OTRA DIMENSIÓN

For those who are not familiar, Ekos are a Mexican prog rock band that started as a Pink Floyd tribute-band, but to our senses' luck, decided to create their original material at the end of the last decade, so then 2012 saw the "birth" of their debut album, a magnificent record in which the floydian reminiscences are evident, but their own sound started to be built up. It was 2015 when a new drummer joined the band, the talented Carlos Clériga, and since then they had worked really hard giving shows and creating new music.

All that effort has been rewarded with the recent release of "Otra Dimensión", their new album and one of my favorite 2017 releases so far, so it was worth the wait because Ekos took their time in order to give us a conceptual album, a masterpiece that I am happy to review right now, so I hope to light on some of my readers' interest and why not, persuade them to get a copy of it. What we will find here is an 11-track record with a total time of 47 in which we can appreciate spacey atmospheres, floydian nuances, some metal passages and also Wilson-like moments that all together flow perfectly, giving us (or me, at least) a wonderful listening experience that is amazingly complemented by its spiritual concept that talks about that other dimension.

It all starts with "Merkaba", an atmospheric introduction that takes us to space, one can feel embraced by that cosmic sound and get ready to begin the journey. "Gravedad" is a beautiful song in which we can finally appreciate the talent of the four members, first the drums open the gates, then a Gilmour-ish guitar appear, keys produce infinite textures and the bass always giving great lines. This song is instrumental but its sound is very emotional, beautiful, I repeat. What I love of this album is that it perfectly flows, you might find it difficult to perceive when one song finishes and the next one starts, at least this might happen to you with your first listen. I mentioned this because it did happen to me, and then I suddenly realized that I was already listening to "Avatar Pt. 1", another amazing song that has a soft and delicate sound, and the first one to feature vocals. Jesús Torres (guitar) is the main voice of Ekos, but also Ana Camelo (keys) helps with backing vocals, I would like to mention that they have improved their singing, they might not be true singers but I believe they have done a great job here.

The last seconds of "Avatar Pt. 1" show more energy and it opens the doors to "Sublimatio", an instrumental track that starts with an evident Wilsonian passage (he is one of their influences) and that brings moments of great energy with some chaotic keyboards and a masterful bass work by Víctor Juárez. This is a song I like a lot because it really transports me to another dimension. When the intensity decreases and a piano starts, we are already listening to "Astralis" in which lyrics return. In spite of that calmed introduction, this song is as intense as the previous one, with some chaotic passages produced mainly by keyboards and perfectly complemented by strings and drums. I repeat, I love how this album flows, so when vocals appear again a brand new song is being played, "Avatar Pt. 2", a short combo of spacey and relaxing atmospheres. With this song the first part of the album finishes and we can notice that because there is a short moment of silence after 25 minutes of non-stop music.

The second part starts with the mighty "Orillas del tiempo Pt. 1" which I praise as my clear favorite song of this album. It has again an atmospheric background accompanied by repetitive vocals but then at minute 2 we can feel lucky to witness a truly superb guitar solo, Jesus Torres is a giant, he really makes us feel his guitar and we can easily notice his passion for this instrument. Wow, what a song! This song leads to "Invocation", here Ana provides the main vocals while Jesús helps with the backing ones. The lyrics here talk about the supernatural, which is very interesting because if you understand them, the concept will actually embrace you. After 3 minutes there is a great instrumental passage that provides slow and fast, fast and slow moments where the four musicians show their connection, they are friends and bandmates, and that can be noticed with the good work. "Espejo" is another relaxing track, one can take a deep breath and feel the music's charm while the lyrics tell you about time and eternity. The last part is a bit heavier, they also love some prog metal bands and we can also notice those influences in some of the album's passages.

"Orillas del Tiempo Pt. 2" is a melancholic track that warn us about the journey's end, we can really feel it is coming to an end, you won't let me lie when you listen to it. Its last moments are much heavier and we can see how hard the drums sound so the band together make a wonderful solid combo. The album finishes with "Otra Dimensión", which happens to be the shortest track and the one that says goodbye, a piano-oriented track that keeps the door open to moments of introspection and search for answers. A beautiful album by Ekos, please give it a listen, you won't regret.

Enjoy it!