"Fortaleza" is a band that formed in 2003 in Veracruz, Mexico. Their style is an epic form of gothic power metal, not "DragonForce" epic, or "Within Temptation" epic, but epic. "Fortaleza" released their second album "Una Luz Entre Las Sombras" in 2009, after the release of their debut album in 2008. I discovered this band and found their material quite tasteful and bought their 2010 album (which I wrote a review for, "El Ojo de la Tormenta"). After a while I chose to listen to their earlier work, so I listened to this album. What I found was that this album is pretty good. The music itself, for the most part is mid-fast tempo, and are very beautiful and complex. The band is lead by the hollow, bodiless, yet beautiful voice of Helena. The vocals are for the most part elongated and high, and really soar. The vocal lines of "La Mulata" and "Angel Eterno" are both beautiful and catchy. Helena the vocalist, gets the spot light at all times, but that doesn't mean that other instruments don't get their time to shine. The guitars are heavier than other bands in the gothic metal scene, like "Within Temptation", or "Nightwish". The guitars play a combination of heavy and melodic riffs, they are pretty high in the mix, beneath vocals and keyboards. "Fortaleza also uses a fair amount of keyboards or single violins or cellos. Usually violins, the traditional piano or bells are rare through the album, but are used. In the fifth track "La Mulata" both violin and piano are used to create a beautiful atmosphere. The cons in this album are the bass and drums. The bass is almost absent through out the album, and the drums are usually used just for keeping time and nothing else, they're not creative, nor are they that audible. But despite that, the album is quite enjoyable, and is worth an ear, especially because "Fortaleza" is one of those bands that is not that big.