LÁQUESIS

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!