METANOIA

Finally the time has come to review what I consider to be the best prog record to come out from my country. First a little history for the ones unfamiliar with the band. Nexus is a symphonic prog band formed in the 70's in Argentina that didn't put out a studio album up until 1999, with the release of Detras Del Umbral (another jewel, but that's another story). They draw influences mainly from artists like Emerson Lake and Palmer and Yes, and up to Metanoia the singing duties were in charge of female vocalist Mariela Gonzalez. That being said, let's focus on this masterpiece.

Metanoia starts with Eterna Recurrencia Uno, which is a short intro very similar to the begining of Echoes by Pink Floyd.

Grito Primal follows, and here is when we start getting the picture of what we are about to experience, as Lalo Huber's synths make their magnificent entrance.

Metambo comes next. And this is really when the album kicks off. Some synth, bass lines and piano and...ladies and gentleman: the powerful voice of Mariela Gonzalez. One of the best female voices in prog in my opinion. This track is very upbeat almost all the way with a solid guitar solo in the middle part. A perfect starter.

Planeta Herido is a short instrumental guitar and synth driven track that serves as an introduction to the first mini epic on the album.

In Despertar Dentro De Un Sueño things start to get real proggy. It starts with the usual keyboards and synths madness, but then the entrance of Mariela's vocals change the musical tempo to a more laid back tone. Great choruses.Awesome instrumentation afterwards. Lalo Huber really shines on this one. Killer track.

Hacia La Luz is probably the softest track on the album. Again, Mariela Gonzalez' great vocal range is shown. A real contrast with tracks like Metambo, in which she sounds real fierce. Here it is quite the opposite. Angelical, hypnotizing vocals.

The title track is another stunning instrumental, where everything is on its right place, as usual. Synths dominating, pounding drums, nice guitar work. Nothing else worth adding. Great.

La Tentacion Del Mundo is another highlight (every track itself is a highlight on this album). Here we don't find those dazzling synths solos a la ELP. What we get instead is the chance to listen to Mariela, and the instrumentation accompanying her. On most of the other tracks this is backwards. Mariela serving as a great complement for the band. It's a tune that grows slowly on intensity. Really emotional.

En Las Manos De Dios is the beast of the album. Almost 15 minutes of pure prog pleasure divided in 5 parts containing everything that Nexus is about. Just listen to it. Any adjective falls short to explain this masterpiece.

El Mensaje is a short 30 seconds transition between tracks. Nothing else worth to comment.

El Nexo Universal is probably my less favourite track on the album (I can't say that is bad, because as I've said before, nothing on this record is such a thing). It's an ok ballad , but it can get a little monotonous.

Tan Cerca Del Fuego is like the sequel of Despertar Dentro De Un Sueño. Same structure, same everything.Some people say that second parts were never good. Well, this is definetely not the case. It works perfectly to round up a flawless album. In the end we can hear those initial sounds similar to Pink Floyd's echoes once again. This time blending with the last track on the album: Eterna Recurrencia Cero. Once again, brilliant.

Conclusions: Unluckily Mariela Gonzalez would leave the band after this record, and Nexus would go on and put another great effort, which was Perpetuum Karma. Still, it lacks some of the flavour that only she could put to this awesome band.

No symphonic prog lover should miss this album. If you never heard about this please stop reading this review and try to check it out. You won't regret it at all. This and Detras Del Umbral are absolute masterpieces of South American Prog.