Raise Your Voice is this Colombia based band's very first full-length album and comes after their debut demo CD Horizonte Gris, released back in 2004. Quite a bit has transpired since then including the addition of keyboard player Santiago Del Pino and the departure of long-time guitarist Felipe Rojo who left due to musical differences and conflicts with the band's decision to do their material in English for the first time and not their mother tongue of Spanish. This self-released album is produced by founding guitarist Santiago Mora and sees a huge progression in the band's sound. The production quality is top notch as well as the band's performances and with their sound, they fit very well into the current power metal craze that's alive and well in South America.

One of the first things to grab my attention with this new album was the stronger keyboard presence and the more epic Kamelot sound that it gives the band. The keyboard orchestration effects and Francisco "Pasho" Murillo vocals, that have a Tobias Sammett, Roy Khan, Geoff Tate style along with the use of both mid-tempo and speedy power metal styles brings both the older and current era of Kamelot firmly to mind. The first 2 tracks Raise Your Voice and Time To Live both share the aforementioned qualities with Time To Live having more of a typical late 90's to early 2000's speedy Euro power metal style. Along with the more epic and atmospheric tone this time, influences from bands like Edguy are prominent with the vocal melodies and choruses especially with the track Facing The Evil. I Won't Die Today uses a chunky and heavy style with a little of the Vanishing Point approach to the vocal melodies. Lots of neo-classical influences including a healthy dose of Yngwie-like "swirling" scale runs as well as the use of harpsichord and piano can be found with the tracks Vanity Game, Cause And Effect, Kingdom Of Lies and the album closer Prisoner Forever. Son Of The Nile is one of several instances where the band opts for a more modern metal style with more sinister vocals, drop D tuning on the guitars and lots of Zak Wylde like harmonic squeals and squawks. Help Me fulfils the obligatory power ballad quota for this band that still sees them trying to find their way in the fog so to speak. Francisco "Pasho" Murillo has made great improvements in his voice over their debut demo but there are times when he still seems to strain to hit the high notes and several off-key moments are very obvious in a few spots.

Musically, this band has put together something that is likely to make some waves in their home country and surrounding South American countries. The one thing that still needs work is the vocal melodies and choruses. Despite the strong technical abilities of this band, there's not a lot about this album that leaves you wanting to hear more. There's a severe lack of melodic hooks, catchy choruses or memorable melody lines that would strengthen their material immensely. They have a strong grasp on the power metal sound and all the elements are there, it's the lack of quality in the song writing and the passion in the music; aspects that make bands like Kamelot and Vanishing Point such powerful players in the power metal arena. If Terra Sur honestly wants to try to compete on the world market, continued improvements in song writing especially with the vocal melodies should be their prime focus for the future. I have no doubt that they are very serious about the band in that any dealings with lead vocalist Pasho Murillo through E-mail have been professional, genuine and very gracious. The packaging for this self-released album is very good as well. The band has put a lot of time and effort into the entire production of this album and is still shopping around for a label deal. This entire album including the CD graphics is available for download, free of charge from the band’s website. Help them spread the word!! I always like cheering for the underdogs in any arena and I'm sure we will hear more from Terra Sur.

Check out some songs on their MySpace Page