EKZILO

Releasing their only other album to some acclaim in 2020, five years later the Spanish band has had time to grow around Jose Ruiz's wonderful guitar skills into something that is garnering quite a lot of attention.

1. "Patibulum" (9:10) AISLES or LAZULI-like sophisticated and idiosyncratic smooth prog in which the band tries to "sneak" in some death metal growl passages. (17.5/20)

2. "La fábrica de barro" (6:25) Now this is more like it: the Latin/Spanish roots can really be felt in this one (as well as some Texas Southern Rock ALLMAN BROTHERS style). The use of cheesy synth-keyboard sound and some questionable effects on the other instruments almost ruins the vibe for me, but I cannot deny this as great music. A top three song, for sure. (9/10)

3. "Dunas" (9:09) a had a feeling that there was more hybridized Mexican-1980s New Wave in store for me on this album, and here it is. There are some interesting riffs and motifs off-balanced by an equal number of cheezy-simple elements. This continuous theme leads me to beleive that this band is only an album or two away from an absolute stunner: something that will make them a name to remember in modern progressive rock music. Overall, this song felt like I was caught in a perpetually repeating time loop of music inspired by STYX's Grand Illusion. (17.5/20)

4. "Brujería" (9:13) a mix of some proficient guitar-centric Classic Rock like SANTA ESMERALDA or GHOST MEDICINE and CHROMA KEY. The solo acoustic guitar section in the seventh through ninth minutes is most excellent--and welcomed--finishing with the perfect acoustic whole band ending. Definitely my favorite song on the album. (18/20)

5. "Evolution" (18:50) a very odd collection of sounds, themes, and styles that feels poorly engineered and rather haphazardly constructed. Again, there is the rather unusual attempt to force some death metal growls into the crossover-symphonic music created and developed as the main stylistic palette. There's a lot to enjoy in this song--like the synth-led spacey instrumental passage in the tenth and eleventh minutes--and the electric guitar play in the 14th and 15th minutes, bet then the simplistic bass, drum, and non-lead guitar play and often-annoying synth solos cause me to furrow my brow. (35/40)

6. "Epílogo" (1:56) Tex-Mex distorted Southern Rock guitar plus acoustic guitar duet. Though familiar--like I've heard it before--it's definitely enjoyable. (4.5/5)

Total Time 54:43

An interesting album. It's as if Chilean band AISLES tried to try death metal--diverting so much energy and attention from their normal sound and compositional prowess to do so that they fail to go through the steps to thoroughly polish the songs that they created. In my opinion this band is being far too conservative: they seem to have the talent to do music much more complex and nuanced than this--and they definitely need more time and attention given to their "finishing" polishes.

B/four stars; an excellent collection of diversified music all with the foundation in guitarist Jose Ruiz's excellent guitar playing.

This is a radical departure from their debut album, which featured a modern beauty created by soothing sound effects and restrained playing that produced a deep resonance, like a sleepy blend of post-rock and jazz-rock. This time, they've enthusiastically incorporated influences from King Crimson, Opeth, Triana, Al Di Meola, and others, producing an eclectic album that ranges from their signature Spanish guitar-driven jazz-rock/fusion to classic pump rock and even extreme metal.

The opening track, "Patibulum," surprises with its intense band sound, raspy vocals, and lyrical progressive metal in the Riverside/Opeth vein, culminating in a Hammond organ-driven symphony. The vibrant rhythm of the clean-toned electric guitar, the Spanish guitar that sounds like the Mediterranean sun, and the liberating piano and synthesizers harmonize in "La Fábrica de Barro," reminiscent of the previous album. The 19-minute song "Evolution," which becomes a progressive/technical metal symphony with a Floyd-esque cinematic feel, is excellent in terms of the album's composition, which will move the listener.

The unique soundscape that connects innovative ideas and arrangements with lines and colors the entire album with the colors of Andalusia, gives an insight into the band's spectacular evolution. One of the albums of the year.

