OCTOBER EQUUS

Fripp meets Art Zoyd meets Magma...

Somebody thinks that speaking of concept when the subject is an instrumental album is not appropriate. I think that instrumental music is able to transmit sensations, feelings ans states of mind and this is more successful when they match the basic idea. I was not aware of October Equus being an ancient Roman rite, a very bloody one dedicated to Mars, the God of war. I will not repeat here what can be read in the previous review of this album, just let me say that the music fits very well in the concept and seems to have been thought with the concept in mind, so deeply thought to become the band's name, too.

More than dark I think this music can be called sinister or grim, like some of the Roman rituals were. Think to "Magna Mater" and Bacchanals.

The ensemble is excellent for musicianship. Apparently the tracks are lead by guitar but there's a lot of keyboard and in the parts which appear to be more "jammed", the base comes from the keys. Sometimes very good bass lines come from the background while the drummer makes a lot of work with the unusual signatures. The atmosphere is sometimes Crimsonian,but I think that the closing track, "Hydra" could fit in any Magma album.

The general mood is not Zeuhl, anyway. I think this kind of music can be better compared to Ard Zoyd and Shub Niggurath (their first two albums) but more rock oriented, so that even the comparison to non-RIO artists, Fripp in particular, is appropriate.

An excellent 4-stars debut.

While i love the 2 albums they released after this (the excellent self released rehearsal CD-R, and the Alt Rock released, Saturnai) here you find the band kinda still searching for their sound. The drummer for instance does not have the best sounding kit ever at times sounding very un-acoustic and rather artificial. The same goes for the guitarist who has great tone on the other subsequent cds but here it is submerged in effects that don't really spotlight his great playing. Of course the compositions are good and what you would expect from this band (Henry Cow-ish with a pinch of Hatfield or The Muffins added for good measure). Recommended to completists...but for new comers i would direct them to the other 2 mentioned releases, or wait for their 2013 release which will come out soon.

I never thought i would hear such a Univers Zero, Henry Cow and maybe Present influenced band coming from Spain. This is certainly the first (i think) of it's kind in that country. But those RIO groups are more of a reference point as the members in October Equus have (thank god) the sensibilities and taste to come up with something that is also their own. I feel this is a bit less dark approach to the anglo / Belgium originals, which to my ears sends the music to other territories. The musicianship is top notch and the compositions are excellent through out. Highly recommended to RIO enthusiasts and to adventurous/avant thrill seeker.

The Spanish instrumental progressive/avant-rock group October Equus is back with their third full-length (I am not counting the 2004 release, Hydra). October Equus don't rest on their laurels and repeat the same album but rather change things and develop with each release, showing the group's growth and maturation. With their 2006 s/t album (Ma. Ra. Cash Records), the influences of Present, Univers Zero and King Crimson were apparent, whereas in 2008's Charybdis (RAIG) had a zeuhl flavour and sounded more bombastic and daring than its predecessor. With Saturnal the band has signed with Italian label AltrOck, my current favourite label and a treasure trove for all things progressive and mind-blowing. In here the band seems to recall some of their s/t release, with added complexity, density of sound and succinctness. I also would make a comparison, in at least a few songs, to Miriodor's recent albums, in rhythm and spirit, but done in October Equus' unique manner.

The core of the band remains guitarist Ángel Ontalva (or by his real name Ángel Rodriguez Morales, who also created the gorgeous artwork for the album), keyboards player Víctor Rodríguez and bassist Amanda Pazos Cosse, alongside their, by now, usual saxophonist and flautist Fran Mangas. Planeta Imaginario drummer Vasco Trilla and saxophonist Alfonso Muñoz join the lineup for this album, as well as cellist Pablo Ortega.

