Genesis ELP Yes
PROG ROCK INFLUENCED
BANDS
By Country
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0.720 Aleacion - 0.720 Aleacion
Comments:
0.720 Aleacion is an excellent album from the 1980's Mexican
progressive rock scene. The album is loaded with influences from
traditional Mexican folk(neither Mariachi or Banda that most people are
familiar with) that I was not aware of until reading a little about the
leader of the band. The musicians tend to jazz up their folk influences
giving their music that progressive quality that we all enjoy.
Compositions: 9/10
Vocals(in Spanish): 8/10
Recording Quality: 7.5/10
Caja De Pandora - Caja De Pandora
Comments:
If you are familiar with the Mexican prog scene from the 80s, you probably
know that many of the bands produced music characterized by short, but
intense, tracks ranging between 3 to 4 minutes in length. The music, for
the most part, owed alot to Iconoclasta's first album and the quality
also reached the levels of that incredible album. Caja De Pandora
were no exception, and the band released an album of high-quality prog.
Caja De Pandora rates up there with Iconoclasta's first album and
Delerium's
Primer Dialogo. The music here is quite intense and emphasizes
energetic interplay between the guitarist and keyboardist. If you are a
fan of any of the classic bands to come out of the Mexican prog scene,
I'm sure you will enjoy this band.
Compositions: 8.5/10
Vocals(in Spanish): 8/10
Recording Quality: 8/10
Cast - Castalia
Comments:
Cast are one of the top modern Mexican prog rock groups. Most of the
musicians in the band today have been playing together for the past 20
years, but, thanks to the internet, Cast has built a loyal
following around the world since the early 1990s. Cast are also
quite prolific when it comes to album releases. They average a new album
about every year, and have also put out numerous live and solo albums.
Castalia is a new live album from a recent gig in Italy. It also
ranks as one of the best Cast CDs I've heard. A few years ago I
got a chance to see Cast play live in San Diego. That night I
quickly realized that they were better live than in the studio. And this
new CD proves that they have gotten tighter since the San Diego gig.
Castalia consists mostly of newer material from the past 4 studio
albums(although I'm not familiar with a couple of tracks). Alot of that
material was rearranged into "medley" form, with a few tracks even sung
in Spanish, for the Italian crowd. The new listener is quickly greeted
with a busy form of symphonic prog that lightly tilts towards 80s neo-prog.
The piano playing from Al Vidales stands out immediately. Al reminds me
of the piano player from Locanda Delle Fate, due to the amount of notes
coming from his fingers, yet, somehow, he adds depth to a composition
without taking the spotlight. His synth work is really what reminds me
of 80s neo-prog due to its bombastic nature. Vocalist Dino Brassea does
a wonderful job live. Especially on the Spanish tracks. I've never had a
problem with Dino's English vocals, but, man, the Spanish vocals are
wonderful. The warmth, and confidence in his voice when he sings in
Spanish is striking. I can't forget to mention drummer Antonio Bringas,
who is one of best live drummers I've seen. For some reason, this
musician's drum work doesn't stand out at all on the studio albums, but
he is a different monster live. Instrumentally, these guys kick some
serious ass. The amount of changes, time-signatures, and melodies during
some of the instrumental passages is jaw-dropping. But most of the vocal
sections might also only appeal to neo-prog fans. Overall, Castalia
is Cast at their best. I would love to see them release more live
albums like this that span most of their compositional catalog, and a
totally Spanish studio album in 2002 would definitely be something to
look forward to.
Delirium - Primer Dialogo
Comments:
Delirium released their excellent debut album in 1985. The music
here reminds me of Iconoclasta(especially the guitarist, who has the
same tone as the Ricardo Moreno), but these guys were determined to
create something more intense. The tracks tend to be kept short and
fast, and they feature multiple solos and classical-inspired duels(many
times counterpoint) between the guitarist and keyboardist. A couple of
the tracks also feature violin. My only complaint here is that the CD is
very short, at 31-minutes of length. The music is quite good, but maybe
a 2-for-1 CD with both Delirium albums would have been a better
deal.
Compositions: 9/10
Vocals(none): N/A
Recording Quality: 7/10
Iconoclasta - Iconoclasta/Reminisciencias
Comments:
Iconoclasta's first album is one of the most influential albums
from the Mexican prog scene. Bands like Delerium, Praxis, and Cast have
based a least some of their sounds from Iconoclasta. For example,
the fuzzy guitar-tone in bands like Delerium and Cast seem influenced by
the electric guitar work on these two albums. Also, some of the
compositional styles on Iconoclasta seem to have influenced
albums like Primer Dialogo. I tend to prefer Iconoclasta's
self-titled debut album over their second LP. The music on the first
album tends to be intense, and low on repetition. Reminisciencias
sounds a bit less inspired, features more repetition and less
complexity. Anyway, this CD is a great deal, so you have 80-minutes of
excellent prog rock to look forward to.
Compositions: 9.5/10
Vocals(in Spanish): 7.5/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Praxis - La Eternidad De Lo Efimero
Comments:
La Eternidad De Lo Efimero is another great 80s Mexican prog album
which features Ricardo Moreno from Iconoclasta. The music, as you might
expect, is similar to Iconoclasta, but even more intense than Delirium.
The guitar and keyboard duels are jaw-dropping, and the band never slows
down for too long. Fans of 70s progressive rock might be bothered by the
digital keyboards, but the music certainly makes up for the coldness of
the digital synths. The drums also have an 80s sound that might bother
some listeners. I sometimes imagine that if this album had been done
with Moog synths, and Hammond organ, it would have been considered a
minor masterpiece. Unfortunately, the 80s style sounds rather odd today.
Rumor has it that this entire album was recorded live in a TV
studio(possibly for a TV show). If that's the case, the musicians are
proven virtuosos and not just studio whizzes.
Compositions: 9/10
Vocals(none): N/A
Recording Quality(1980s production sounds terrible today): 7/10
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