The 2020 debut album from this Spanish jazz/psychedelic/progressive rock band, led by José Ruiz (g), who also serves as producer, and focused on a cinematic sound, has been reissued in 2025 by Spain's Astronomy Recording Music Label with an additional bonus track.

"Diciembre" opens with jazzy piano and guitar solos and flows into a refreshing jazz rock/fusion groove as the classical guitar plays a very Spanish melody; "Ekzilo" begins with a cinematic intro with a swaying sound, then turns and transforms into a heavy progressive rock groove with organ-like tones; and "Salaryman" features a captivating Balearic section with human-driven four-four rhythms and a smooth guitar. This is a great album that will shake the listener with its modern sound production and well-crafted development!

AND ANOTHER GEM FROM THE OVERLOOKED CURRENT SPANISH PROG!

"Ekzilo was born with my first compositions in 2017. After searching for musicians (from Lorca, the region of Murcia, close to Andalucia) who could help to develop this project, the original line-up was formed and our first demos were recorded with these musicians. All of this became Ekzilo's first album, released in 2020, it is a kind of demo, the seed that Ekzilo created, everything was leading to our new album 4 years later. After this first experience the ideal line-up finally took shape: Angel Veas on bass (an experienced rock musician who played in numerous metal bands), Abel Tudela on drums (a music teacher who played in rock and jazz groups, and has been part of several flamenco formations), Paula Rodríguez (a piano teacher) on keyboards and vocals, and me, José Ruiz, on electric ? and flamenco guitar. About the flamenco, I've been playing this since I was a child. I started with local teachers and then studied with Antonio Piñana, with whom I was part of his flamenco group for many years. Later I combined my studies in harmony and music, and he was an official guitarist at many festivals. I have dedicated many years to accompanying guitar and have accompanied several important names. But all those years I have always combined flamenco with performing rock and jazz music, and playing the electric guitar. Our second album Quantum Phase Transiton marks a great leap in terms of production and the evolution of the band. The influences are now very varied, from Pink Floyd and Al DiMeola to Triana, Opeth and King Crimson, and more, I think that, above all, our music reflects all the music that has come to us from past and present generations". Band bio delivered by founding member Jose Ruiz via e-mail.

After their promising eponymous debut album from 2020 (an interesting blend of 70s symphonic rock, flamenco and Rock Andaluz), it took 4 years for Ekzilo to produce this new album. It was worth waiting because from the first track you can hear the huge progress in writing compositions, with a stunning variety and lots of adventurous musical ideas.

Patibulum (9:10) : This mid-long composition contains frequently shifting moods, with elements from Riverside, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and Pendragon but with an own touch. The interplay is amazing and the music delivers lots of tension and dynamics. From a slow rhythm with a catchy beat and dreamy English vocals to a heavy outburst with surprising grunt vocals and thunderous drums. From a spacey synthesizer solo to dreamy with slow and intense guitar work. And finally a catchy mid-tempo with soaring Hammond. Ezikilo waste no time to show their huge progress, I am impressed.

La Fábrica De Barro (6:25) : The focus is on a tight beat, a swinging bass, and catchy work on piano and guitar, in a cheerful atmosphere. The interplay is strong and powerful, with sparkling piano and propulsive rhythm-section. In between the climate changes into bombastic with spectacular synthesizer work, and lush Hammond. This band can rock, and swing, and what a tight and strong unit.

Dunas (9:09) : This is the most accessible and melodic composition but with subtle shifting moods, the Neo-Prog from Marillion and Pendragon comes to my mind, embellished with a sensitive guitar solo, soaring Hammond, and backed by a dynamic rhythm-section. In the final part a synthesizer joins the main theme, culminating into a wonderful conclusion.

Brujería (9:13) : Wow, what an awesome tribute to the 70s 'symphonic jazz rock' sound from Al DiMeola (I love his Elegant Gipsy era, and have seen him 3 times on stage), especially the first part featuring powerful guitar (with the distinctive Al DiMeola 'palm muted picking' technique) and amazing interplay, and topped with swirling Hammond, sparkling piano and Rock Andaluz guitar. Halfway a short but captivating break with propulsive drum beats, and synthesizer bleeps. Then a flamenco guitar solo piece (including the rasgueado technique), culminating in a mid-tempo beat with an exciting Rock Andaluz atmosphere. Listening to this amazing composition I am blown away by the skills and musical ideas of this band, what a huge musical potential, another wow!

