METANOIA

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It seemed to be very difficult to improve the debut stuff quality standards, but NEXUS did it.

The structures remain the same as in "Detrás Del Umbral", but "Metanoia" is compositionally stronger and atmospherically better achieved. Influences from ELP are evident, but the band is quite original.

Sadly, this is the last album with the voice of Mariela González (now singing in ATEMPO): her range and power are important contributions in this album. But talking about "Metanoia", I recommend it as the best Argentinian album in the last 20 years.

This epic album is a stunning concept album, a bit prolix and with a few common places regarding such symphonic metal at the beginning, but for sure it is much better than their previous debut album. In fact after a few tracks,above all by regarding the solos at the keyboards and the excellent interplays with the guitars as well, you are into their first grandeur. Besides I like to remark the great contribution of the female vocalist, one of the most talented ones, even though unfortunately she has decided to break-up with this line-up by NEXUS, probably definitively. Anyway, even though you could remain as much influenced as disappointed during the first music passages concerning the first tracks (talking about such usual "metal prog" common places which make me feel that my righter evaluation should be "2 stars"), you can change idea after the first half of this album, whose definitive improvement is clear to all of us at the end of the concept only!! Recommended!!

I honestly have to admit that NEXUS won't ever come up with something more pure and exquisite than "Detrás del Umbral" was; but right after that masterpiece so infested of GENESIS and ELP, Mariela GONZÁLEZ and company amazed not only the latin prog world but the prog universe in general.

"Metanoia" is one of those lifetime experiences that happen just once and won't ever be obscured by any means. This album represents that cry of independence most bands dream of when they seize depending upon that "top prog bands" comparison; "Metanoia" is this compromise from within the band to their flourishing unique style.

With "Metanoia", NEXUS stablished those patterns of comparison to come for some other neo prog bands out there and will certainly be idealized as an icon for garage prog bands that given its time, will jump right into the prog world scene.

Despite Mariela's departure from NEXUS to line up as ATEMPO's new lead singer; her legacy, her courage, her spirit and her music made voice will remain the same no matter what; and will live through what we can listen to in "Metanoia".

The album "Metanoia" (2001) from the Argentine progrok formation NEXUS is one of the best progrock releases of the last five years! It's more mature and balanced than the debut CD "Detras del umbral". The sound on "Metanoia" is impressive with very lush and bombastic keyboards (with echoes from ELP and the Japanese progrock) and due to the more dominant guitarplay the sound of NEXUS often evokes IQ (the albums "Ever" and "Dark matter") but also early HACKETT solo and of course mid-GENESIS. The 24-carat symphonic rock compositions are compelling with lots of captivating changes of climate and splendid solos on keyboard (organ and synthesizers) and guitar. The powerful female Spanish vocals fit perfect to all atmospheres, what a great voice. In my opinion this album offers all the elements that makes symphonic rock so worth listening! Meanwhile vocalist Maria Gonzalez has left the band and early 2005 NEXUS will release their next album. Keyboardplayer Lalo Huber told me that it will contain a lot of Hammond, Mellotron and 'vintage synthesizers' and guest male singers. In my opinion that CD will go for the full five star award!

Very good band from Argentina! Nexus is an excellent surprise from south america and Matanoia keeps coming back to my CD player over and over. The main influence is quite obviously ELP (sometimes too obvious, though), plus some mid seventies Genesis and early King Crimson. But they have a sound of their own, which is fantastic. The vocals are very good and the recording production is top notch. The whole concept flows quite smoothly most of the time (specially the second half of the CD, clearly much more progressive and original). Carlos Lucena is a superb guitarrist and "headmaster" Lalo Huber is a creative keyboard virtuoso. If I haven't heard Arion's Tania Braz vocals before I got this CD I would consider Mariela Gonzalez the top female prog singer of the new millenium, at least in latin America. Yet, she is an outstanding singer on her own and I share the grief of the reviewers for her leaving the band after this CD. The rhythm section works very well and I should point out Daniel Tanniruberto's brillant bass playing.

