One of the side effects of artistic prolificacy is surely the loss of the surprise effect that characterises the first releases of a musical project; Sergio Gonzalez Catalan probably does not even consider this risk and in just under three years offers the sixth full length (only six months after the previous one) of his Rise to the Sky. In fact, contrary to what was said in the introduction, some astonishment remains in the face of this other display of talent in approaching melodic death doom; if I personally consider Per Aspera Ad Astra to be the Chilean musician’s qualitative peak, this does not mean that the subsequent Every Day, a Funeral was not another magnificent album, also in the light of a certain stylistic deviation that brought the sound in more than one case close to atmospheric funeral doom. This latest Stay with Me When You’re Gone presents itself as a sort of link between those two works, being less distinctly melodic than the former but more airy than the latter and offering another forty minutes of sorrowful, melancholic and emotional music. Another positive aspect that should not be underestimated is that Rise to the Sky‘s sound today appears decidedly recognisable, having become a rather personal elaboration of the various sources of inspiration that Sergio has drawn on to build this magnificent musical project of his. Five tracks imbued with endless yearning follow one another in a sort of crescendo to reach a climax with Leave Me, before Sergio indulges in a homage to the Ukrainian people by offering his interpretation of the folk song Chervona Ruta, to close finally with the majestic display of pain entitled True Love; a limpid production entrusted to Filippos Koliopanos (Ocean of Grief, On Thorns I Lay) brings out the best in the compositional talent of a musician towards whom we enthusiasts end up being protective for fear that an overload of productivity, sooner or later, may cause a drying up of an inspiration that has so far seemed to be inexhaustible, fortunately for Sergio and, of course, for us too.

2022 – Tragedy Productions