Evolution (18:50) : This alternating and dynamic epic composition contains lots of intersting musical ideas, and frequently changing atmospheres. From a slow rhythm with fiery guitar runs and sparkling keyboards to bombastic, both topped with grunt vocals. From an ominous atmosphere with Pink Floyd echoes to an interlude with the focus on distorted guitar work. From an orchestral part to a spacey synthesizer solo. From an interlude with soff bass runs, piano and Floydian guitar to a jazzy electric piano solo. And from a mid-tempo with moving guitar solo and swinging rhythm-section to a spectacular synthesizer solo with exciting use of the pitchbend button. In the end the climate is bombastic with the stunning 'tapping guitar' sound, backed by a thunderous rhythm-section, you cannot beg for more thrilling variety.

Epílogo (1:56) : The final track is a short instrumental with mellow guitar overdubs, and strong flamenco undertones.

What a stunning progress this promising new Spanish prog band has made, what a captivating musical adventure, and so many skills and ideas. This music needs a few listening sessions to get into, but if you are up to the huge variety and many interesting musical ideas I highly recommend this new Ekzilo album!

P.s.: Other interesting current Spanish prog and Rock Andaluz bands: Qamar and Sherish, Randy Lopez, Arabiga, Taifa, Anairt, the awesome Periplo project by Juan Antonio Vergara (the mastermind behind the Spanish prog label 5Lunas), The Flying Caravan, Malabriega, Enric Pascual, and the amazing Derby Motoreta's Burrito Kachimba.

Another great spanish band

As I've said before, this is a good era for Spanish progressive music. In recent years, we've heard great bands like Malabriega, Noah Histeria, Cielo Drive, Vientos Moderados del Este, Jordi Farreras, Joan Villalonga, and Javier Miranda. The Astronomy Records label has been steadily guiding the genre's train, along with Rafa from the Amarxe label?another Spanish imprint leaving a strong mark on the global prog scene.

Now we have Eksilo, a very interesting band that bursts through the front door with a strong debut. Quantum Phase Transition blends extreme metal with jazz fusion and neo-progressive touches. When I heard the opening track, "Patibulum," I was caught off guard?in a good way. It's a devastating, powerful start. But from there, the album slowly moves away from that intensity and drifts into something more predictable. Not bad, just less gripping. The band clearly has chops?these are skilled, creative musicians? but as the album progresses, the surprise factor fades and things start to drag. Some tracks left me wanting more; others just wore me out.

Eksilo is a great band with a promising future. They're still finding their voice, and that's okay. If the album had a more defined concept or theme, it might've held together better. As it stands, I'd stick with "Patibulum" and "Evolution" as highlights. The rest, while well played, didn't quite land for me and at times slipped into boredom. Despite that Eksilo is a great band that deserves more stars but for now on it has to improve those moments and evolve.

The particles shift their collective behavior.

'Quantum Phase Transition' is an album that confidently stands on that fine line where restraint is worth more than excess. This mostly instrumental work, with only two vocal tracks (the opener and the closer), dives into a state of carefully measured sonic contemplation.

I came into it without any prior knowledge of the band's earlier material, so I wasn't expecting that raspy voice in "Patibulum" It caught me off guard - in the best way. That intensity, that controlled frenzy, immediately brought Between the Buried and Me to mind, especially those sections where everything seems to break apart, yet never fully loses its shape. You're left wanting more vocals - there's a real curiosity about how that voice, somewhere between clean and shredded, might have blended into other moods across the album. Still, the decision to use it only at the beginning and ending has its own logic - and it works.

The interplay between the musicians feels intentional, but never stiff. There's a constant dialogue; they listen to each other, give space, push and pull. "Brujería" encapsulates that perfectly: tight rhythm, collective growth, and an outro with Spanish guitar that's not just for show or folklore - it closes with identity, with a sense of place.

