INSTINTO

Freedom and instinct, two concepts we all should embrace!

Ekos has become one of the most amazing Mexican prog bands this millennium, fortunately, people around the globe are aware of their talent so their music can reach ears of different cultures, and the reason is simple: their music is extraordinary.

Years of hard work have rewarded the band with the release of three wonderful albums; three different works that explore diverse paths not only regarding the sound, but also the musician's minds and the context that have surrounded them, as persons, and as a whole. Though their music could be labelled as progressive rock, progressive metal, and maybe due to their early influences, as psych/space rock, one thing I love from Ekos is that they don't have boundaries, they play what they want, they follow their instinct, and that is something we should applaud and appreciate.

For this third and newest album entitled 'Instinto', Ekos wanted to make 2020 a big year, but for conjunctural reasons their plans have been kind of stuck and the promotion of this album has not reached the level they wanted to. This is when us, the fans and reviewers enter, because it is important that we can spread the word and help those talented minds that simply deserve the best.

So be prepared because this new album has some big surprises.

It opens with 'Vuelve a mirar', a song that was a single and now is truly loved by their fans. Here, Ana has a main job because she amazes us (as usual) with her keyboard playing, but also she is the one who sings it. Since this first track we realize there will be aspects that make difference from the previous albums, the vocal balance between Ana and Jes's is one of them. Musically this song is flawless, all four members are studied people and we can notice it while listening to it, all of them add different figures and nuances, even different emotions, which is why we can also find a mixture of sounds and genres, I mean, here we listen to rock, prog, metal and even electronic. Victor's bass has some amazing notes here, as in the rest of the album, which is one of the things I would like to highlight, I think his bass sound was given much more relevance in this record. Thumbs up for that.

'Fiel Obsesi'n' is a shorter track that has that nice vocal balance I mentioned above, here Jes's starts but later Ana join forces. The music is evidently different from what Ekos have offered in the previous albums; in Mexico (and Latin-America) there is a musical concept 'or genre? named Rock en Tu Idioma (rock in Spanish), of course we all in this side of the world are aware of it and have some influences, and those influences can be clearly noticed in this song, that has hints of some bands such as Caifanes or even Soda Stereo.

This change on their musical direction is one of those surprises that come with this album, all is a matter of tastes, because some people would prefer the 100% proggy Ekos rather than this one, but others, thank the band expands their horizon and do what they want to do. Another example of this new phase is 'Mi vida sin ti' which starts with piano and electronic drumkit, putting a somber but melancholic sound on it has hints of a heavier piece due to the introduction of strings. However, the calm prevails and then female vocals enter so a new structure is being built up; different nuances and emotions are spread on this track.

Well, now we are talking. 'Creando Vac'os' might be the best song the band has ever created, it is a 14-minute masterpiece and believe me, they have released gems such as 'Apocalipsis', 'Obscuridad' or 'Orillas del Tiempo', but this track is like OMG, please don't end, please extend to 20 or 30 or 40 minutes because you are beast, a god, an astonishing being. With this song of course the prog rock label is back, and that is one of the peculiar aspects of this album, that it is not a truly prog one, but their best prog song ever was delivered here. As you can imagine, this song is divided in different passages. It starts with a rock-ish and heavy sound, but just before reaching the second minute, it slows down and provides a calm sound with beautiful lyrics sung by Jes's, and a spacey background made by Ana.

Worth mentioning that Carlos' drums are incredible in every apex of not only this song, but the album. At minute four there is a chaotic passage that later is enchanted by a majestic keyboard solo that could perfectly fit in any Ayreon album. But this beauty of course doesn't ends there, because the next passages are also amazing. Hidden vocals here and there, hypnotic guitar notes and heavy drums put their grain of sand in this journey, just before an extraordinary bass solo enters to blow our minds. Wow, what I described is only half the track, your homework is to discover its whole beauty, because it is really an amazing gem.

Curiously enough, the next song is a contrast to what we just experienced. 'En-contraste' is a short acoustic song that has a 90's feeling, to my mind came firstly names of some alternative rock or even grunge bands, but then some latin bands that sing in Spanish also appeared. The song is very nice, yeah, but after that bombastic 14- minute track, I felt it like a cold water bucket, in spite of that Floydian reminiscence it also has.

The album finishes with 'Mi 'ltima voz' and it follows a little bit that melancholic sound of its acoustic predecessor. The Floydian essence is still there somehow, you will noticed it by the guitar sound and even the atmosphere; but what prevails the most is the new path Ekos wanted to take, and I want to congratulated them for that. They are friends and understand each other, they have grown up as musicians, and it can be perceived with their music here, which I repeat, is surrounded by their freedom, by ther instinct, and of course, by their love.

Enjoy it!

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