Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Kotebel - Omphalos CD (album) cover

OMPHALOS

Kotebel

 

Symphonic Prog

3.93 | 104 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
4 stars This is the new CD by the interesting Spanish formation Kotobel, it is their fourth studio effort since the debut album Structures from 1999.

1. Ra (11.30) : The first part is dreamy feturing flute and classical piano, then a very dynamic atmosphere with a propulsive rhythm, here Kotobel showcases their huge potential: fluent interplay between organ and guitar, sparkling flute work, soaring Mellotron, howling electric guitar and a fiery duel between flute and guitar. The most remarkable element in Kotobel their music on this CD is the opera-like female voice that sounds powerful with a wide range. It will not be everybody's cup of tea but to me the vocals sound as an extra dimension to the captivating Kotobel prog!

2. Excellent Meat (8.51) : The dynamic, often violent music with lots of heavy parts evokes early King Crimson, especially the fiery electric guitar and powerful drum beats, halfway interrupted by a mellow part with flute and acoustic guitar.

3-8. Pentacle's Suite (30.11) : In this half hour 'magnum opus' we can enjoy Kotobel at their best delivering great shifting moods, strong breaks, excellent interplay and exciting soli on several instruments. My highlights are a howling electric guitar solo in Mercury Pentacle, a wonderful classical intermezzo in Venus Pentacle (including piano and cello) and lots of changing climates in the alternating Mars Pentacle (swirling flute, powerful bass runs, a fat synthesizer sound and virtuosic interplay)

9. MetroMnemo (4.15) : A fluent rhythm with Fripperish guitar work and again many varied and captivating musical ideas.

10. Joropo (4.53) : A dynamic composition, from dreamy with flute and piano to a fluent rhythm with splendid interplay between flute and piano and a strong, flashy synthesizer solo.

11. Omphalos (6.57) : The final song is the titletrack, it starts mellow but gradually turns into more dynamic and bombastic, the vocals sound outstanding between the lush sound of the keyboards, flute and guitar, a great end!

This CD is a very captivating musical adventure, Kotobel prooves that 40 years after the birth of the progressive rock, bands are still able to make progressive rock in the true meaning of the word!

erik neuteboom | 4/5 |

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 KOTEBEL 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.