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O TERÇO

Symphonic Prog • Brazil


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O Terço picture
O Terço biography
One of the first progressive bands from Brazil, O Terço (meaning rosary beads) first formed in 1968, but didn't hit its stride until the mid '70s. Personnel changes would become part of the bands dynamic, with Sergio Hinds assuming the Robert Fripp (or Chis Squire) role of band anchor. The group owed a lot of its early sound to such Italian favorites as Locanda Delle Fate, Quella Veccia Locanda, and Premiata Forneria Marconi. They also manged to mix in other styles, like folk, heavy metal, and funk.

On the first album, O Terço was not yet full on prog, but it is a seminal work in the history Brazilian progressive music. There are obvious influences of the Moody Blues, and Pink Floyd. "O Terço II" would see them moving from Psychedelic to heavier sounds, along the lines of King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, and even Black Sabbath. It was 1975's "Criaturas Da Noite" that became a monumental success. It was a big hit, gave Brazil its first classic prog album, and solidified O Terço's place in music history.

In the '80s, the band began to tour the United States and Europe. This would make them more popular in other parts of the world, than they were at home.

They continued to release albums into the late '90s. Many times trying to experiment with different styles. A possible reformation of the classic "Criaturas Da Noite" lineup was in the works in 2001/2002, but an unexpected death postponed the idea.

H.T. Riekels (bhikkhu)

O TERÇO Videos (YouTube and more)


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O TERÇO discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

O TERÇO top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.87 | 29 ratings
O Terço (1970)
1970
3.73 | 52 ratings
O Terço II
1972
4.12 | 109 ratings
Criaturas Da Noite
1975
3.17 | 48 ratings
Casa Encantada
1976
2.76 | 24 ratings
Mudança De Tempo
1978
2.57 | 18 ratings
Som Mais Puro
1982
1.41 | 13 ratings
O Terço (1990)
1990
3.43 | 32 ratings
Time Travellers
1992
2.97 | 16 ratings
Compositories
1996
3.43 | 23 ratings
Spiral Words
1998
2.17 | 14 ratings
Tributo a Raul Seixas
1999

O TERÇO Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.30 | 18 ratings
Live At Palace
1994
2.13 | 5 ratings
Ao vivo 1976
2005
3.73 | 17 ratings
O Terço ao Vivo
2007

O TERÇO Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

4.59 | 19 ratings
O Terço ao Vivo
2007

O TERÇO Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.00 | 3 ratings
Preferencia Nacional
1976
4.29 | 14 ratings
Criaturas da Noite & Casa Encantada
1999
2.00 | 1 ratings
Para Sempre
2001
3.91 | 6 ratings
O Terço & Casa Encantada
2003
3.00 | 5 ratings
Tributo ao Sorriso
2010

O TERÇO Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

1.95 | 2 ratings
Velhas Estórias
1970
2.91 | 3 ratings
O Visitante
1971
2.00 | 4 ratings
Amigos / Barco de Pedra
1977

O TERÇO Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Criaturas Da Noite by TERÇO, O album cover Studio Album, 1975
4.12 | 109 ratings

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Criaturas Da Noite
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

3 stars The third album by O Terço lures the listener in with some gentle, sunny straight-ahead folky rock numbers before adding increasingly intense progressive rock and psychedelic influences, building up to the expansive concluding track 1974. The band had undergone a mild transformation from their previous album, with only Sergio Hinds sticking around from the group's earlier lineups, but they wisely seem to have decided to spend the intervening years letting the new lineup gel and developing a new sound rather than cranking out a new release before they were ready, and Criaturas da Noite benefits greatly from the care taken in its recording. Interesting stuff, though to be honest I could have done without the folk rock numbers that lead things off - a Latin take on Crosby, Stills and Nash, whilst an intriguing idea, doesn't really play to the strengths of this lineup.
 Criaturas Da Noite by TERÇO, O album cover Studio Album, 1975
4.12 | 109 ratings

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Criaturas Da Noite
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by VOTOMS

4 stars This is a brazilian jewel. One of their best works, O Terço dives into a progressive quest at Criaturas da Noite. It's like a Yes album for my ears. The album in itself it's a classic ones. Well, the great effort that makes me sit down and listen to the whole album was nothing less than "Hey Amigo", the psych-prog opening track. It was really catchy for me. The second track, ''Queimada'', is a prog-folk. The third, "Pano de Fundo", it's a psychedelic trip. Well, and the album goes on, and it have not a regular genre, and it's not a mistake when the band knows how to rule it and know how to organize the songs into a pleasent sequence. The last song is not their magnum opus, as I've heard, but it's awesome.

