ELFONÍA

Elfonia were formed in 2001 by female singer Marcela Bovio, keyboardist Alejandro Millan and guitarist Roberto Quintanilla after the disbanding of the group Hydra, where they played together.Started as a studio project, Elfonia gathered bassist Pablo Gonzalez and drummer Javier Garagarza in order to record their debut at the Caura Studio in their hometown Monterrey, Mexico.The recordings took place between November and December of 2002 and the album, simply entitled ''Elfonia'', was self-released in 2003.

The first few tracks are enough to fully capture Elfonia's highly atmospheric sound.Combining elements from Ambient Music, Heavy Rock and Progressive Rock, the band creates dreamy and deep images, based on Bovio's impressive, crystalline voice and the alternation between hypnotic themes and heavy, guitar-based passages.The tracks generally follow a very slow tempo in order to produce the most of their atmospheric approach.Careful use of pianos, synths and some sensitive guitar solos stand next to the more powerful riffs of Quintanilla's guitar and Bovio's warm voice, which become the leading figure on the more Ambient-sounding passages.At moments the overall style reminds me of the deep and unique delivery of Polish Prog bands in the vein of RIVERSIDE, DISPERSE, MILLENIUM or SATELLITE, that is a great production to go along with changes between background music themes and strong guitar-based textures with a highly talented singer, who dominates the sound.

Good debut by these Mexicans, who ended up creating a work along the lines of modern, atmospheric Progressive Rock.Warmly recommended.