Overall one of the great nice surprises I found this year. I still think Arion as the best latin America symphony prog band, but Nexus comes close. I'm looking forward to hear their first CD and hope they overcome the loss of their singer. Recommended. 3,5 stars.

When I think of this record, the first thing that comes to mind is organ play of Lalo Huber. I remember last winter playing this album in my truck really loud, and being so moved by the power of the keyboards and organ, just a wall of sound. I also have to mention the album cover and picures inside along with the lyrics, it's all so professionally and beautifully done.

The album opens sounding like FLOYD's "Echoes" before it blends into "Primal Scream" where the sounds build. This is dark and soon it's very powerful as the organ rips it up. Contrasts continue. Amazing tune ! "Metambo" is where we hear the strong female vocals for the first time. First though we get some incredible instrumental work. Check out the guitar and organ 4 1/2 minutes in. "Wounded Planet" kicks in beautifully around 30 seconds then settles again before kicking in for good. A powerful instrumental.

"Wake Up Inside A Dream(Metanoia Level 1)" is a 9 1/2 minute monster. Check out the organ work here. Lots of synths and the drums are fantastic as usual. Guitar starts to lead as vocals come in. Great drum work before 4 1/2 minutes, organ then lights it up, guitar follows suit. "Toward The Light" is laid back with vocals. "Metanoia (Metanoia Level 2)" absolutely smokes ! Killer guitar and organ, as well as some good bass playing. If that's not the best song then "In The Hand's Of God" is. This almost 16 minute song is divided into five parts, and it opens with lots of synths and chunky bass lines. Vocals come in, and later an extended guitar melody followed later by soaring guitar. "The Universal Nexus" features some great melodies and vocals. A gorgeous track. "So Close To The Fire (Metanoia Level 3)" has a good heavy beat with lots of keyboards and guitar. Vocals come in later. "Eternal Recurrence Zero" is really a reprise of the opening track.

I highly recommend this great band from Argentina, and i'm really looking forward to their next release.

So many years of patience were not only rewarded with a first official album by Nexus, but the Argentinians also participated in the Nearfest live in 2000, a performance caught live and released privately a couple of years later.In 2001 Nexus released their sophomore work ''Metanoia'', as things eventually seemed to be rolling.The new album was again a product of Record Runner.

With such a great impact worldwide Nexus shouldn't do anything more than moving on performing what they could do best: Powerful, bombastic Symphonic/Heavy Prog, led by the work of Lalo Huber on keyboards, the dynamic voice of Mariela Gonzales and the soaring guitars of Carlos Lucena.Again the arrangements are overfilled with the organ fanfares, the sharp synthesizers and the haunting piano of Huber in different-sounding movements, ranging from grandiose and almost operatic Symphonic Rock to Classical-driven Prog.Unbelievable pyrotechnics in the vein of E.L.P. come and go, leaving their place to more guitar-based themes with a few melodies added for good measure, while at moments the music of Nexus has some sort of Electronic Prog vibe.What doesn't really help the band is the lack of some more calming space, as all arrangements are pretty heavy with little smoother interruptions, otherwise we talk about quality keyboard-led Progressive Rock here with lots of shifting moods, impressive solos and dark groovy parts.

Not much to add.''Metanoia'' is another strong offering by Nexus, a little excessive at parts but nevertheless delicious for all keyboard-freaks out there.Recommended.

I went through a lot of effort and trouble to acquire this album. In the end the store where I usually buy my prog albums had to knock on Nexus' home door to get the album so to speak. What a progger has to do to get the hidden jewels in progworld ! But it was worth it fortunately because this predecessor of the great Perpetuum Karma appeared to be the (near)masterpiece I was hoping for. The album consists of 13 songs of very various lengths, measuring between 0:31 till 15:45 and just about everything in between. The result is a variegated album that still progresses fluently. Just about half of the songs are instrumenatl and the other half with a temperamental (at least that's the impression she makes) female singer. Let's see what each song brings.