Classic album from the Brazilian scene prog.

 Criaturas Da Noite by TERÇO, O album cover Studio Album, 1975
4.12 | 109 ratings

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Criaturas Da Noite
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by GKR

5 stars Besides starting as a melodic Emerson Lake & Palmer, and then pretty late turning into a heavy rock-pop oriented band (even with a album of cover songs of Raul Seixas), there were in the middle ground, "Criaturas da Noite".

If the YES influences can be seen (as in almost all scene of brazilian progressive music), we also have here plenty of ELP and even such bands as Deep Purple - as pretty much obviously in the first track. The second track, on the other hand is a lovely Crosby Stills & Nash song, soon to another heavy riff track come along, with strong vocals. The great epic (of the few brazilian ventures in more than 10min songs) have a orchestra conducted by ROgério Duprat, important figure of the Tropicália - the result is one of the best songs of the album and a sum-up of the whole band and their career so far.

O TERÇO is one of the few Brazilian bands that can walk between the progressive scene and the classic rock scene: brazilians fans of Made in Brazil, Casa das Máquinas and Raul Seixas also find in O TERÇO the best of brazilian rock.

And they are, actually. And this album is probably the best example of it.

 Ao vivo 1976 by TERÇO, O album cover Live, 2005
2.13 | 5 ratings

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Ao vivo 1976
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

2 stars Only released officially in 2005, this live album recorded when the band was on tour promoting their Casa Encantada CD. It was recorded in the Teatro João Caetano (Rio de janeiro), and the band had, for a short period, a guest percussionist named Caíto. By the time they played in my hometown the same year, however, it was without him unfortunately. Ao vivo 1976 may be a nice CD for old fans of the band, but I should warn everybody that the sound quality, not surprisingly, is not great. In fact, it sounds little better than an average bootleg. So its importance is more historical than musical. Among the most interesting tracks is an 18 minute version of Suite, an instrumental epic they used to play live for years but only recorded (in a much shorter edition) in 1982´s Som Mais Puro. There is also another unreleased instrumental piece called Tema I, a rocking number with a slower part in the middle. A few tracks from the new album seemed to be on a testing level (I can´t tell if the LP was already fully recorded or not by that time. Some in between songs talks suggest it was due to release in near future) like Quando Eu vi Aquela Lua Passar, with a much heavier arrangement than it is on the record and on live sets since then.

Overall it was nice to hear those songs performed by the classic line up at its peak. The addition of the the extra percussion is also a plus, for it enriched their tunes. It is a pity that the sound of the CD is not up to the quality of the music they play. Still, a treat for fans. And fans only. Do not expect the high quality of today´s recording and remastering. For such thing I recommend their Terço Ao Vivo (2007), when the band reunited and recaptured much of their former magic.

Rating: 5 stars for the music X 1,5 stars for the production = 2,5 stars.

 O Terço ao Vivo by TERÇO, O album cover Live, 2007
3.73 | 17 ratings

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O Terço ao Vivo
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

4 stars In 2001 Flávio Venturini gave a solo concert in São Paulo and decided to ask his former colleagues from the O Terço´s classic line up to play with him some old material from the 70´s. So, for the first time in more than 20 years, Venturini, Sérgio Hinds, Sérgio Magrão and Luíz Moreno played together on the same stage. The audience response was so good they decided to reform the band and record a live album and DVD, maybe even a new studio CD. However those plans were scrapped when Moreno suffered a fatal heart attack in the same year. At the urge of Moreno´s widow, they tried again in 2005, with young drummer Sérgio Mello stepping in. This time everything worked alright and the band has since then been playing their classics and even some new material. I had the opportunity to atend to one of their concerts a couple of weeks ago and I was pleased surprised of how fit they all were. The magic is still there.

This live album was recorded at the Canecão, Rio de Janeiro on may 4th, 2005, but only released in 2007. This is basically the same show they´ve been playing since then, except for the fact that the acoustic set was expanded (here they perform only two songs in that format). And they are playing better than ever! With some guests helping out: long time friend Marcus Vianna (from another brazilan prog legend, Sagrado Coração da Terra) plays violin, Irinéia Moreno sings backing vocals on one song and Ruriá Duprat (nephew of their former orchestrator, the famous Rogério Duprat) arranged a couple of songs on which the Uirapuru string quartet is featured.

