LÁQUESIS

Another good Argentinian band

Last Christmas we received the suggestion of the this Argentinean band from the pleasant Rosario, as soon as we heard their self-titled debut, it was obvious for us that they should be in Prog Archives, but again the question was where, because they are not the typical Symphonic band with Classical or Baroque structure and a lot of solos. LAQUESIS blends different styles, genres and moods to create a fresh and eclectic sound rooted in the tradition of Argentinean Symphonic but much more aggressive.

The album is opened by Efecto Placebo (Placebo Effect) and it's sung in English, what is normally a problem in Latin American bands due to the strong accent, but this guys whisper the words in a way that reminds me of SERU GIRAM, with a heavy edge. Unlike most young bands who try to demonstrate their full potential from the first track, the Argentinean band plays with the changes creating soft and gradual transitions, with a nice vocal work. The keyboards are delightful, but the rhythm section impressed me more.

Tema X (X Theme) captures the listener from the start with a jazzy intro where the guitar and drums interplay brilliantly and are enhanced by lush organ passages and Moog reminiscent of ELP. Not the traditional Symphonic we are used to, but it's fluid and full of strength. Around the 2.50 mark, the music changes radically to enter more into Symphonic territory with a killer guitar solo.

Hamacamatic organ intro reminds clearly of KANSAS (Carry on my Wayward Son), but then it gets far more elaborate and eclectic blending itself with some form of Latin Jazz. Even when the song has nice piano and guitar solos, they keep visiting that initial organ passage making variations on the same theme. Very interesting structure.

Puestas de Sol (Sunsets) is a beautiful melodic piano based track that offers us a complete palette of styles that go from soft and romantic to frenetic and complex, surely one of the best expressions of modern Symphonic I hear in the last year. The guitar solo is powerful and addictive.

When I was expecting more powerful and heavy material LAQUESIS caught me by surprise with Lemuria, a soft melodic track with Italian Symphonic influence in the most pristine style of bands like PABLO EL ENTERRADOR or LA MAQUINA DE HACER PÁJAROS, but gets better, because after four minutes they offer us one of most impressive Mellotron and organ display, at this point the best song from the album and even better because Ariel Loza sings in Spanish, a language he's obviously comfortable with.

Laquesis ends the album with Las Moiras (Suite) a 16:05 mythological epic divided in four parts (Laquesis, Cloto, Átropos and Requiem, a song that I won't even try to describe, because words can only ruin the listening experience for an audience avid of complex material rooted in the 70's but with a modern twist. But I can say it's the perfect closure for a very good album.

Even though I enjoyed Laquesis from the first to the last note, it's obvious we are before a new band with a great debut, so won't rate it with s stars, but It's also evident for ma that this guys can offer us even better releases in a near future, so I will go with four solid stars, hoping they will give us a complete masterpiece soon.

Well, it would be a bit short-sighted to say that LAQUESIS is a new band arriving on the progressive rock scene. This quintet from Rosario/Argentina is existing for some years anyway, continuously refining and maturing their song material. In 2013 they finally felt it was about time to close this process up and to officially release their elaborations. This eponymous debut outing offers a fine blend of heavy and symphonic ingredients, with the emphasis on tricky compositions. Vocals - though Martin Puntonet is equppied with a proper singing voice - are not very present, which surprises in some way.

Efecto Placebo turns out to be a really strong opener, keyboarder Diego Actis works some Supertramp reminiscence in here. And in fact the diversified keyboard job is the band's trademark first of all, while perfectly corresponding with Guillermo Caminer's guitar appearance. The following songs, starting with Terra X, are instrumental, melodic, tricky, partially balladesque, partially groovy, comprising all the beloved ingredients which compose an excellent progressive rock production. On Lemuria vocals return again. this time in Spanish and the extended Las Moiras suite is consisting of four parts, showing some classical background.

As for my sentiment LAQUESIS have produced a really elaborated album, their patience was worth while. This is technically flawless,.featuring very melodic songs and vocals alternating in English and Spain. Though appearing a bit heaver overall, especially fans of Karmakanic or The Flower Kings will enjoy this album, I'm quite sure. Definitely a highlight and a big recommendation to prog purists, you shouldn't miss that.

