Be prepared for a dark ride, a very dark ride indeed, on the latest release from Spanish progressive rock act October Equus. From the creepy and bizarre visual imagery littered all over the nicely put together CD booklet, to the ominous King Crimson-meets-Present-meets-Univers Zero-meets-Henry Cow-meets-Terje Rypdal influenced music that you'll hear once you pop this one into your player, Saturnal proves to be a chilling yet highly enjoyable musical journey.
Calling the music of October Equus 'avant-garde' is pretty accurate, as they use a variety of instruments such as guitar, keyboards, sax, drums, bass, flute, and violin to create eerie soundscapes, thunderous passages of complete dissonance, and deadly mixes of almost free form jazz and chamber rock. It's atmospheric at times, gloomy, chaotic, dissonant, complex, and oddly enough, melodic in spots. If you are a fan of more song based, vocal oriented prog rock however, you might get frightened off by the bands dark instrumental style, which certainly won't be for everyone. Those who do appreciate a more avant-garde approach, and especially fans of RIO styled prog, will fall in love with what is on display here. Much of the music on Saturnal is constantly shifting and pulsating, going from tranquil to bombastic at the drop of a hat, with guitars, an array of keyboards (including Mellotron), sax, flute, and violin, all battling for supremacy, yet sounding cohesive at the same time.
Very good stuff here for the demanding and adventurous prog lover out there, and another fine release from the folks at AltrOck.
Track Listing
01 Estructuras primitivas en el crepúsculo
02 El furioso despertar del homúnculo neonato
03 Una mirada furtiva en la noche saturnal
04 Ingravidez
05 Llegó como un amanecer ardiente
06 Realidad ciega
07 Avanzando velozmente contra vientos lacerantes
08 Un mundo de sueños abstractos
09 No pudieron detener el silencio
10 Sutiles ecuaciones vivientes
11 Ella era invisible en la oscuridad
12 ¡abre los ojos
13 Último refugio
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