one of the key bands of heavy music in Argentina. A lot of stage presence, and that is where I would like to stop. I think “Tiempos Violentos” is for something more than just being a tribute band. If they were encouraged to compose and take their own flight, it would be much more interesting than just being a tribute band; the attitude, sound and presence they have.

Then we got to see and listen to the performance of Trucha, who presented themselves as a rock band, but one of those heavy, simple, raw and direct rock bands. Closer to Ac/Dc or Motorhead, than to a soft rock band, that’s for sure. The band is made up of two guitars, bass, drums and vocals, in a simple formation that does not pretend to sound modern, far from it. They played several songs from their repertoire, retiring to applause and leaving the place for what was to come.

I confess that I never paid too much attention to El Reloj, a band formed in the 70’s that never had too much transcendence but over time, became a cult band, especially when I discovered that in part, their influence was decisive in the formation of Heavy Metal in Argentina, without actually being a Metal band. Of the original members, only Osvaldo Zabala on guitar and Eduardo Frezza on bass and vocals remain, completing the combo with younger musicians who accompany them in this continuity of the band, 50 plus years after its formation.

For this reason, and perhaps a little because three of the original members have passed away, the band presents itself as “El Reloj – Zabala y Frezza”. Among the songs chosen for their set, they played “Mas Fuerte Que El Hombre”, “El Viejo Serafín”, “Vuelve El Día A Reinar”, “El Mandato”, etc, making their most avid followers vibrate and above all bringing the nostalgia of the good old days to those who comb gray hair (including myself). The sound they achieved was very good, but for some reason Zabala’s guitar didn’t sound quite right in the last half hour, a problem that was never solved, but that in no way overshadowed a great presentation of a historical band and key to the history of heavy music in Argentina. The band sounds well assembled, demonstrating that El Reloj’s songs have stood the test of time.

The inclusion of “Alguien Más En Quien Confiar” in the series “El Eternauta”, a Netflix hit, made the band start to be more recognized and even, they do not miss the opportunity to highlight this presence in the fashionable film these days, so it was not surprising that this song was chosen to close their concert, with the presence of a guy on stage, dressed similarly to the character of the cartoon. Excellent presentation of El Reloj – Zabala y Frezza, which is a mixture of their proposal, well into the 70’s with the young blood provided by the musicians who accompany them.

Finally, it was the turn of “Entre El Cielo Y El Infierno”, band formed in principle to pay tribute to an essential album of Heavy Metal in Argentina as it is, the one that gives title to the group, released in 1994 by Rata Blanca, being perhaps, their best album and yet, the current band practically overlooks it in their live performances. Gustavo Rowek (Ex V8 as well) on drums, Sergio Berdichevsky on guitar, Mario Ian on vocals and Javier Retamozo, former members of Rata Blanca who recorded this album at that time, are the ones who got together for this project, adding Walter Scasso on bass and Jose Velocet on guitar. The set started in a devastating way with the powerful “Sombra Inerte Del Amor”, with a crushing sound but for some reason, some defects had to be corrected, such as the volume of Berdichevsky’s guitar and Retamozo’s keyboard. Corrected the inconvenient, hold on because several classics like “Herederos De La Fe”, the powerful “Jerusalem”, “Fantasma Azul”, the tremendous and loaded with patriotic sympolism as “Patria” (with the hymn “Aurora” in the middle), logically also sounded around the excellent “En El Bajo Flores”, one of the most finished samples of Rata Blanca in terms of social.

There was time for the band to present two new songs, composed in the last time, namely: “Enviados” and “El Árbol Del Bien Y Del Mal”, indicating that this band will not only pay homage to the album in question but intends to go further. Meanwhile, the sound really hits hard, and the reality of this group is that it sounds really tight and well assembled. No wonder since this is almost a Vernacular Metal Dream Team, with members with a lot of experience in big bands. The good health was demonstrated with the new songs, which really sound excellent and demand to portray in a new album, this good reality. For the closing they chose “Bajo Control” and the inevitable “Callejero”, with which they closed a really good set.
The inevitable question to ask is how far Rata Blanca would have gone if they had continued with these former members in their ranks. Clearly unprovable, but nothing prevents one from playing the mental game of thinking about it. What is certain is that Entre El Cielo Y El Infierno is not only an “Inert Shadow” of that Rata Blanca, but it bets on something more, and from what can be seen and heard, the bet is worth it.