What truly elevates this album above the average is the keyboard work. It's not background - it's foundation. It builds atmosphere without becoming dense, sustains tension without being predictable. There's a melodic sense always present, yet never obvious; piano, synthesizers, Rhodes, Hammonds... everything in its right place, delivered with impeccable taste. There are moments when a single texture or ambiance speaks louder than any virtuosic solo - and that's not easy to pull off.

This isn't an immediate album, and it doesn't need to be. It has layers, patience, intention. Once it pulls you in, there's no rush to leave - and when it's over, you feel the need to return, just to find something you missed the first time.

This band still has room to grow. Within their style, there are ideas and concepts that deserve deeper exploration. No doubt - their best record is still ahead.

Music: 4 stars

Lyrics: 3 stars

Execution: 5 stars

Emotion: 4 stars

Production: 4 stars

Artwork: 3 stars

Average: 3.83

This second album by Ekzilo represents a radical evolution from their self-titled debut. It has a magic quality. It mixes a thousand surprising things, and they all fit together. The album never strays, even though he has plenty of opportunities, haha. It takes risks and excels. The instrumental level is very professional. And the composition. The production is a 10/10.

It's a magnificent album (and of Spanish origin). The suite, both in its title and style, demonstrates this absolutely wild evolution. On first listening, with those pauses and changes in key, it leaves you disoriented. But everything works perfectly together (as does the entire album). There are so many different influences here, but this "Quantum Phase Transition" is an album that doesn't deserve musical spoilers; it's better to let yourself be surprised by it. Few albums this year are as surprising and of higher quality.

This year, I've fallen hard for the new wave of Spanish prog, a full-blown infatuation fueled by the resurgence sparked by labels like AmarXe and Astronomy Recording Music. Just recently, I dove into Malabriega's Frippada Andaluza, a stunning gem that quickly earned its place in my collection. Quantum Phase Transition is the kind of album that rips open your lazy prog-fed frontal lobe and pours in Andalusian lava until you're baptized in a genre stew thick enough to drown Rick Wakeman and wake him back up just in time to slap Jordan Rudess. Ekzilo, these mad Spaniards, don't play progressive rock, they airlift it into their own cultural hurricane, spin it around flamenco style, throw in some Opeth growls just to mess with you, and then lovingly hand you a rose. With thorns.

Let's get this out of the way: I haven't heard their first album. Don't need to. This new one stands on its own like Gaudí on mushrooms. It's a half-metal, half-mediterranean, all-in spiritual manifesto by guitarist José Ruiz, whose playing doesn't so much solo as breathe. His lines are sinewy, coiled, tasteful, and absolutely capable of biting your ear off if provoked. And Paula Rodríguez on keys? She's like the ghost of Chick Corea and a warm summer dusk in Cádiz had a baby and let it loose on a stack of analog synths.

Opener "Patibulum" kicks the door down with one foot in Riverside's prog-metal elegance and the other in a death-metal gutter. The harsh vocals come in like a spilled ashtray across a silk tablecloth. Why? Who knows. Maybe it's a dare. Maybe it's genius. Maybe it's a mistake. It doesn't matter. The music moves forward like a thoughtful machine with heart, sharp rhythms, shifting moods, a musical terrain that's tectonic rather than flashy. Then there's "La Fábrica de Barro", what a name! Sounds like an arthouse film about clay workers on strike. The music matches the imagery: brisk, Mediterranean, sculpted. There's a Spanish guitar line in here that could make Robert Fripp drop his pick and just listen for once. "Dunas" follows with a desert-trek rhythm and a kind of sun-drenched precision, blending symphonic flourishes with melodic bursts like it's no big deal.

But then "Brujería". Man. THIS is the track you play to convert someone. There's a moment midway when everything stops for a Spanish guitar that doesn't show off, it remembers. It knows. It testifies. The rhythm section is locked in tighter than a dictatorship, and the whole thing spirals into this final flamenco-flavored finish that's got more soul than half the jazz-fusion scene combined.

