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ELFONÍA

Elfonía

Prog Folk


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Elfonía Elfonía album cover
3.70 | 36 ratings | 12 reviews | 11% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2003

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Eldalindalë (4:48)
2. Nuestro Descanso (4:05)
3. Aura (4:07)
4. Drama (3:44)
5. Dentro (4:16)
6. Modos Humanos (4:25)
7. Hatshepsut (4:54)
8. Añoranza (4:05)
9. La Vida Que Emana (0:59)
10. De Todas Mis Heridas (4:00)
11. Alma Infinita (6:09)
12. [untitled] (1:38)

Total Time 47:10

Line-up / Musicians

- Marcela Bovio / vocals, violin
- Roberto Quintanilla / guitar, sitar
- Alejandro Millán / keyboards, acoustic guitar
- Pablo González / bass, sitar
- Javier Garagarza / drums

Releases information

Artwork: Diana Bovio

CD self-released (2003, Mexico)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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ELFONÍA Elfonía ratings distribution


3.70
(36 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(11%)
11%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(47%)
47%
Good, but non-essential (39%)
39%
Collectors/fans only (3%)
3%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

ELFONÍA Elfonía reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I was very impressed by this album, though it's music is not very "progressive" or complicated. It may be questionable to which genre this band (or release) should be labeled, but ELFONIA has done a great and moody album which aroused big emotions, and that's pretty much enough for me. It's nice that they have done the singing with their own language, and their metal relations are limited to distorted guitars, so there's not any fast drumming sequences or such included. I also respect that they have done this as a private pressing! Highly recommended, especially if you are fond of music with lady singers!
Review by memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This is nowadays one of the best Mexican bands of progressive rock, Elfonia is a mix of Metal , Folk and i can say Art Rock, Marcela Bovio is the singer, and she has the most beautiful mexican voice, she has also worked with Arjen Lucassen in Ayreon´s The Human Equation and last year she and Keyboardist Alejandro Millan worked with Stream of Passion. Talking about this album, i love it, i found it very emotional, it doesnt have the most progressive sound , but its quite enough for me, here we can listen to Violin sounds and a bit of sitar, the songs are in the 4 minutes average, and i will say that this is a great debut album because the emotion , the lyrics and of course the music is really good, Modos Humanos and De Todas mis Heridas are specially beautiful songs. But i will reccomend it for all of you, give a chance to Elfonia! Of Course, this isnt a masterpiece, that is why im going to give it 4 stars.
Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Mexican bands aren't that many to be featured on PA. If you ever have read one of my reviews, you might know that Mexico is my second home (my wife being Mexican) and that I am probably biased with works coming out from this country. But there aren't plenty of bands coming out from this country

It is amazing that several "prog-folk" bands are vocally lead by a female singer. I put the genre into brackets because IMHHO, this album sounds a lot more symphonic as folk, at least during the first three numbers. Grandeur, bombastic style, invading keys are not typical of any folkish style of music. A casting mistake ? Probably.

Several acoustic songs are featured and might have lead this band to be categorized into this genre. But acoustic does not mean prog. Does it? If you take "Drama" for instance. Not an inch of prog here. Just a dull song with poor vocals. But their lead singer, Marcela Bovio, is not holding the role in here.

She will be in full command on the wonderful "Dentro" (Inside). A powerful song with loads of keys and great guitar work. The best of this album is "Modos Humanos". Fantastic and so emotional vocals, powerful backing band (especially the guitar work). The structure of this song is just great. The highlight from this good album..

In terms of powerful and bombastic tracks, I believe that "Hatchepsut" is by far the winner. A female "vocals" couldn't be more appropriate to perpetrate the memory of this Egyptian queen.

The band fully remains in the pure symphonic style wit "Añoranza". There are definite similarities with "Watcher" from whom you might know. Not the intro of this fantastic song, but more on the closure side. This is a wonderful piece of music. Guitar work is gorgeous and fully symphonic. As during "Hatchepsut", the work of Marcela is limited (only some choir at the end of each song) but so beautiful...

"De Todas Mis Heridas" (from all my wounds) is a "Mostly Autumn" clone. Passionate vocals and nice violins. This song is another highlight. This very good symphonic album closes on "Alma Infinita" ("infinite soul"). Fully atmospheric and featuring a great vocal performance. A great way to close this work.

Seven out of ten; upgraded to four stars snce it isn't yet available to get the half stars rating. So, let's keep with the imprecision.

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars An absolutely gorgeous album. I make no bones about the fact that Marcela along with Anneke are my two favourite female singers. And I do prefer the band she's with now called STREAM OF PASSION where she can really stretch out vocally, plus I really like their style(Prog-Metal) of music more. Having said all that I can't recommend this record high enough. This far out-shines ELFONIA's follow up called "Sonic Landscape" in my opinion.

The first couple of tracks are slower paced and really put the focus on Marcela's vocals. "Eldalindale" features warm synths with vocals after a minute. Drums and a fuller sound after 2 1/2 minutes as Marcela sings with more passion. This contrast continues. Love the guitar before 4 minutes. "Nuestro Descanso" opens with intricate guitar and reserved vocals. She really impresses vocally to end it. She sings in Spanish throughout this album by the way. "Avra" is the first song to have some power in it. It's such an awesome combination of her voice and some heaviness. That's why STREAM OF PASSION works so well. Excellent guitar solo before 3 1/2 minutes. "Drama" is the only song with male vocals. This one is a mellow folk song with the acoustic guitar and male vocals leading the way. "Dentro" opens with piano and Marcela.There are some fairly heavy passages in this one. A tasteful guitar solo before 3 1/2 minutes. "Modos Humanos" opens with bass as vocals then almost angular guitar come in. Solid drumming as well, but it's her voice that really moves me. Great tune.

