KATHARSI

I haven't actively listened to prog-metal (or heavy prog) for the last two decades - after being a fan, I just lost interest in the genre which passed its best times and became too predictable and often boring. A few days ago I found in my mail Mexicans Deep Limbic System's new album "Kathatrsi" and gave them a chance. I wasn't disappointed at all.

"Katharsi" is a really good album - a quarter of a century ago I would say it's a great album. The album's music, based on heavy keys, has all the good heavy prog album needs - guitar soloing, strong vocals, quite complex songs' rhythmic structures, changing tempos and tuneful songs. Myriads of influences, from Uriah Heep organ passages to Pink Floyd "space" sound, from King Diamond romanticized demonic atmosphere to Dream Theater classics - all are presented here, with taste and respect, without direct citation or plagiarizing. All album's songs are different, there is a musical development during the album's run. The music is well arranged and the recording sound is of good quality. And - what is more important - the whole album builds that specific "rock album's" atmosphere, which was quite usual for great albums from the past, but are very much missed nowadays.

I would be really glad to hear some innovations of a great old genre, or more original ideas in the album's music, but hey - I know pretty well that evolution has its lovers and haters. "Katharsi" is a great work for conservative listeners, and fans of classic heavy prog sound, and I am not sure how many such new quality albums are around nowadays.

This is great!

Have to admit that I was positively surprised when I knew about this release, because I did not follow Deep Limbic System footsteps after the release of their wonderful extended version of 'The Embryo' back in 2016, in fact, I thought they had vanished. But fortunately, the news came to me thanks to the same Sergio Sunga (vocals and guitar), who kindly let me know about this record and invited me to listen to it.

My excitement was confirmed when I first listened to this new baby entitled 'Katharsi', released in December 2024; one of my first thoughts was "oh, it was worth the wait", and I still think it. This five-piece band that comes from the north of Mexico has delivered a mature, gentle, well-though proggy album that could be liked by any prog rock lover due to its exquisite blend of sounds and influences that can be appreciated in an eight-track journey that lasts 55 minutes.

The eclecticism is shown since the very beginning. It kicks-off with the introductory 'Days', a short dreamy song which has a very gentle sound that all of a sudden vanishes and open the gates for the entrance of 'Regression', whose first moments are atmospheric with a Floyd-like guitar, then it changes and becomes a bit heavier, faster, in the vein of neo prog thanks to that emphatic use of keyboards. After two minutes it slows down again, the bass lines are soft but noticeable at background, the atmospheres, the guitar, the vocals are emotional and at minute four they explode, creating an amazing solid, strong, emotive sound. Reminding me of a lot of acts such as Riverside, Lebowski, Amarok, to name a few. Deep Limbic System are great on changes, that's not an easy task.

'Herd' opens with an arpeggio, seconds later an emotional guitar solo changes the mood and a new rhythm is being built-up. The sound here is quite gentle, easy to dig and enjoy, I would say this might even be pop-prog, which is nothing peyorative or wrong, actually it speaks good about how open they are to explore their music boundaries. From Satellite to Anathema, from Cast to Porcupine Tree, go figure.

One of the highlights comes definitively with 'The Chaotic Frenzy of the Mind', a creative 8-minute gem that starts acoustically with guitar and piano, and becomes heavier, metal-like after the first minute, creating a mighty atmosphere where you may shake your head for a while. They share a great instrumental passage very in the vein of Steven Wilson's solo efforts, and then the vocal enters in a soft, charming way. When you think it will keep calm, suddenly the volume and intensity increases, implementing keyboard power and some Latin percussion that of course, add new nuances to an already richness of sounds. Through the eight minutes the band dared to make considerable changes, but all of them wonderfully flow, none of them seem to be forced, which speaks quite positive about their maturity as composers and, of course, performers. Shoutout to Carlos Barcenas and the amazing endless atmospheres he creates with keyboards. The cherry in the pie comes with the extraordinary, emotional guitar solo made by Leonel Huerta in the final minute. An amazing track, to be honest.

