LÁQUESIS

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.

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