ONZA

The first and final compositions are instrumentals featuring fluent rhythms and bombastic eruptions with a powerful and dynamic rhythm-section, embellished with wonderful work on synthesizers and guitar. The interplay is awesome, in a fusion atmosphere but very melodic and accessible. The titletrack includes an interlude with tender piano, soaring strings and beautiful acoustic guitar, in a slow rhythm, finally organ joins. And in La Campana De Cristal the climate turns halfway into more mellow with lots of varied synthesizer play, and an accellaration with fiery guitar solo. The other 4 tracks are song oriented, and blended with pleasant native vocals.

Sensitive and fiery guitar runs and a dynamic rhythm-section in Lado Negativo.

From a fluent mid-tempo with strong interplay and sparkling synthesizer flights to mellow with acoustic guitar, moving electric guitar and emotional vocals in Nostalgia.

Recuerdos is a beautiful ballad with acoustic rhythm guitar and melancholical vocals, topped with intense violin work. Halfway the mood shifts to more lush and dynamic with moving electric guitar and orchestral keyboards.

El Tercero En Discordia delivers a dreamy intro with high pitched flute sound, then a slow rhythm with a strong rhythm-section, and a sparkling synthesizer solo in the second part.

If you are up to Onza its varied and eclectic, very melodic sound this album is a fine musical experience featuring wonderful work on keyboards and guitar, pleasant native vocals and fuelled by a splendid rhythm-section (as usual in Spanish prog).

My rating: 3,5 star.

The album contains five long tracks of mainly instrumental and rather soft Progressive Rock with jazzy, Latin and symphonic hints here and there.Onza started as a Symphonic Rock group but through time they incorporated elements from Jazz/Fusion, New Age and Andalusian Rock, resulting to a strange but still cohesive amalgam of different styles and soundscapes.The music is interesting, but what actually prevents the album from being more than decent is the thin keyboards and awful mechanical drums (is there actually a normal drummer in here or a drum machine?) along with a mediocre production.Compositionally the mix of these styles is tight with occasional jazzy guitar plays followed by mellow light-symph synth-driven themes and Lounge keyboard passages blended with some Andalusian influences on guitars' and keyboards' sections.There are also plenty of solos to be discovered in ''Reino Rocoso'', the guitar-based ones are cool but these plastic keyboards are at moments very fake and even unbearable.

This is a great example of an album held down by the cheap production and the false use of instruments.If you still can afford these flaws, the album comes recommended if you like instrumental and jazzy Progressive/Art Rock...2.5 stars.

Very good album from the Andalusian band ONZA which is headed by guitarist Jaime Padilla. Originally being closer to jazz rock/fusion they deliver a neo progressive style during the last years sometimes around the sound of JADIS, RPWL and ELOY. It took already four years to get a new sign of life from the band but finally I can say the result is worth it. Eight matured tracks were offered including native vocals, beautiful melodies, symphonic keyboards and rocking guitars. A powerful rhythm section is the fundament for the diversified composed songs.

Paradigmadeserves it to be the title song and ranks among the best. Devided in two parts it all starts with acoustic guitar but soon changes to a groovy rocking section with interesting somewhat slicing keys later fading into the second floydy gliding part with a nice saxophone solo - oh yeah - this is excellent song writing! The long track El Alquimista also comes up as an important album component - more symphonic oriented with a nice flow and some jam moments. No lack at all for a conclusion and so there is no need to bring up all the other songs - they are all on a high level anyhow. I like this album very much.

'Paradigma' can keep up with other significant genre albums without any problem and is not only dedicated to fans of neo and symphonic prog.