EN EL COMIENZO DEL TOPOS URANOS

The band continues their streak of some big symphonic prog rock music dominated by the sweeping keyboards of Lalo Huber who define the special sound of Nexus with that special spacey "high note" on the keys giving a joyful atmosphere to the music. The man is carrying the melody dramatically like some old 70's bands of the past but in his unique way who must reflect his Argentina influence. The closer I can think is the music of Cast, but here in his instrumental version with a lot of piano and keyboards interplay. THe music can have his darker moment but it's always very short. "En El Tercer Planeta" is the first track where the guitar of Carlos Lucena is stealing the spot of Lalo with a nice break at the end with those captivating keyboards lines. "Huellos" is a beautiful exotic and acoustic guitar song well placed in the middle of the album. "El Color Que Cayo Del Cielo" is another great track and a change of mood. "Los Sacerdotes Malignos" present some interesting special effects and some effective melody lines again to close this nice album. Is this band can do a bad album? No, because the musicians have the talent for songwriting and if it's bombastic nature and heaviness can offend some prog rock fans, I am all for it.

Lalo Huber and company are back again with another collection of top notch prog songs in their hard-driving, dynamic symphonic style.

1. "El Ultimo Dia" (6:13) nice, tight performances and some okay melodies wasted on a song with too little substance or purpose. (7.5/10)

2. "La Casa Del Invierno" (5:18) nice neoclassical piano opening turns sappy, syrupy at 0:45. Guitar entry is welcomed and nice. Unfortunately, the syrupy melodies and feel continue. At 2:02 there is an awesome key change that opens the door for some nice synth-midi soloing before everything cuts out leaving a very spacious soundscape for the whispery voice of Roxana Truccolo. The instrumental section that follows sounds like pure CAMEL--even the key/chord changes. At 3:53 we're back to the instrumental chorus section--which builds into a very full (classical piano flourishes in the background!) soundscape before it all ends. (8.5/10)

3. "Un Cristal Bajo El Agua" (7:42) piano and Mellotron open this song briefly before a lively organ establishes a NEXUS sound. Things slow down as drums and bass keep pushing us forward while piano, guitar, and organ take turns soloing. Nothing so extraordinary yet. Begins to feel familiar like a circus chase scene soundtrack. Things slow down in a bombastic way in the fourth minute with wild synth soloing coming somewhat from the background (behind the drums and bass). The drumming drives me to distraction--I just can't enjoy the other instruments. (7.5/10)

4. "En El Tercer Planeta" (4:46) driving spy soundtrack theme opens and propels this one from the start. Various synths and electric guitar carry the melody and power over and above the rhythmatists. Dynamic shift in the third minute allows for an emotional electric guitar solo to shine. At 3:15 it really breaks down to basics with pounding piano and then chunky bass before gearing back up into third gear for an organ solo. Soloing synth takes us to the end. (8/10)

5. "Huellos" (2:49) Organ! Church organ! This is cool! But, no! Lalo fades into the void so that Carlos can do a classical piece on his acoustic's nylon strings. Very pretty but I would have loved to have heard more of Lalo's organ--with or without the guitar. (8.5/10)

6. "Soplo De Vida" (9:10) as in the third song of the album, this one opens up with guns firing at full speed. There's a bit of a RUSH-like sound and feel to the bass lines in this one. Meanwhile guitars and synths are screaming at and over one another for two minutes before there is a short break. We soon return to the speed limit, this time in an odd time signature as synths and guitars continue their trailblazing. At 3:30 we again switch time signatures until everything falls into a brief drum-and-bass-less lull (recharging their batteries, no doubt) before returning to the opening pace and cadence. This is really a masterfully constructed and performed piece of prog complexity. The true lull in the sixth minute has a kind of meditative, clandestine feel to it--as if we temporarily ran into a church for some peace and solace. As we break back out into the sun the hero feels depleted, as if the pace of the first two third has taken its toll and now, despite brief flourishes into action and adventure, the pace is much more proscribed, controlled, yet still steady, still driven. Excellent prog epic! (9/10)

- Bonus Tracks : 7. El Color Que Cayo Del Cielo (7:02) 8. Heliotropo (5:17) 9. Los Sacerdotes Malignos (7:24)

I'm not sure why the bonus tracks are separated in the credits even though they are included in the "total time" calculations, perhaps because the 36-minute body of the main six are a little shy of a full album. Still, the band has pulled it together again. But I have to admit, they're feeling a little old (especially in the drums but overall).

Four stars; a nice addition to prog world from some seasoned masters.

NEXUS are a band out of Argentina that I have had the pleasure of knowing for over ten years. Lalo Huber is the main man here playing a variety of keyboards including mellotron which I must say is more prominent on here then on any of their previous albums I have heard. It's mostly an instrumental affair with some guest female vocals on one track which are brief. Other than having several different bass players over the years the lineup has stayed very consistent. This album fits in nicely with some of my favourites from them like "Metanoia" from 2001 which is my favourite along with "Perpetuum Karma from 2006, and "Buenos Aires-Free Experience, Volumen 2" from 2007.

There's not many albums that I can actually remember a listening experience with but I still remember sitting in my vehicle listening to "Metanoia" in a parking lot and not wanting to get out to go into the store because I was being blown away by the powerful keyboard sounds. I'd say this album is my fourth favourite from them at this point but over time that may change. 4 stars regardless right now. Kind of strange that this band who usually puts out 70 minute albums created a record half that length but then added 3 bonus tracks to bring it up to around 56 minutes.

"El Ultimo Dia" opens in an incredible way with this powerful and haunting atmosphere but soon it's piano only before the drums and synths take over in this uptempo section. The guitar starts to solo before 2 minutes as the synths step back. Synths are back leading the way to the end and we get some mellotron before 3 minutes.

"La Casa Del Invierno" opens with piano only before the mellotron arrives creating atmosphere. Drums and synths after 1 1/2 minutes as the piano and mellotron continue. Guest female vocals before 3 minutes but they don't last long as the guitar arrives in this laid back section. Piano late to end it.

"Un Cristal Bajo El Agua" opens with piano but the mellotron joins in quickly. How good is the organ that follows. Drums and synths too then guitar. Man I love the mellotron in this one and the organ that brings RPI to my mind. It's more powerful 3 minutes in. This is good. Nice bass too. When it settles back after 4 1/2 minutes I'm thinking GENESIS with those synths at first but that changes quickly. More power before 5 1/2 minutes. So good!

"En El Tercer Planeta" opens with spacey synths but very quickly we get this driving rhythm with some killer drum work. Love those synths too. The bass is upfront as well. Great track! "Huellos" opens with what sounds like church organ but then acoustic guitar leads the rest of the way in this short and mellow song.

"Soplo De Vida" opens with synths and guitar before the tempo picks up with the drums joining in. Man I like the sound here. A good hard rocking start. Mellotron before 3 1/2 minutes. It settles around 6 minutes then it builds. Love the upfront bass and keyboards here.

The three bonus tracks are all really good and fit well with the rest of the songs so I'm not sure why they just weren't included as part of the original album but I'm glad they are on here.