I am not sure if it was intended, I think it was, but the introduction of 'Descendants' is very Mexican, haha, I immediately thought about our folk roots. Seconds later a new structure begins, that soft and kind but melancholic sound begins, reminding me again of Riverside, though I believe Sergio Sunga's voice has a tone similar to Mariusz Duda's. The emotional side of prog is a consistent in Deep Limbic System's sound, and we can confirm it with this track.

'Oblation' is another soft but very good track in which they deliver a charm that is easy to embrace in spite of the dark lyrics, the mourn, the nostalgy, or the pain that the lyrics might suggest. A bit of Opeth is taken here, and in moments I remembered another Mexican band named Enso, who have released some singles and I think will release an EP in this 2025. The main surprise of this track comes at 3:30 when a saxophone by guest musician Juani Varela appears and wonderfully adds a brand new mood and atmosphere, enriching the experience.

The epic comes next with 'Umbral', colorful keyboard textures, then drums, bass lines and guitar, creating a vibe that reminds me once again to Lebowski, and when vocals enter, to Riverside, both Polish bands, by the way; and while the minutes pass and the emotions flow, I perceive some Gazpacho on it. Important to say that I mention those bands only as references, DLS musical palette is quite colorful, which is easy for us, the listeners, to find resemblances from music we've previously heard. It is a great prog rock journey full of excellent musicianship, mood and time changes and, of course, emotions. The balance of lyrics and instrumental passages is also worth mentioning here. The ending is amazing, heartfelt guitar solo, then heavy unison sound, very emotional.

The album finishes with 'Ωmega' whose first moments are nostalgic, ballad-like, where piano, bass and guitar appear softly, reminding me a bit of Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell'; after a minute, acoustic guitar and Sunga's voice appear along with the always great keyboard textures; a brief change, a guitar solo, an increase of intensity, a display of emotions. There's also a nice change of rhythm and time signature marked by José Armengol's drumming that lasts for a minute, until it vanishes and another soft and pastoral instrumental passage begins and takes over for a couple of minutes, then the neo-prog sound returns for a little bit, then they make like a pause and the explosion comes at minute 7 with the amazing keyboard playing. As you can imagine, the last minutes are very emotional, very human, because Deep Limbic System's music can hit us anytime. Here the sax returns and as in its previous participation, it adds a delicious colorful taste. The album finishes with a soft acoustic guitar episode.

Congratulations to these talented guys, I hope they keep creating music and I also hope I can see them in concert sometime soon.

Enjoy it!

Eight years on from their debut, Mexican progressive act DLS are back with their second album. Given the amount of time which has passed it is somewhat surprising to realise that only guitarist Efrain Fraire is no longer a member of the band, as he left during the recording of this album so provides some additional guitar on just three tracks. He has been replaced by Leonel Huerta while the rest of the band are still Sergio Sunga (vocals, guitars), Carlos Barcenas (keyboards), Angel Natividad (bass) and Jose Armengol (drums and percussion).

The result is an album which is very much middle of the road crossover, with some heavier touches here and there, and the initial reaction is that this is a band who will appeal to fans of Porcupine Tree, RPWL, modern Marillion and Big Big Train as well as the likes of Pineapple Thief. For me the album works best when they are punching the guitars, such as in sections of closing number "Ωmega", but when they are taking the music in a more modern and quieter direction, I feel my attention shifting. But I am also very aware that this is my personal taste (the last few times I have seen Marillion I have vowed never to do so again, I am a slow learner) and there are plenty of people out there who will find this a very interesting album indeed. The production is good, the arrangements very well structured and the vocals excellent, it is just not a style of progressive rock which I want to spend a lot of time listening to. This may not be for me, but if you like the bands above and enjoy your prog to be easy to listen to then this may well be for you.