Listening to the musicians' playing alongside enjoying the music is a fun exercise in any album, and here in particular. Amanda's bass gives a powerful and noticeable undertone, a solid belly to the tunes as Ángel's cold sounding guitar soars in a slow, slightly dissonant and angular fashion, accompanied by Victor's warm chords contrasting the guitar tone. The saxophones and cello add to the band's eerie sound, a sound that seems to be coming from a far away and scary place. Watching the artwork in the booklet as you listen to the music will help understand what I mean by this, as there is an otherworldly quality to their music.

At times, their music would work as a soundtrack to some classic horror or scary movie, in particular the first piece, Estructuras primitivas en el crepúsculo. In other instances the music offers some respite from that atmosphere with a slightly faster pace and lighter mood, such as in the second piece, El furioso despertar del homúnculo neonato. This piece features wonderful drumming performance by Vasco Trilla, providing the piece with a moderately and frantic sounding tempo. The various pieces on here alternate between the somber and sinister sounding to the somewhat lighter and less dense side, though all bear the clear mark of the band. While one may complain of monotony on the album, that would be, in my view, due to superficial listening and not paying enough attention to the individual songs and how they develop.

But what is common to all the compositions is the sense that I've stepped into another realm the minute I pressed the play button. You might feel you've been thrown into a strange and foreign land with rules you do not fully understand and an unnatural and peculiar scenery that seems to come at you from all directions. But the effort is worth it, in my view, as the band's music offers a distinctive experience as well as a fascinating one with a lot to discover in repeated listening.

I will say this, though: the music on Saturnal is (or can be to those unfamiliar with the style) dense, complicated and hard to penetrate. Indeed, this is an album that the listener has to clear his way into, get past the walls of seemingly "unpleasant" and hard to grasp sounds and vibes. This is not to say the music is "bad" or un-enjoyable, but that one has to take the time to have a clear path into the music and be able to feel comfortable listening to it. While I'm quite used to this "type of music", it took me a while to penetrate its thick sound and jam-packed content. With 13 pieces on here, all written by either Ángel Ontalva or Víctor Rodríguez, you're in for an intense and long journey. Perhaps splitting the album into two listening sessions would help make it easier to swallow for those not fully comfortable with the music. But in my opinion, it is a journey well worth taking.

This is a band that just keeps getting better.These Spaniards have expanded their lineup to seven including two new members from the band PLANET IMAGINARIO (drums & sax). Udi Koomran mastered this album in Isreal. They've come a long way from their dark and oppressive self titled album which was my first taste of OCTOBER EQUUS. Now there's more light and it's like listening to a world class Chamber music ensemble. I'm not using the full song titles because they are too freaking long and in Spanish.

First up is "Estructuras..." with piano and cello leading early then it kicks in just before a minute. Check it out before 3 minutes. So much going on. "El Furioso..." is a good uptempo track with some interesting guitar 2 minutes in followed by dissonant horns.

"Una Mirada..." is a dark track and check out the odd-metered drum work and angular guitar after 2 1/2 minutes. Nice. "Ingravidez" is a short horn, guitar and drum piece. "Llego Como..." is led by the guitar early then horns as the drums continue.The guitar is back 2 1/2 minutes in. So much going on.

"Realidad Ciega" is more laid back. It's fuller before 2 minutes though. "Avanzando..." has some great sounding drum work on it and lots of guitar too. Cello follows. "Un Mundo..." is short but really good. "No Pudieron..." has percussion, bass, keys and more as these intricate sounds come and go.

"Sutiles..." is dark with cello and sporadic drumming. Horns and guitar too. Great sound 4 minutes in then it settles back before 5 minutes. It's dark again late. "Ella Era..." is a short guitar led piece. Some organ late. "Abre Los Ojos!" picks up and it sounds incredible. It settles back 2 minutes in. Some dissonace before 4 1/2 minutes. "Ultimo Refigio" is an excellent closer with drums, horns, piano and more of course.

I admit this style of music is over my head but I do enjoy it even if it's not exactly my favourite sub genre.

