Released the same year as
Bestial,
Piel de Barrabas sees
Fernando Arbex carrying his
Barrabas further into synth-dominated territory. Where early
Barrabas albums presented the sound of a dance band playing dance music (and occasionally rock & roll), the early-'80s edition of the group sounds like a rock band playing dance music (and occasionally rock & roll). "Laura" is probably the worst culprit of all here, resembling what
Genesis and
the Steve Miller Band sounded like when they employed dance rhythms and heavy use of synthesizers. Early
Barrabas remained plugged into the styles that they were covering;
Piel de Barrabas, on the other hand, comes closer to interpretations of interpretations, rather than something they'd be much more comfortable tackling. Despite the fact that the skill is readily apparent, the album comes off as being very confused and watered down.