And "Evolution"? Eighteen minutes of pure cinematic grandeur. It's not a song, it's a damn odyssey. Acoustic guitar solos that feel like blood rituals, keyboard textures that whisper and then roar, bass and drums galloping like Andalusian stallions through time signatures that shouldn't work but do. The growls return (briefly, mercifully), but by that point you're too deep in the trip to care. There's even a jazz section that sounds like Soft Machine reborn in Seville with Miles Davis feeding them absinthe.

The closer, "Epilogo", is just a minute and change of solo guitar but feels like a sunset after the war. A perfect, humble comedown.

So yeah, Ekzilo may have been quiet for five years, but this album? It screams. It sings. It matters. Quantum Phase Transition is one of those rare progressive albums that's not about showing off but showing up, for the music, for the feeling, for the damn soul of it all.

Recommended for: Anyone who's ever air-guitared to King Crimson, cried during a flamenco solo, or wished Tool had a Mediterranean cousin with better manners and a bigger heart (Jose Zegarra, Progressive Music fan. Filmmaker+Executive Producer of the Romantic Warriors documentary film series).

I didn't know Ekzilo before this second album. I had the opportunity to listen to it in full and I was very impressed. It's a truly original and unique mix! There are classic progressive rock elements, many different keyboard parts, and more modern elements (even fans of Riverside or progressive metal bands might like it). "Patibulum" impresses with its vocals (you don't expect them), but my favorite songs are the beautiful "Brujería" (with a great flamenco flavor and magnificent instrumental work) and the great suite "Evolution", which lasts more than 18 minutes and has music for all tastes, many different parts and even exciting moments.

"Quantum Phase Transition" is a great album. It reminds me of both modern bands and more classic progressive rock, all with a marked Mediterranean and Andalusian touch. A great mix of styles with a very personal sound. A great album, very enjoyable.

The second album by the Spanish band Ekzilo represents a huge impact and evolution from their debut, "Ekzilo" (2020). The band has incorporated new elements into their music and taken a giant leap forward in terms of sound design.

The first thing that strikes you are the vocals, present in two of the tracks, ranging from more melodic (and somewhat catchy) vocals to raspy vocals, reminiscent of the Swedish band Opeth, especially in the first track, "Patibulum," with constant changes and, curiously, no electric guitar riffs. Jose Ruiz's work is fantastic, full of personality, based more on solos and rhythmic/melodic lines than on classic rock/metal riffs.

After the initial surprise of the first track, three entirely instrumental and extremely varied songs follow. "La fábrica de barro" practically takes us back to the late 70s, close to the Laietan rock vibe (!!!), and confirms the tremendous variety of the album. A beautiful song. "Dunas" (one of the preview songs) perfectly blends modern progressive rock with a Spanish feel and magnificent lead guitar work. And pay attention to that middle section with jazzy piano. "Brujería" brings us the purest Andalusian influence of this band, with sublime instrumental work (that bass!). That flamenco guitar coda to finish is beautiful.

By the time "Evolution" arrives (and the short final cut "Epílogo"), we've already seen the variety and instrumental (and compositional) versatility of the band, but in this track, everything is amplified even more. It's a song that requires several listens to fully assimilate. There are many cuts, many different parts, many genres (jazz, rock, metal, flamenco, space rock!). Here, the vocals return (clean and guttural; one of the great innovations in the band's career). Pay attention to that beautiful, space section in the middle of the track (the variety of timbres and different sounds Paula uses on this album is impressive, a spectacular piece of work), which may remind you of Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson. Undoubtedly the group's Magnum Opus, and 18 minutes that mark a new path in the band's career.

Definitely a surprising album on all levels. "Ekzilo" (2020) was a very good album, but this "Quantum Phase Transition" is absolutely on another level. A wonderful album, very original, that mixes genres and musical ideas that might not work together, but that do. Production, composition, and musicianship are on par with any current group I can imagine. AWESOME 5/5.

* I'm absolutely convinced that the band should be in the "Eclectic Prog" section, although the classification seems understandable to me considering their first album.