First of all check out Avestin's excellent review of this album not only to see what the concept is about, but because it's a really good review. I'll try to describe the music. I should mention that their previous album was a much more powerful album than this and much better for my tastes as well. It did remind me of "Heresie" at times. In fact I played it on Halloween this year in my foyer where the kids would come to the door to get their treats. This latest album from them is still great though and a solid 4 stars.

"Architeuthis Dux" hits the ground running with some excellent organ.The sax comes in. The keyboard style here reminds me of PRESENT.The tempo slows after 2 1/2 minutes with organ and angular guitar. Sax follows. Great start to the album. "Frozen Sea" is the longest track at almost 7 1/2 minutes and it's rather eerie to start with as the organ slowly plays. Drums a minute in and sax after 2 minutes. A change before 3 minutes and we get some chunky bass a minute after that. Great sound as there is so much going on including the angular guitar. "Trylobites" has a jazzy vibe to it and it has a dark atmosphere as well. Interesting song to say the least. "Fata Morgana" has some incredible growly bass with piano then angular guitar. Sax after a minute with synths. Powerful organ follows. "Unknown Pilot" reminds me of ANEKDOTEN in the beginning. We get a haunting soundscape after 2 minutes that's quite intense. The tension is relieved before 3 minutes.

"Forgotten Sirens" features some great organ as the drums come in. Angular guitar starts to make some noise after a minute. Nice. Huge bass lines too. "Abyssal" is dark with organ. Angular guitar before 2 minutes followed by drums and sax which start to lead the way. "Thera" features more angular guitar and fat bass. This is dark too. "Niarsek" features what sounds like harmonium and synths. A fuller sound before 2 1/2 minutes as organ and drums start to dominate. It ends as it began in a creepy way. Haha. "Charybdis" features drums, angular guitar and organ.The tempo picks up and sax joins the fray around 2 minutes. Organ and angular guitar lead the way in this one. "Helgoland" is led by sax until the piano takes over. Some bells too.

For those who like this style of music you should really check these guys out..

October Equus are battling a sea monster

The third album by October Equus, released in 2008 is named after Charybdis, daughter of Gaia and Poseidon that was turned into a sea monster by Zeus. If one looks at the title of the tracks on the album, he'll notice that mythological and nautical themes are at use here. This album was released through the RAIG label, who has been delivering intriguing and captivating experimental and avant- rock albums in the last years. It is therefore very fitting that Spanish band October Equus release their album through this label as this is a spectacular example of boundary breaking rock.

Starting in your face with the first track Architeuthis Dux, the band mixes great zeuhlish and symphonic elements in the form of heavy thumping rhythm and rich and lush keyboards sound, respectively. This tune and most others in the album carry a feel of atonality, a whimsy approach and a "typical" RIO- esque and to lesser extent zeuhl-ish characteristics reminiscent of the way other avant-rock and chamber rock bands play (the music and sound of Univers Zero, Far Corner and Yugen come to mind among others). There are also a jazzy element woven into this mix and all of these together make this a fantastic and thrilling album. The opening track in particular is a great example of that with its high energy level and even bombastic quality.

Strong jazzy and zeuhl-ish feel and elements are present in the second track Frozen Sea as well. Composed of a slow and somewhat sludgy, dirty sound and rhythm yet powerful, this track portrays well how, much like the short fast segment in its midst that quickly dissipates back to the original sluggish pace, a sea can shift from being stormy and agitated to being frozen and still.

This album seems to be more daring, more bombastic in approach than its predecessor, keeping in the same path, but expanding on it, making their sound broader, fuller, richer and much more appealing even. There's an orchestral feel in the album that was not there in the previous s/t album from 2006. However, like in their previous album, the Univers Zero universe of sound seem to still function as a source of inspiration, as a guiding element, though, as I mentioned above, they expand on it, adding new elements to their overall sound to have it more majestic-like; with the orchestration aspect, the chamber-rock feel with the fusion elements and the use of zeuhl-ish pounding rhythms and energy, the band achieves a new level, a new construction of style and sound and make this album better than previous efforts. This album not only mixes styles wonderfully, it sounds as rich and plentiful as the number of influences it encompasses. There is terrific musicianship here, and you can clearly hear all the instruments, and make out how wonderful the play is. For instance the gorgeous keyboards in Architeuthis Dux, the powerful bass in Fata Morgana and the enchanting saxophone in the title track, Charybdis. A good example of how the band works together very well is given with the brilliant chaotic track Forgotten Sirens with its entrancing rhythm. This album puts emphasis on both attractive tunes and on various moods and atmospheres it creates; in this aspect there's a good balance as some tracks focus more on one (Architeuthis Dux and Trylobites with their relative catchiness) while others on the latter (the appropriately named Abyssal for instance, which focuses on creating a chilling atmosphere).