The repertoire is of course based on their two most famous records, Criaturas Da Noite and Casa Encantada, but there were a few surprises too: Tributo ao Sorriso, a b side from their very first single of 1970 is played with a new, fine arrangement. P.S. Apareça, from their Compositores (1996) is also a nice treat and they even included a new studio song to close the CD, Antes Do Sol Chegar (which sounds a lot like a Venturini solo work, but good anyway). Unfortunately the long instrumental Suite is missing here (it is on the DVD, though), but 1974, probably their best prog epic, is played beautifully right in the beginning of the set.

Production and overall sound quality is top notch. It was really a dream come true for those who were lucky enough to see them live at their heyday (like me, I saw them in 1976). One of the few reunions that really paid off, even with the loss of the much loved Moreno (who was remembered and praised by the other members during the show). Sérgio Melo, meanwhile, does a great job.

Conclusion: a great comeback and a fine CD. One of Brazil´s most important bands of the 70´s is in great form after all theses years! Rating: something between 4 and 4,5 strong stars. Highly recommended!

 Para Sempre by TERÇO, O album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2001
2.00 | 1 ratings

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Para Sempre
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

— First review of this album —
2 stars Another rather poor compilation from this great band. Once in a while they put out these kind of stuff. This time is Para Sempre (forever) series of 2001. Although most of their classics are here, there is also a lot that was left out (including such major songs such as their quintessential instrumental epic 1974). At least they limited the selection to their 70´s releases, but their first two CDs and early singles (some of them they recently incorporated to their repertoire) were completely forgotten. Since this CD time is only around the 56 minute mark, there were enough to put songs like Queimada and Jogo Das Pedras, not to mention others. Worst still, they did include no less than 4 tracks from their weak 1978 release, Mudança de Tempo. A cut like Blues Do Adeus, with its long 7 minute boring running time is something that should never been chosen if they really wanted a representative record..

The booklet is very weak, with only reference to the tracklist and writing credits, nothing more. On the other hand the overall sound quality is very good (they must have remastered all the tunes). If only they had the same criteria to select the material they had on their hands, it would be a different story...

I can´t recommend this compilation to anyone. Although the music itself is very good, the selection is one of those cases that seemed to be done by someone who didn´t understand the band´s music and/or importance. There are better ones around.

Rating: 2 stars.

 Preferencia Nacional  by TERÇO, O album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1976
3.00 | 3 ratings

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Preferencia Nacional
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

3 stars A quite good compilation with a few tunes that could be dismissed and a some that should be included. Overall I can´t complain, for it includes their best album ever, the classic Criaturas Da Noite, in its entirely (albeit not in the same order, of course), much stuff from their second best, Casa Encantada and even a couple of very early b sides. The disposable tunes would be the ones from the weak Mudança de Tempo (1978), where the songs and the style are too different from the rest of the material here and not up to their standards thus far. But, since there is only 3 tracks from that album, I guess it´s alright.

I guess the songs should be in chronological order. That would make it easy for anyone to see their development through the years. The idea of having those two b-sides was a good one, though. They both sound better than on the original form (I guess they were remastered): Tributo Ao Sorriso is from their debut single , Velhas Histórias (1970), and recently they added it to their repertoire when the classic line up came back. Unfortunately nothing from their first two LPs is featured here, and some other early or non album single could be added (as long as they were also remastered). The exclusion of anything they released after 1978 is good news, making it a little more coherent, showing the band´s versatility and skill without having to face some terrible material they recorded during the 80´s.

Conclusion: nice compilation if you want to know about this quintessential brazilian band and don´t want to or can´t afford to listen to all their 70´s stuff. At least it does include all the cuts from their most important CD.

 Velhas Estórias by TERÇO, O album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1970
1.95 | 2 ratings

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Velhas Estórias
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

2 stars It was common at the end of the 60´s for most rock groups to play at popular music festivals. Those festivals were quite a fad at the time. It was a good way to promote their name and show that they were more than ´just´ a rock band. Velhas Estórias written by Renato Correa and Gutenberg Guarabyra (from the famous folk rock duo Sá & Guarabyra) was the song O Terço decided to compete the Juiz De Fora Festival (which they won). Later on they got a third place on a much bigger festival, the FIC (in portuguese, International song festival), which was broadcast on TV and gave them a big exposure.

