EZEKIEL

Hailing from the Basque region of Spain, Itoiz' second album Ezekiel is, as the name implies, a concept album based on the Biblical stories about the prophet Ezekiel. Significantly, the band sing in the Basque language, taking advantage of the new freedoms Spain was enjoying after the recent fall of the fascist regime which had ruled it from the 1930s to the 1970s - under Franco, the different regions of Spain were discouraged from expressing aspects of local culture which were seen as affirming their differences with other regions of Spain, and the Basque language in particular was frowned on.

Itoiz exploit this opportunity to express their culture to the hilt, fusing Basque folk and progressive rock in a distinctive musical vision. Yet, at the same time, the prog side of the equation tends to let the side down from time to time: a tendency to be stuck in the past and plough furrows already exhausted both by folk prog bands outside Spain and Itoiz' flamenco rock contemporaries make the rock side of this folk-rock balance sound somewhat dated once you get past the novelty of the Basque lyrics.