Rata Blanca - Talismán (cover)

I remember well this cover. It's special for me, for many reasons.

Rata Blanca is one of those bands that Cygnus brought into my life, along with Maná, Mägo de Oz and Luar na lubre, to name a few. I remember it was maybe late 2021 when Deneb once mentioned Maná and Rata Blanca as some of Cygnus's main influences during a live session on IG. That was the first time I had ever heard about these bands and after searching for them, I got fond of Rata Blanca immediately. This kind of epic/melodic power metal was quite popular in Europe for a short while in the late 80's and early 90's, around the time when I became a metal fan. These bands very quickly lost their fame with the growing popularity of thrash and death metal - I remember, the journalists of the local metal magazine were even joking around in 1993 about the cringe the new album of one of these epic power metal bands gave them - and I admit, even I forgot that this kind of music existed and what a subtle but strong impact it made on me back then.

Listening to Rata Blanca was like a travel back in time. I was a 15-year-old teenager again, who kept wandering among huge concrete blocks in the outskirts of the capital, trying to find answers to the questions in my head, and all this with that strange, long-forgotten breeze on my skin that made me excited and hungry to know the world around me.  

The most beautiful surprise it all bought was the fact that this sort of epic power metal still exists and it's still popular. I was more than delighted and somehow - maybe oddly - it gave me a ray of hope that maybe not all is lost. Even if this world exists only in my memories, it's still there and I can reach out to it any time I wish. And I admit, for me it's a calming, soothing thought and I can't be thankful enough to these wonderful Colombians to share it with me, with us.

And after this strange, dreamy experience Rata Blanca's music gave me

it still does!

Cygnus decided to cover one of their songs. The original is a power ballad, but Cygnus wouldn't be Cygnus if they hadn't made something beautiful and matchless out of it.

I remember, my first impression about this cover was that Cygnus is much more powerful in their mother tongue than in English. At that time I barely understood any Spanish yet, but it didn't matter. The fire, the passion, the refined, detailed and chiseled beauty was tangible as the words rolled off their mouths. It was more than beautiful, and I remember I was just watching it and listening to it with tears in my eyes, right for the first time, while a subtle, warm sensation started to circulate in my veins.

This is one of those covers where Cygnus didn't play much with the original.

(they in fact did) 

Similarly to the Soundgarden-cover they added just a little pinch of their own Cygnus Spice - and I want to underline again, as I did in the previous blogpost that in such cases this is what requires real talent, focus and caring: to find the balance, that certain amount of originality that doesn't change the great predecessors' work, but still adds that certain flavor to the song that makes it Cygnus.

Of course they made it!

Blu's guitar is just a tiny bit more raw than the original. Just a tiny bit, but this small amount of added roughness very pleasantly caresses your auditory meatuses. The rhythm section is stable, grounded and massive; you can hear that the bass got just a pinchful of more emphasis compared to Rata Blanca's version.

This is how you win my heart!

The keyboard with its subtle Hammond-organ-alike sound is already tangible here

and no one else, but Deneb, our one and only multiinstrumentalist Magician is playing it!

and if my ears are right, this subtle, heart-warming keyboard theme is added by our beloved Colombians to this version. And it's my own thought, but this soft, humble keyboard sound is one of the major reasons why this cover is so beautiful. You barely hear it, and if you don't know the original, you may even overlook it. But it's there, like a warm, strong palm on your back in a moment of doubt and fear, encouraging you and making you sure you're not alone in this world.

And then Deneb starts to sing. In his mother tongue.

I remember how much it hit me back then. Sure, for an average ear it's just some powerful male vocals. For me... it was like a drink, like some tasty drink with a full body, flavorful, strong and fiery, with huge chunks of never-seen-before fruits in it. And I got drunken, at the very first words of the lyrics. Deneb's voice here is full of so far unknown characters, his mellow baritone is set on fire and when your tears start to flow just by its power, it gently wipes them away, and as a kiss on your forehead, there's a tiny bass arpeggio hidden there.

Ruxx continues and the Spanish words he sings out have a very special savor

you can in fact catch as well when he just talks

and his voice is like liquid fire. His smoky, dusty vocals get a very special relish as he is singing in Spanish and just like with Deneb, you can feel

I guess it's not even audible or maybe only when you really, really focus - in fact you only feel it

an extra flavor, an extra zest in his voice that is not present when he is singing in English. And perhaps it's the original lyrics, that is full of emotions, passion, desire and love

and these rockers were caring and considerate enough to add English subtitles for all those who don't understand Spanish

but as he's performing with his trademark voice, well, dear Reader, it makes even the dead rise from their graves. It's not sweeping, it's not something that tears you to pieces, still you're touched to your core. Its gentleness finds those deep scars in you and caresses them and when you shed tears of healing, it reaches up high and turns itself into the Sun.

Then these two wonderful Colombians join for the chorus. Two voices, both full of passion, sweetness, feeling and a million flavors. You reach out to hold them in your hand, but the truth is, as it always happens with every Cygnus song, may it be original or cover, when you reach with your hands to them, you realize that it's them reaching out for you.

And in the small bridge after the chorus there's another little bass arpeggio hidden.

Deneb's voice returns. You feel the thickness, the fruity-fiery-honeyed, rich taste of his vocals. You've never ever felt it before, you had no idea that he could do such a magic when he is singing. You're drinking it up, this entire experience, that you see your two favorite people singing in their mother tongue, and for you, for your ears, heart and soul it's more than a gift. 

For me it was something I seriously never experienced before, even though this band had given and still has been giving me countless smaller and greater gifts through their music. This was the first time I heard them performing in Spanish and while I was listening them, I knew that a tiny piece of my soul will forever carry this moment. It was more than magic, it was alchemy. No band has ever given me any kind of experience like this. And while an average music consumer may say that it's just a band performing a Spanish song, I found the most precious gift inside of it. Whether others also find it or not, I don't know. It doesn't even matter.

And Deneb even makes some tapping at the end of the stanza. What else can I ask for?...

Ruxx takes it over and this time he lets his fire and sunray filled voice flow. And in the moment you'd get drunken by the flames and the light that radiate from his vocals, Deneb joins. These two warm, powerful, rich voices grab you and hold you tight, and you beg them, with tears in your eyes never to let you go. 

The solo is strong and precise, the rhythm section is backing it with the power of an old forest. You wipe away your tears, but the two voices return together, empowered with more magic. And you, dear Reader, you just fall into it, you let yourself get absorbed and dissolved by these two beautiful male voices. Even holding them tight isn't enough. You want to feel them so strong that instead of putting them into your heart, you want them to make you as their part.

No worries. Be sure they will do it for you.