ECHOES - review added 12th March 2010
Album Review: Nature | Existence (2010)
For fans of: Progressive Rock... and glowing writing shooting out of a mouth
Echoes is the rarest of things: a progressive rock group from Venezuela. The band, started back in 2004, list their Inspirations as 70's and 90's prog-rock and math metal. They also single out traditional folk music, backed up by the appearance of a cuatro (a traditional Venezuelan folk instrument similar to a ukulele, apparently).
The band has quite a line-up. The main body is Javier Landaeta, Antonio Silva and Rafael Sequera on guitar, Alfredo Ovalles on keyboards, Jorge Rojas on bass, and Miguel Moliné on drums. Then there are the guests who include Carl Webb, Nick Storr, Tobias Jansson and Pedro Castillo on vocals, Dave Duffus on saxophone, and the string quartet of Raul Suarez, Leonor Falcon, Anne Lanzilotti, and Manuel Hernandez.
Nature | Existence, mixed by Ola Sonmark (Within Temptation) and mastered by Svante Försbäck (Apocalyptica), has a big, bold, busy sound that's as complex as a four dimensional maze. This is not an album to approach if you want a relaxing walk through the realms of rock. This is an album to sit down and study, pick out its intricacies and discuss with your hugely intelligent friends. It's also not an album that majors on good individual songs, although there are a couple if you look for them.
Nature | Existence is all about the overall experience. Technically, it's a masterpiece full of intrigue, elaboration, precision and surprise. Some of the guitar playing is incredible, and I love the sax playing in 'Winds Of Dread'. If you love deeply progressive, self-indulgent music that needs work to be fully appreciated - and music that doesn't sacrifice technique for catchiness - I recommend you check this out. If you prefer your music a little more straight-ahead, you probably want to look elsewhere.
Check out... All of this...or all of something else.
Track List:
01. Epilogue (...Is Where We Start)
02. Rude Awakening
03. Leaf Motif
04. Lullaby
05. Bonfires
06. Unfair
07. Seasons Came To Pass
08. Far From Coincidence
09. Despair
10. Winds Of Dread
11. Farewell
12. Prologue (Where We End...)
Label: Prog Rock Records
Artist's website(s): Echoes , MySpace
