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Octopus - Bonsai CD (album) cover

BONSAI

Octopus

 

Progressive Metal

4.10 | 29 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Proglodita
5 stars Awesome.

I have to thank ProgArchives and Radio Futuro for let me discover this band, one more group among the whole scene which have been developing in Chile this decade. But Octopus is a highlight, not very known yet, but they have all the tools to become a leader band.

About "Bonsai", it's a complete masterpiece. Maybe at first I had a doubt whether giving it 4 or 5 stars, but as the months gone by, it is all so clear, and the 5 stars are here for this masterpiece. "Bonsai" is full of heavy guitar-based sound, in the way of OPETH and some DREAM THEATER, and with rhythm changes from beginning to end. The song 'Bonsai', in fact, is the most rhythmic (or normal) one, starting in 4/4 and keeping that signature for a few minutes, with some 5/4 too. But I'd say, if there's something opposite to the classic 4/4, it is this album. And so, we come to the musicians, with the ability to play what they play. That's not a big surprise considering that the four of them are from the Pro Jazz Academy. Both guitarist alternate in the solos, some of them are improvised, and Cristóbal Orozco makes an amazing job in the drums, a key factor in the chaotic rhythms in some passages.

Getting into more details, I'm going to say something about each song:

Algo Medio: Starts with a heavy riff quite difficult to follow, and that's because the guitars are playing in 4/4 while the cymbal is marking a 7/4. A dynamic song, sounding like SATRIANI in some solos ("Surfing with the Alien".), and just a couple of minutes later remembering the heaviest OPETH's "Deliverance".

Ruka Pillán: One of the highlights (and a good closer for the shows, just like the first one I attended), from the beginning playing with the times. There are a couple of very OPETH moments.

Seudo Groove: A little calmer than the previous ones, very dynamic too, with some jazzy backgrounds, even like bossa nova.

ON/CD: Starts with a drum solo while the guitar plays a riff. A heavy song, DREAM THEATER like, especially when the voices appear. It's amazing that break at the 3th minute; very confusing and dark. The title, pronounced "Once de", makes sense with the voices speaking of the 11/9 in the USA and the 11/3 in Spain.

Catarsis: After that brutal first half, here comes a breath. A mellow song, a la TRYO, with cellos and stuffs. The clean guitar comes to mind the 80's KING CRIMSON.

Bipolar: A good name for this song. It moves between heavy riffs, melodic distorted guitars and mellow, sort of bluesy sections. OPETH again appears like an important influence. There are some voices declaiming poetry, and one of those voices is Pablo Neruda. Another voice says "me encuentro en un desastroso estado mental". A bipolar song.

Viento Sur: Starts with clean guitars in some kind of cumbia, or rumba, following with the crazy-heavy-distorted-guitar section. It has an intermission with voices where again is Neruda speaking. Beautiful verse that "Entre morir y no morir, me decidí por la guitarra" (among dying and not dying, I decided by the guitar). The song close with the same section that the opening.

Bonsai: The song is divided in three clear parts. The first one is a heavy segment, with some pinched harmonics, just like through the entire album. At moments it sounds like 'El Señor de las Profundidades' by ALEJANDRO SILVA. The second part goes with clean guitars and some voices again (and again Neruda), and a section definitely dedicated to Robert Fripp and the 80's KING CRIMSON. The last part gets even heavier than the first one, with some chaotic rhythms. It ends with a 2 minute section in 15/4 (or something like that).

So, what do we have here? A great band from Chile, very skilled musicians, full of ideas, and a must have album for prog metal lovers and for all who love to break the standards of music. It has similarities with DREAM THEATER and OPETH, with 80's KING CRIMSON at some moments, but the core of the music is all original, far from a copy of any type.

My highlights? Just the half of the album: 'Ruka Pillán', 'Seudo Groove', 'ON/CD' and 'Bonsai'.

I wrote a lot, but if you buy it, it's easier to understand.

Proglodita | 5/5 |

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