VOLUCRIS AVIS DIRAE-ARUM

Upsilon Acrux are a fairly new band with a love for Progressive Rock. Actually, its not love - it's an obsession! Upsilon Acrux can be seen as those die-hard Star Wars fan boys that have the full collection of everything related to Star Wars and all they can do is talk about Star Wars and how much they've devoted their life to Star Wars. (No offense to Star Wars fans, just using them as an example) Those guys take the term fan boy to the extreme. Upsilon Acrux are pretty much the same, but instead of Star Wars its Prog Rock. They're into Prog Rock so much that they even called their debut "In The Acrux Of The Upsilon King"!

Here's my view on the band. On "Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum" Upsilon Acrux tried to make Prog Rock just like the 70's band where doing it, but their fanboyism (I know it's not a real word) mentality and perfectionism made them do Progressive Rock in its most excessive and extravagant form (in a good way). I'm not talking about bigger stage theatrics, longer epics, PhD concepts or even more pretentiousness, I'm talking about Prog down to its bare roots - the music.

Upsilon Acrux's music is very intricate and complex, and I mean VERY intricate and complex. They use their strange line-up as an advantage to make this kind of music. Their line-up on this album consist of two drummers, a guitar player, a bass player and a Moog player. The music is hectic and it doesn't like to stay in one place for more than 5 seconds so you'll have an idea of what to expect. Don't get me wrong, there are many moments that are accessible and easy to enjoy (like "The Court Of Zolex"), but their main focus is on their angular textures and dense collages of riffs and melody. It's cerebral, like taking a calculus class by headphones and you'll need to pay your full attention to fully grasp this or else you'll get lost in the madness. Their music can be seen as retro prog without the derivativeness that many people blame modern prog for.

It's dense, unforgiving and it won't go down without a fight. Upsilon Acrux are one of the new breed of bands that are taking complexity in music to a whole new level while having Progressive Rock as their musical base. These new bands are all labeled "Brutal Prog" and you'll know why they're named as such after you listen to them. "Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum" is a prime example of this new movement in the world of Prog Rock that mixes old school Prog with the über complexity these bands are known for (even though these guys are pretty unknown even in Prog circles).

One of the bands that are pushing the boundaries of Prog Rock while still being firmly rooted in the genre's sound. Highly recommended for adventurous Prog fans.