"Hatshepsut" opens with tribal drumming and some darkness. Synths come in.The drumming and percussion are a highlight. Violin after 2 minutes. The vocal melodies after 3 1/2 minutes are beyond words. "Anoranza" opens with waves of synths not too unlike IONA. Vocal melodies join in that make me think that heaven must sound like this. Beautiful soundscape. Latimer-like guitar after 2 minutes is so emotional. This is my favourite song on here. "La Vida Que Emana" is a short piano piece. "De Todas Mis Heridas" features more synths,but they are replaced quickly by an uptempo melody with vocals. It ends as it began. "Alma Infinita" opens with cymbals and synths. The drumming is solid throughout. Then vocals with bass and drums form a melody that sounds great. Amazing vocals on this one. A nice bass solo ends 4 1/2 minutes in then the drummer puts on a display as the sound becomes more powerful.

As of right now this is my favourite record from Mexico. Just a delight from beginning to end.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Elfonia were formed in 2001 by female singer Marcela Bovio, keyboardist Alejandro Millan and guitarist Roberto Quintanilla after the disbanding of the group Hydra, where they played together.Started as a studio project, Elfonia gathered bassist Pablo Gonzalez and drummer Javier Garagarza in order to record their debut at the Caura Studio in their hometown Monterrey, Mexico.The recordings took place between November and December of 2002 and the album, simply entitled ''Elfonia'', was self-released in 2003.

The first few tracks are enough to fully capture Elfonia's highly atmospheric sound.Combining elements from Ambient Music, Heavy Rock and Progressive Rock, the band creates dreamy and deep images, based on Bovio's impressive, crystalline voice and the alternation between hypnotic themes and heavy, guitar-based passages.The tracks generally follow a very slow tempo in order to produce the most of their atmospheric approach.Careful use of pianos, synths and some sensitive guitar solos stand next to the more powerful riffs of Quintanilla's guitar and Bovio's warm voice, which become the leading figure on the more Ambient-sounding passages.At moments the overall style reminds me of the deep and unique delivery of Polish Prog bands in the vein of RIVERSIDE, DISPERSE, MILLENIUM or SATELLITE, that is a great production to go along with changes between background music themes and strong guitar-based textures with a highly talented singer, who dominates the sound.

Good debut by these Mexicans, who ended up creating a work along the lines of modern, atmospheric Progressive Rock.Warmly recommended.

Latest members reviews

4 stars THE ELF SYMPHONY That's what i understand about the band's name which is a play of words that i would translate as "Elfony" or "Elphony". This was the recording that caused the international projection in the Prog world of Marcela Bovio (and Alejandro Millan,the keyboardist, in a lesser scale ... (read more)

Report this review (#132863) | Posted by FranMuzak | Sunday, August 12, 2007 | Review Permanlink

3 stars Elfonía first came to my attention after the late 2005, early 2006 "Embrace The Storm" tour of STREAM OF PASSION, featuring both Marcela Bovio on vocals and violin, and Alejandro Millán on piano and keyboards. Not long after I sampled their music from their website, I ordered their two albums. ... (read more)

Report this review (#88489) | Posted by Tailscent | Wednesday, August 30, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Very good debut album from a Mexican band. Marcela has perhaps the sweetest sounding voice. The music is atmospheric and folky none of the loud guitars and keyboards. Good album if you like Mostly Autumn style of music. This album also features good drum work and great guitars. ... (read more)

Report this review (#45675) | Posted by | Monday, September 5, 2005 | Review Permanlink

3 stars 3.5 stars. Like many others, I got to know this band through their excellent vocalist, Marcela Bovio, who sang the part of 'Wife' on Ayreon's 'The Human Equation'. She also does an excellent job here and I enjoy her vocals more on this album than on 'THE' as she probably had a lot more fr ... (read more)

Report this review (#38949) | Posted by Henkka | Saturday, July 9, 2005 | Review Permanlink

3 stars Elfonia is a new Mexican band and this is their debut album. The music is atmospheric, simple progressive, and it has a folksy gothic approach. The most notable thing in this band is the fantastic female vocalist Marcela Bovio. She will put other female vocalists from the popular folk bands like ... (read more)

Report this review (#38636) | Posted by geezer | Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | Review Permanlink

5 stars This is a work so good, that scared me! Elfonia is a Folk Progressive/Metal/Gothic Band from Mexico in the vein of HAGGARD and MOSTLY AUTUMN. I can also find references from THE PROVENANCE, ASHTAR (Brazil), JETHRO TULL, TRISTANIA and ORPHANED LAND. Musically, Elfonia grabbed me by the throat. ... (read more)

Report this review (#32936) | Posted by | Monday, May 16, 2005 | Review Permanlink

3 stars A very good promise from my fellow country-people ELFONIA. An album that, well, should be more considered as Dark Rock, or even Gothic Metal, because the Progressive transtitions don't happen quite often, and songs are very short for Prog standards. But it IS a very valid album, with lots of s ... (read more)

Report this review (#32935) | Posted by Minstrel X | Friday, January 14, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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