Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Guapo - Black Oni CD (album) cover

BLACK ONI

Guapo

 

RIO/Avant-Prog

4.03 | 95 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Progfan97402
Prog Reviewer
5 stars I am so blown away by this CD! I had found a used copy of this CD at a Eugene, Oregon record store for cheap. I couldn't believe I found a Guapo CD (Eugene isn't exactly a bastion of obscure prog in record stores, but they do appear out of the nowhere from time to time), and although I heard of them for a few years, this is my first try at them and I am ever so glad I did! Black Oni was their followup to Five Suns, and actually features the same lineup of bassist Matt Thompson, drummer Dave Smith, and keyboardist Daniel O'Sullivan. Matt Thompson is the brother of Andy Thompson, he of Litmus, and most importantly, the Planet Mellotron website. It should come as no surprise the Mellotron on this album is Andy's, since he is a Mellotron owner.

For those who want to play it safe, pretty much want to stay in the Marillion safety zone, you'll be running like hell listening to this! It's harsh, abrasive, with a doomy feel too it. Angular guitar riffs, heavily fuzzed bass, and lots of electric piano, and Mellotron on the fifth and final part. This is no doubt RIO. This stuff is heavily influenced by the more extreme King Crimson with the angular guitar riffs, Magma with the heavily fuzzed bass, and Univers Zero with that doomy feel overall. Also I noticed a bit of a Canterbury feel at times, whenever O'Sullivan uses some nice dreamy use of the electric piano, which really seems at odds with the noisy, often heavily distorted guitar and fuzz bass, but I love this approach, so I'm not complaining. This brand of prog is certainly not for everyone. But I love the intensity this group gives here, with some great drumming from Dave Smith too. At just 43 minutes, it's just right, so the music never overstays its welcome. For the average neo-prog fan, stay away, but for those who like the more extreme end of prog, you need this CD!

Progfan97402 | 5/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this GUAPO review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.