PANTA REI

One great thing of modern times is that we can find otherwise rare music in streaming services. That is the case with Panta Rei, a band that is largely unknown even between prog fans and now can be enjoyed by anyone easily.

It is also a great thing because their sole album is very enjoyable. It is one of those bands that you feel that could have made great things if they have remained together for more time, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Their debut has great songs played by great musicians, and it has that characteristic of many debut albums, where the bands are still trying to find their footing.

The first song, Five Steps, for example, is not representative of the album. It shows some good musicianship with busy bass lines and drum fills, but it is largely a straightforward rock song that was probably meant to be a single. Not bad, but could scare away prog fans that were looking for more.

Fortunately, the rest of the album is filled with gems. White Bells is a favorite of mine, starting folksy and ending jazzy. Then we have Five O' Clock Freak and The Knight, which are very similar in structure, although they are very different in sound. These two songs have many different changes in style, going through jazzy, bluesy, psychedelic, hard and even symphonic prog and a almost mandatory percusive solo on the later. Both songs are pretty good, and the highlight is the excellent guitar work. To finish, there is The Turk, which is shorter and has a bit of eastern influences and is the most psychedelic/space rock song of the album.

Unfortunately, this was the only album of the band, so we don't know if they would settle in one or two main styles or if they would keep throwing lots of things in the mix for each song (which is something original that pleases me). The production of the album was very good too, so I think it is worth listening from time to time, specially now that you don't need to chase rare records to enjoy this great album.