Both songs were released as a single in 1970, and their first album came out later on the same year. However, the tunes included here are quite different from their self titled debut, both relying mostly on their harmony vocals and heavy orchestration, bringing their sound much closer to the brazilian popular music of the time than the psychedelic rock experiment that was most of their first full length. And quite better too, I should say. Unfortunately the production was terrible, very muddy and unbalanced. It would be great to see them re-record those songs with today´s technology, because both tracks are good and show glimpses of the style they would embrace in a few years.

Rating: Even if the songs themselves are good and the performances are ok, the dire production makes it nothing more than a collector´s item. Two stars.

 Live At Palace by TERÇO, O album cover Live, 1994
4.30 | 18 ratings

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Live At Palace
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

4 stars After some mishaps since their come back in the early 80´s the group finally released a good, even if a bit uncharacteristically, album in 1992 (Time Travelers, their first written and sung entirely in english). It conquered for them a new audience, kept most of the old one and gave the group a lot more confidence for their next project, something leader and only original member Sérgio Hinds was dreaming for a long time: a live album with an orchestra. This would be a project where the band and the orchestra would work together for the entire performance, not only to enhance some moments. Better still: the arrangements would be done by the legendary Rogério Duprat (a revolutionary arranger and maestro who had worked with several artists during the 60´s and 70´s, including O Terço). The orchestra was to be led by another great brazilian concert master, Júlio Medaglia.

So Live At The Palace was released in 1994. It was recorded during one of their concerts in São Paulo in november, 1993. The results were highly satisfactory, even if the mix of their old classics (sung in Portuguese) and their new material (in english) and the different styles make one wonder if you´re listening to two distinctive bands on the same CD. Nevertheless, the record in general is excellent, showing their tremendous musicanship and songwriting capabilities all along. There are only a couple of tracks where things don´t really work out that well: the cover of Metaformose Ambulante (meaning walking metamorphosis, written by Raul Seixas, a great brazilian popular songwriter) is completely out of place here. I still wonder why such odd choice of song when they had so many other terrific stuff left out. Hey Amigo is another: this rocker sounds better without the orchestra. However, the highs are way more numerous than those two lows.

I specially loved the long instrumental tracks: 1974 and Crucis are the album highlights, with fine interactions between band and orchestra. The 9+ minute Suíte is another great track, with lyrics added this time (written in english). The group, while not the classic line up we all hoped to see in this format, is still great, capable of reproducing the old stuff with perfection and the new one with great energy and conviction (drummer Franklin Paollilo seems specially fired up). But the star of the show is still Hinds beautiful, fluid guitar solos and licks. He is one of the most underrated rock guitarists.

The recording sound is very good and well balanced, you can hear every instrument and voice the overall production is top notch for the time.

All in all an excellent CD that, finally showed the band in their full potential after such a long time. If you don´t know O Terço yet, this a fine starting point.

Final rating: something between 4 and 4.5 stars. Highly recommended.

 Compositories  by TERÇO, O album cover Studio Album, 1996
2.97 | 16 ratings

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Compositories
O Terço Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

3 stars This is really a mixed bag. Compositores (songwriters) is an odd album. After the success of the "international" CD Time Travelers, on which they sang in english for the first time, and an equally well received live record with an orchestra, the group - or should I say Sérgio Hinds and Luiz De Boni, the only remaining members from that line up - decided to record this rather disjointed collection of songs. It´s all sung in portuguese again and the selection of composers and styles varied wildly. There are just about everything here: new recording of old stuff (Deus, from their second LP), brazilian music classics (Sangue Latino, Elza), new stuff from the band (Menino De Rua, Às Vezes), new songs from other writers and even another one from ex member Flavio Venturini (P.S. Apareça).

As usual with the band the overall quality of all the tracks is very good, although the reason why they were changing musical directions so often remains a mystery. This album is closer to brazilian MPB than anything they had released from the 80´s on. Some of the tunes would fit easily on their early 70´s material like the poignant Mãe Terra or O Braço Da Minha Guitarra. Sometimes they don´t fit at all (Sangue Latino is a good example of a failed cover version), but none is crap. The album is also notably for having several guests and even some ex members sang (uncredited) on their contributions. The production and the performances are excellent.

Conclusion: good, even if a bit uneven on parts and quite unsual even by O Terço standards. Not exactly the kind of album one should expect after such well received CD like Time Travelers. Fortunately, the tradition of recording fine stuff, whatever the genre involved, remained. Whether you may call them, versatile or fickle, you have to admit they are good.

Rating: 3 stars.

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