Music is an endless beauty. No matter how many horrible pop or even rock bands appear in the scene, there will always be musicians whose talent, discipline and creativity keep music safe and sound from those evil moneymakers. We all know progressive rock is not a true profitable job, however, we have to thank the bands that continue making music in this scene in spite of the minimum support they receive.

But I will not support a band just because of the fact they make prog rock, no, I support them because they create good prog rock, and this is the case of Argentinean band Láquesis, whose bass player Ariel Loza has been keen on social media spreading the word, and the band caught my attention so I wanted to listen to the whole CD, which is very good.

This is the first album of this band, whose music is a nice mixture of symphonic rock with heavy prog hints, sometimes with a fresh 00s sound, but with undeniable 70s roots in some passages. The album contains 10 tracks that will give you over an hour of great progressive rock. It opens with "Efecto Placebo", a nice introductory track that let us know that they prefer the English language. The music is very cool, with changes in rhythm and emotion, the voice is great, sometimes with a heavy feeling close to a metal one. The bass lines are really fresh, and the nuances made by keyboards are great,

"Tema X" is a wonderful track, I like the first minutes with first class instrumental music that has some delicious tunes of prog rock, with some funky touches that together create a sound full of cadence. Each musician puts its grain of sand, so them all are equally important to Láquesis music, and that can be actually heard while the seconds pass. This is one of my favorite songs of the album.

Every time I listen to "Hamacamatic" I cannot help but remembering Kansas "Carry on?" song, the guitar sound is alike so it is funny to have that reminiscence. I love how the band puts different figures every minute, so the music is not plain, in spite the rhythm could be he same for minutes, they always have something new to bring. This is another nice instrumental track, it is a nice mixture of A.C.T. meets Kansas.

"Puestas de sol" is literally the longest track here (though later will come a suite divided in tracks), its 12 minutes give us a nice rollercoaster of sounds and feelings. First we can listen to a soft and calm introduction, mid-tempo drums and a beautiful guitar sound, and after 2:30 minutes explosive keyboards appear like a bomb, but it lasts only some seconds before the calm returns. Later the music changes again, a new structure begins, a beautiful mellotron enters and give more beauty to the music, which is led by great guitars and supported by a solid bass and drums base. The song has different changes, but it is always interesting, so it is like a book divided in chapters that let your imagination fly. Excellent!

"Lemuria" surprised me because the lyrics return but now in Spanish, I thought they would sing all in English, but it is always great to listen the bands in their native language. The music is pastoral, calm, melodic, with a beautiful keyboard background while acoustic guitar brings that calm and mellow sound, accompanied by a good voice. The second part of the song is rockier, with some Crimsonian nuances and those keyboards that in moments remind me of Ayreon. A nice and fresh musical trip here!

Finally, "Las Moiras" bring the last 16 minutes of the album. This is a long song divided in four parts, each one with a title. The first one is "Láquesis", a heavy prog oriented instrumental track, fast tempo and cool musicianship here. "Cloto" is a cool part that brings happiness. The moment where keyboards appear make me feel great, it is like a moment for scream and run and be happy in the life. The sound reminded me of Willowglass, so that symphonic touch is always present. The bass sound is also beautiful, mostly in the last minute of the song.

"Atropos" starts with a bombastic keyboard sound in the league of Anglagard; seconds later a rocky guitar appears while drums mark the rhythm and bass accompany with its constant lines. The song simply flows, you just have to let your ears and soul fly. And the last one is "Requiem", a short piece with keyboards that produce a classical music oriented sound at least for the first minute. Later it changes, a darker sound appears, bass, drums, guitar and keyboards make together a tense moment. But guess what, the last minute changes again, so they surprise us with a great metal ending, full of power and energy. A great way to finish this album.

I am happy with Láquesis, a new band whose debut solid album make me feel completely satisfied. So if you have the chance, please listen to them and buy their music, so they can delight us with a second album soon. My final grade will be 4 solid stars.

Enjoy it!

