From Twilight to Light Review
Overcoming fear is a central theme of new progressive metal album.
Cristhian Zambrano left his native Venezuela six years ago. Socio-political upheaval in the South American country was epically dire then. According to Zambrano, it’s only gotten worse.
Zambrano, age 28, is an ambitious young musician. His inaugural album, From Twilight to Light, was released on February 26, 2021. The main theme of the lyrics are overcoming fear.
Twilight contains nine tracks of original progressive rock music. Many of the tracks are over six minutes in length, with the titular epic, “From Twilight to Light” crossing into twelve minute territory. While Zambrano, in true DIY spirit, composed, produced and performed every instrument on the album, there are handful of guest artists on the album as well.
The entire project was more than a four years journey in the making. Any creative endeavor worth undertaking has emotional highs and lows in it. Zambrano felt these wide ranges of emotion while crafting Twilight. At times he struggled to find fellow musicians whose passion rivaled his own.
Zambrano says, “I started writing maybe four years ago in my free time, until I felt I had a good amount of music. But I was lacking guitars, bass parts and vocals. So, I tried to find local singers, but I couldn’t find anyone who was committed enough for the job. In the end I decided to learn how to sing and do it myself.”
Keyboards are Zambrano’s primary instrument. A variety of different synth and piano sounds form the backbone of Twilight, however catchy guitar hooks and grungy picked bass is also present. Track eight on Twilight, really encapsulates the keyboard work and production values that Zambrano poured into the album. The album tends to favor moods and atmospheres over speed, power or tempo.
While a native Spanish speaker, the lyrics of Twilight are in English. Zambrano comments, “Most of the songs lyrics are about overcoming fear in various situations. The last song, “From Twilight To Light”, always felt to me like a journey so I waited until I felt I had a good concept for the lyrics.”
Zambrano further elaborates on the meaning of the album and how he came up with the name.
“I was asking a friend about her opinion on the songs and while we were talking the sun came down,” Zambrano said. “I finally got the name for the album. Soon after that it made sense that missing lyric was in the name of the album.”
Twilight was released independently. It is available for purchase on Ashes In Sapphire’s Bandcamp page. There is no set price for Twilight. A “name your price” is an option, and buying the album helps musicians like Zambrano continue to create new music.
Zambrano acknowledges the struggle for musicians, especially those from his native Venezuela.
Protests in Venezuela soared to a fever pitch in 2015, which is when Zambrano left the country. Citing high levels of criminal violence, inflation, and chronic scarcity of basic goods, many Venezuelans took to the streets.
“I left the country about 6 years ago, so I can only talk about the time I was there,” said Zambrano. “However since the situation in the country has gone worse, the music scene has declined as well. Many musicians had fled the country in order to pursue their passion.”
Zambrano continues, “Those (musicians) who stayed in Venezuela are without streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music. These are platforms to which most other Latin American musicians have access. The diversity of options for new projects in the country are limited.”