III

"III" is, as the Latin number straightforwardly indicates, Eter-K's third effort, and ultimately, the album that officially confirmed its status as one of the most significant psychedelic rock bands in Lima's underground scene. The whole new repertoire is not too long in itself, slightly over the average duration of an EP (or equal to an old 70s vinyl, as you wish), but there is interesting bonus material in the shape of three videos: a video-clip for 'Volando Con Mihalis' and two live videos, one of them corresponding to a non-album track. So, what do we find here? Powerful art-rock shaped in a solid psychedelic progressive framework in which the band alternates passages focused on nuances with moments of electrifying glory, a mixture of rawness and finesse. In short, the very definition of what Eter-K is all about in its own particular environment. Lima's underground scene is dominated by post- punk, hardcore and Goth rock bands all over the place, growing under the radar of the mainstream: Eter-K is an island in the underground sea, an island of experimental progressive rock. 'Asesino De Brújulas' kicks off the album with a powerful 5/4 intro that shouts out its 80s-era Crimson influence, with the main body soon arriving and stating an effective dynamics where the subsequent tempo shifts come to their solid fruition. Regarding its mixture of power and artsy sophistication, it is hardly any wonder that a piece like this became a live favorite among Eter-K fans, but it is fair to say that after this opener's end there is still lots of room for great psychedelic prog rock in this album. 'Oscura Tensión' shows the band convincingly entering the heavy prog territory: Santos' solos stand somewhere between Fripp and Iommi as the rhythm duo stages a muscular foundation full of precision. Perhaps this track should have been a bit longer? mmm? Track 3 is entitled 'Días Verdes', and it is based on a further pursuit of the heavy prog scheme, to the point that it leans closer to the hardcore standard in many passages. The blues-rock coda is simply captivating, with its obvious Black Sabbath drive. 'Volando Con Mihalis' is the most defining Eter-K classic, an undeniable live staple in their concerts. With agile vibrations and sinister atmospheres equally manifested throughout its main body's expansions, the whole track delivers a robust mixture of keyboard-less Ozric Tentacles and Hawkwind-influenced jamming with Hillage-inspired nuances and shades of Sonic Youth properly added to the framework. Santos' guitar goes on flying in a psychedelic crescendo as the central jam wanders steadily until the fade-out. This studio rendition is a tad slower than the habitual live renditions: however, its space-rock idiosyncrasy is genuinely stated. The musical material's closure is incarnated in 'Luciérnagas Egocéntricas En La Oscuridad', another live staple. Bearing a similar mood to that of the previous track, its compositional structure is more related to the sophisticated drive we found earlier in the opener 'Asesino De Brújulas'. In this way, 'Luciérnagas' happens to work as a proper résumé of the band's artistic ideology. Among the visual bonus tracks, the new one is 'El Boulevarde De Toby y Balín', which is essentially a revision of good old hard rock (Zeppelin, Sabbath) augmented with psychedelic rock Eter-K style. As usual, Santos shines enormously whenever he plays his solos. Eter-K is some sort of "uncrowned institution" in the Peruvian underground rock scene: hopefully, a broader dissemination of their music will make them earn further appreciation from prog rock and art-rock lovers all over the world. As for "III", it is an excellent exhibition of psychedelic prog from Peru.