With 11 tracks culminating at around 46 minutes, this is not an exhausting listen at all and in fact could have used perhaps a few more minutes. In fact, the closing track, Helgoland, could have been prolonged and given a better closure, which as it is feels to me a bit missed.

As I was listening to this album, I got to think about Panzerpappa and their album Koralrevens Klagesang. I did so because like October Equus, Panzerpappa too got much of their influence and inspiration (as I hear it) from (among others) Univers Zero and their ilk of chamber and avant-rock. But, if Panzerpappa took that influence into their particular niche of positive and frisky style creating thus their own sound, October Equus in this album do a similar thing, only in a different direction, building a niche of their own.

An excellent release, even better than their previous splendid effort, this will please fans of the aforementioned styles and bands, and music enthusiasts who like the idea of mingling those influences together to form an OE sound.

Get it!

"Charybdis" is a big statement of refurbishment and development of the basic RIO trend pursued by the excellent Spanish band October Equus. The listeners shouldn't expect a work of emphasis on the robust tension and epic environments delivered tow years earlier in their debut album, but a renewing twist toward a more thorough elaboration of nuances and atmospheres. Please, don't get me wrong, the band remains muscular and powerfully driven into the rockier aspect of experimental rock. Yet, you can tell that the level of sophistication in both the writing and arranging processes has reached a new height, in no small degree due to the addition of jazzy cadences and vibrations to the rhythmic foundation. The album kicks off with 'Architeuthis Dux', a very dynamic piece whose inherent punch is cleverly amalgamated over a challenging set of rhythmic variations. Mangs' sax interventions provide that eerie jazzy element that will prove crucial for many tracks in the album. 'Frozen Sea' is focused on melancholic moods, mostly based on grayish, somber (yet not creepy at all) organ layers whose chord progressions state a true reflection on introspection. Once the piece shifts to a more extroverted section, the jazzy factor becomes totally predominant in order to instill a colorful swing to the momentum. A brief reprise of the languid intro section provides a proper closure. 'Trylobites' is mostly ethereal, yet still providing a certain disturbance through the dissonant counterpoints that bring an obvious sense of controlled tension. 'Fata Morgana' enhances somehow the jazzy RIO strategy, with a melodic structure that alternates a warm motif on 6/8 (something like Yugen-meets-"Leg End" era HC) and a central motif that states an almost chaotic architecture of muscle and dissonance. Brilliant!! 'Frozen Sea' had reflected the kind of renewal the band has been prusuing for thsi album, while 'Fata Morgana' delivers a global statement about the old and the new OE. 'Unknown Pilot' is a very inspired exercise on avant-garde lyricism: as un-symphonic as this piece clearly is, it certainly echoes the evocative mood that is common even in 20th century chamber. I wouldn't have minded if this piece had been expanded beyond its 3'21" time span, but anyway, that's not a decision for me to make. A great, appealing composition it is, indeed. And so is Amanda Pazos-penned 'Forgotten Sirens', a muscular piece (somehow Present-inspired, yet typically OE at the end of the day) that eventually transits to ethereal atmospheres at the ending section. Once again, my minor complaint is that this delicious idea is not expanded beyond its actual time span (only 2 ¾ minutes for this impressive prog item?... mmmm.). 'Abyssal' brings back the reflective side of October Equus, wisely seasoned with elements of tension and darkness. Not unlike track 4, this piece is related to the sort of sound delivered in the debut album, but it also bears arrangements much in tune with the controlled density that prevails in "Charybdis" as a whole concept. 'Thera' follows in a similar vein, even enhancing the ethereal factor, which proves quite effective when the more intense passages settle in and create an interesting contrast. Ontalva's guitar phrases are featured in their magnificence among the complex instrumental framework. 'Niarsek' goes even deeper into the band's serene facet, with those dominant keyboard orchestrations that instill a ceremonious aura into the composition's overall contemplative vibe. The namesake track brings back the sort of ambiences that had already been present in tracks 1 & 4, dynamic RIO with a heavy jazzy twist and a clever use of dissonance and counterpoints in a challenging tempo. 'Helgoland' is the epilogue that brings the ultimate expression of melancholy in the album: the simplistic harmonic bases are handled with elegance, including a brief delicate piano interlude and an impressive guitar solo. that fades out too soon!! Despite my (minor) objections regarding some pieces' time span, I am far from considering the repertoire's whole situation as a failed one. On the contrary, "Charybdis" is a perfect example of successfully conceived avant-prog music in our current progressive scene. October Equuus has managed to stay loyal to the basic sound while taking it to another level of reinvigoration.