1. Eternal Recurrence One (1:21) is a short instrumental with exactly the same sounds as in the start of Echoes by Pink Floyd. Coincidence ? It will have it's significance no doubt but musically it's not much of course. 2*.

2. Primal Scream (1:41) is when the characteristic Nexus Organ takes its turn for the first time. Much more impressive this (also short) instrumental. 3,5*.

3. Metambo (5:43) is the first real song and it makes you sit on the edge of your seat (fasten your seatbelts is more suitable probably). The lady (Mariela Gonzalez) is showing what she's made of. Great track. 4,5*.

4. Wounded Planet (3:02) is another instrumental with alternating triangle and guitar. Interesting. 3,5*.

5. Wake up inside a Dream (9:23) is another track with firing organ once again. Also the electric guitar plays a significant part. Mariela sings a bit more modest this time, lovely. 4,5*.

6. Towards the Light (5:04) is a more laid back track with acoustic guitar and easy keys and again a wonderful Mariela Gonzalez. It's a pity she left the band in the meantime. 4,25*.

7. Metanoia (7:47) is one of my very favourites amongst many great tracks. Probably this title track is the best example of what this album is about. The energy that comes off this one is simply captivating and contagious. Makes you long for more. 4,75*.

8. The World's Temptation (7:27) is there to cool down once again, splendid alternation. Mariela Gonzalez uses her voice in many different moods this time. Well done ! Also great guitar in this one. 4,25*.

9. In the Hands of God (15:45). Great epical track with dominant keyboards but also many vocal parts and varied speeds and moods within the song. Another true highlight. 4,5*.

10. The Message (0:31) is of course too short to be significant. 2,5*.

11. The Universal Nexus (5:13) features Mariela with a laid back voice again in a wonderful ballad. 4*.

12. So Close to the Fire (7:17) is a very fine song with nice keys and guitar. Magnificent melodic effort and needless to say great vocals. 4,5*.

13. Eternal Recurrence Zero (3:07) is again a track with the Echoes sounds but this time they last for the entire track. I still wonder, did Nexus steal or borrow them ? Always a nice effect of course. 3,25*.

The scores for each song say it all in fact. This is indeed a near masterpiece but that also means it (just) isn't. And so it also will not get that status where the rating is concerned. So four stars (4,25). Even though this album is very different from Perpetuum Karma they are just about equal in quality and significance. Both more than excellent additions to any prog music collection. Try to get your hands on them if you love melodic music !

Not every space-sounding drops falling to water have to be Pink Floyd, but I agree, that coincidence here is just too clear. Average rating of this album is 4.18 and even I don't look to it (and think about it before reviewing) too often, I have to agree. What else would be enough for album, whee there is a lot of ideas, which of course gets final star rating higher, but also some "fillers", which beats it down to the dust of no-innovation.

Argentina, so Spanish language I suppose, no offense to natives, but this language sounds to me just like Portugal (so biggest country there, Brazil), I as foreigner with no skill on languages (except little knowledge of my beloved English). This is underrated thing, but of course that human brain takes different languages differently, especially one which is not many-lingual (some people are used to use several languages, I'm not and I don't have to, because all I need is how to learn approach to languages. Yes, not only approach to prog genres (some are harder than others), but to language, which they're singing, because I some langs comes harder than others. And I think that it's not just my case, but nobody thinks about it much. Fortunately, this is quite pleasant to listen, so...).

And another thing, this is not so symphonic, or it is, but can be classified as symphonic prog with prog metal spare parts. Maybe term hard symphony would be sufficient, but I'm not too sure about it. And when listening to these tunes, I feel like I'm traveling through the history, too many influences here, intriguing melody, I can never guess where it's going.

4(+), rarity number one.