One album and group from 2013 that well and truly slipped under the radar of many progressive rock fans was Argentinean band Láquesis and their debut self-titled work. Predominantly instrumental, the band deliver a thrilling symphonic prog masterwork performed with supreme musical taste and technical skill, perfectly bridging the sophistication of vintage sounds with some welcome heavy modern styles. The music is frequently driven by guitarist Guillermo Caminer, playing with a power not unlike that heard on the albums by Pendragon, and by the keyboards of Diego Actis, who delivers a rich and lavish sound throughout the disc, and despite plenty of epic drama, there's also a joyful and frequently uplifting quality to Láquesis' music that ensures symphonic fans will be in heaven.

Looking at the vocal pieces first, opener `Efecto Placebo' is not unlike moderns bands such as Aisles that mix strong vocal melodies with a dizzying array of prog-rock styles. It's mostly powered by heavy and brooding guitars, but despite one or two moments where the English vocals get a little awkward, Martin Puntonet's voice is actually full of confidence and true emotion. After a run of instrumental pieces, fifth track `Lemuria' starts as a gently melancholic folk ballad with acoustic guitar, weeping Mellotron flute, fragile piano and soft synth orchestration, but the Spanish vocals here, provided by bass player Ariel Loza, have a better flow and passion than the English ones on the opening track.

But it's the purely instrumental numbers that form the bulk of the album where the band and their musical talents are best displayed. The amount of instrumental sounds the band moves through starting during `Tema X', `Hamacamatic' and `Puestas de Sol' will make many other bands enviable. Late-night jazzy ruminations, slow-burn bluesy diversions, harder rock moments and classic grandiosity all seamlessly weave together, calmer serene passages with bombastic outbursts by way of a dizzying array of tempo changes expertly controlled by the powerhouse drumming of Martin Teglia. The keyboards especially are exquisite - ambient gentle synth washes, creeping gothic piano, spiralling Moog soloing and Hammond organ fire just a few examples. Ariel Loza's fluid bass slinks away in the background, always mixed loud and clear without ever intruding. Guillermo's guitars are full of epic and grand power . They'll be funky and grooving one second, heavy and blasting the next, but always atmospheric and burning with real soul, and they frequently convey a smouldering David Gilmour or Nick Barrett feel, which not many players can pull off so well. Throughout these pieces (and the whole album really), the band displays such control, that although they feature a wide variety of sounds and styles, they never come across as disjointed, instead perfectly flowing and transitioning together.

The album then delivers a four-part sixteen minute instrumental `Las Moiras' suite, bringing together all the skills displayed on the previous tracks to even great effect. A mix of vintage and modern flavours, it starts with a heavy metal driving guitar passage with suitably punchy drumming and break-neck nimble synth soloing that comes across like a mix of Neal Morse/Spock's Beard with the brooding outbursts of the Porcupine Tree albums from their final couple of years, and perhaps even a more varied take on Dream Theater's signature sound. The second movement begins as a pretty piano and acoustic guitar lament, before leaping into a jangly and adorable classic early 70's Genesis Moog whirl with a reflective fretless bass finale! In less than four minutes, the third movement darts through attacking heavy snarling guitar riffs and attacking drumming, delirious upbeat synth soloing with warm Hammond organ ripples and dreamy Pink Floyd mellow moments, and even a little space-rock mystery. The final fourth passage is a darkly dramatic orchestrated synth epilogue full of class and tasteful grandness with an uneasy tension.

2013-14 has offered several sublime symphonic and instrumental albums - Trion's `Funfair Fantasy', Willowglass' `The Dream Harbour', Phoenix Again's `Look Out' and the Mad Fellaz debut instantly come to mind, and this album can justifiably be placed alongside those examples. With so many selections of progressive related music to choose from in the modern era, the poorer and less interesting acts fall aside, but those that stand tall and proud with great music truly shine, and this is certainly the case with Láquesis and this album. Mark them down as a band to keep an eye on, and fans of progressive music in a proudly symphonic style should look into this band and their album right away, as it's one of the best modern symphonic releases of the last few years.

Four stars.