Hello everyone who cares! First: I'm really surprised to see a picture here which in fact is far from the album cover. Let's not mislead music-lovers and place a true cover of the release. Here is a link: www.raig.ru/octoberequus.asp#R034 Second: Not because I'm a proud publisher of Charybdis, but as a music-lover... The album is just amazing, a true masterpiece for those who value instrumental, complex, intricate, and passionate music. Third: As devoted believers in creative artwork and packaging, we think that any release is not just about the music, it is the whole presentation of it. With Charybdis we tried to make a complex piece of art with music, artwork, and packaging working as a whole. Think, we manage to do this. And hope you'll be able to estimate the resulting quality of this release. Cheers!

— First review of this album —

For October Equus, "Hydra" was the anticipation of the excellent musical manifesto that would soon be properly incarnated in their eponymous debut album released in 2006. As a limited-edition independently released demo (distributed among concert attendants and currently out of print), "Hydra" offers the listener a taste of the band's RIO style, based on a serious refurbishment of the genre (mostly inspired by Henry Cow and Present), with added touches of the densest side of King Crimson's tradition plus a penchant for heavy-esque guitar sounds and oppressive keyboard ornaments. What can one expect from "Hydra" when it is more likely that the listener in question has already gotten acquainted with the "October Equus" album? Well, for starters, a less polished sound production and a more synthetic approach, due to the fact that the drummer used an electronic drumset for this demo. The reason for this was that the band thought that it would be much cheaper to record, but anyway, that's what happened. The setlist is also different, which shows that the 6-part suite (here, sans 'Fields of mars' and 'End: On a Lance') had not fully developed its sequence yet. The namesake track kicks off the album on a powerful note, although it is noticeable that the instrumental ensemble isn't all that successful in conveying what soon will be their signature sinister mood. The main factor lies in the electronic drumset, no doubt about it. Tracks such as 'Lupus in Fabula', 'Reliqua Tempora' and 'Bigas' reveal that the guitar and keyboard inputs don't get to express their full potential of sonic power. This is a particular handicap for the latter, since its main motif is based on a ceremonial horse race, but on the other hand, keyboardist Víctor Rodríguez manages to provide some pertinent eerie adornments. This works definitely better for the two 'Sacrificio' tracks. Concerning the most energetic moments in the album, still we can find a reasonable dose of the band's somber stamina: 'La Cabeza del Vencedor' benefits from the consistent use of distortion on Amanda Pazos' bass. This is not an essential recording, indeed, but it is valuable as a testimony of October Equus' stylistic development. If you're a RIO-head and already love this band, don't hesitate to ask your prog friend if they can give you a burnt copy of this item for your birthday or something.