Argentina's top-tier prog-rockers put their cops on display with powerful singer, Mariela Gonzalez at the forefront. Though it took me a little time to get used to the tone, timbre, and style of Ms. Gonzalez's voice, it took only seconds to know that keyboard player Lalo Huber is a genius. I'm always surprised to read slams on his organ-dominated keyboard stylings cuz I have not heard a better keyboard-organist in the 21st Century. I am by no means an expert, but I know the organ as I grew up at the foot of my grandfather who had cathedral-type pipe organs in the homes in which he lived. I've heard "great" organ players in European cathedrals and American concert halls as well is in recorded music. The opening two songs on this album of almost 73 minutes of music are brief instrumentals which set up the first real song, "Metambo" (5:43) a hard-driving rocker that introduces Mariela's powerful voice. (9/10) This is followed by an instrumental very much in the more bombastic Genesis style "Planeta Herido" (3:02) (9/10). Then we have the first of the album's three suites, the fast-paced three-parted "Despertar Dentro De Un Sueño (Metanoia Nivel 1)" (9:23) (9/10) which is then followed by the awesome NIL/King Crimson-like, "Hacia del luz" (5:04) (10/10). The next two songs come in at over seven minutes each, the first, the hard-rocking instrumental "Metanoia (Metanoia Nivel 2)" (7:47) rocks big time, featuring more of the instrumental and compositional prowess of all the band members (though Lalo's keyboard wizardry certainly shines bright) (9/10). The second, "La Tentación Del Mundo" (7:27) (9/10) is a more slowly paced ballad that features a very emotional vocal from Mariela and some great guitar and organ playing. But these two strong pieces are overshadowed by the album's crown jewel: its second suite, "En las manos de Dios" (15:45) a sixteen minute epic that comes at you in five parts (10/10). This one is set up so majesterially, so maturely and methodically that one cannot help but recognize its masterpiece status--an achievement of the highest ranks of progressive rock. Not overly bombastic, paced so delicately as to fully display the wonderful subtleties and shifts, emotional nuances and instrumental flourishes. At least until the very ELP-influenced second section. This starts out very bombastically (you know how Keith was) but then reins itself into some disciplined structuring to support the solid soling of talented (but oft over-shadowed) guitarist Carlos Lucena. As a matter of fact, you might say that this is a song/suite that helps the listener to better appreciate each of the band members' individual instrumental talents--especially the multi-dimensional Lucena and Gonzalez. I love the lead guitar melody that is repeated over the church organ in the fourth section. The final section is as beautiful (in a Genesis kind of way) as it is its title seems to imply it should be ("Las manos de Dios"). The next full song is okay but a bit of a letdown after the great suite before it. (8/10) And the album's final suite, "Tan Cerca Del Fuego (Metanoia Nivel 3)" (7:17) continues the display of dynamic symphonic style with nice vocals from Mariela (9/10), while the last song on the album, "Eterna Recurrencia Cero" (3:07), is more of a gentle, almost out-of-place dream-scape. (8/10) All in all this is a magnum opus, a very polished, very demanding collection of songs (both performance-wise and for the listener) that puts on full display the sublime talents of one of the if not the best prog bands in the Southern Hemisphere.

Excellent

Nexus from Argentina is one hell of a great progressive rock band, they really knew how to make a sensational record to capture the auditorium. Metanoia is their second album issued in 2001 at Record Runner label and to me is a really great album from start to finish. This kind of prog rock I like to hear every day, from blistring guitar chops very good combined with the spacey iventive keybords made by Lalo Huber and above all a very powerfull and full of emotional female voice of Mariela Gonzalez , all what is happening on this second venture is top notch, one of the most pleaset albums coming from a latin country. Some fantastic pieces grace the album like Metambo, the lenghty Despertar Dentro De Un Sueño or the instrumetal Metanoia these tracks are absolutly killer, guitar and keyboards are excellent melted one to another not to mention the great voice. Very pleasent to listen album, I can't get enough even I know it by heart, own it for now more then 5-6 years, this Metanoia album really cooks all the time. Great complicated arrangements, where the instrumental sections are really intristing and has all the ingredients a band must have in this style of prog. From more symphonic moments to almost neo in some parts Nexus done it big time, music full of energy and outstanding passages. So, a very worthy album, 4 stars easy, very enjoyble and complex in same time, lots of moves and twisted parts that will make envy any serious band from prog rock zone. Excellent and recommended for sure, more then one hour of sensational music.