CAST

Symphonic Prog • Mexico


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Cast biography
Due to the lack of support from the Governments who see art as a way to get more taxes or private industry who prefer to invest in foreign acts, and the difficulties to reach the USA or British markets, it's unusual for a Latin American band to have a long and prolific career, but 31 years and 15 studio albums make of CAST from Mexico, one of the exceptions to this rule.

The story of VAST begins in 1978 when the first golden era of Progressive Rock was agonizing, when the Keyboardist Alfonso Vidales had the idea of creating a Rock band that blended Symphonic passages in order to keep his beloved Prog alive.

Very little information can be found about the first 16 years of their existence, until 1994 when "Landing in a Serious Mind" is self released, an album that presents us a serious Symphonic band with an original sound, maybe the only problem is the strong accent when singing in English.

1994 and 1995 are years of great activity for CAST, the band releases 5 albums, the already mentioned, "Sound of Imagination", "Third Call", "Endless Sounds" and "Four Aces", what makes me think this material was recorded during the previous years.

After two more albums and three years, the band signs with Musea for the release of "Imaginary Window" in 1999, an album that shows us a band that leaves behind the few Neo Prog leanings to embrace fully the Symphonic genre

The years keep passing and still in 2009, the band is preparing a new album that will be called "Cast Arte" and knowing the band is, we have CAST for several years more.

Being such a prolific band, it's hard to define a unique style, because the have evolved through the decades, performing Baroque, Medieval, Ethnic, Fusion, etc, but always keeping the unique sound in which we can here references from ELP, GENESIS and several more bands, but to be precise, I believe it's more the sound of the 70's rather than a direct influence from any band.

No Prog collection is complete without a least three or four albums of this Mexican band who defied time and won.

:::Iván Melgar Morey - Perú:::

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SOUNDTRACK ORIGINAL CAST Jamaica LENA HORNE RCA VG++/NM US $9.99 (0 bids)
1h 18m
BROWN,GEORGIA- OLIVER ORIGINAL CAST CD -NEW US $12.67 »Buy it now 1h 22m
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Evita (Premiere American Recording) by Original Cast CD US $3.00 (0 bids)
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NEW Next To Normal - Original Cast US $16.98 »Buy it now 1h 41m
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Jersey Boys Original Cast Recording CD 22 Tracks US $15.98 (0 bids)
US $18.98 »Buy it now
1h 47m
THE SELMA~ORIG CAST ALBUM~MARTIN LUTHER KING~SEALED 2LP US $0.99 (1 bids)
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Leigh Stephens and a Cast of Thousands LP (Charisma) US $55.99 »Buy it now 2h 53s
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2h 2m
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MATRAZ Gritare CD PROG (Cast Nexus Supernova Galadriel) US $8.08 (3 bids)
2h 34m
Footloose 1998 Broadway Cast CD US $10.49 (2 bids)
2h 42m
ENZIGN-Cast the first Stone CD US $9.99 (0 bids)
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2h 51m
Show Boat - Original Cast ** Brand New * Sealed** US $3.00 (0 bids)
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CD LOLITA, MY LOVE LIVE ORIGINAL BOSTON CAST PLUS BONUS US $18.95 (1 bids)
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Beyond The Fringe Original Broadway Cast 1962 US $5.00 (0 bids)
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APPLAUSE Original Cast Album Lauren Bacall US $3.00 (0 bids)
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Glee: The Music, Volume 1Glee: The Music, Volume 1 Soundtrack
Sony (Audio CD 2009)
$7.80
$6.79 (used)
Glee: The Music, Volume 2Glee: The Music, Volume 2 Soundtrack
Sony (Audio CD 2009)
$8.99
Hair (The New Broadway Cast Recording)Hair (The New Broadway Cast Recording) Cast Recording, Soundtrack
Ghostlight (Audio CD 2009)
$13.13
$12.94 (used)
High School MusicalHigh School Musical Enhanced, Extra tracks, Soundtrack, Special Edition
Walt Disney Records (Audio CD 2006)
$6.00
$0.76 (used)
Kitty's KissesKitty's Kisses Cast Recording
P.S. CLASSICS (Audio CD 2009)
$12.79
Seussical: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)Seussical: The Musical (Original Cast Recording) Cast Recording
Decca Broadway (Audio CD 2001)
$10.38
$9.97 (used)
Highlights From The Phantom Of The Opera: The Original London Cast Recording (1986 London Cast)Highlights From The Phantom Of The Opera: The Original London Cast Recording (1986 London Cast) Cast Recording
Decca Broadway (Audio CD 1990)
$8.00
$0.01 (used)
West Side Story-The New Broadway Cast RecordingWest Side Story-The New Broadway Cast Recording Cast Recording
SONY CLASSICS (Audio CD 2009)
$10.44
$10.43 (used)
Shrek: The MusicalShrek: The Musical Cast Recording
Decca (Audio CD 2009)
$10.08
$8.96 (used)
My Fair LadyMy Fair Lady Cast Recording
SONY CLASSICS (Audio CD 2009)
$7.96
$8.88 (used)

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CAST discography of albums and videos


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CAST Albums (CD, Vinyl/LP, Cassette)


3.03 | 6 ratings
Landing In A Serious Mind
1994

3.33 | 6 ratings
Sounds of Imagination
1994

3.77 | 4 ratings
Third Call
1994

3.63 | 5 ratings
Endless Signs
1995

2.74 | 6 ratings
Four Aces
1995

3.50 | 13 ratings
Beyond Reality
1996

3.74 | 15 ratings
Angels and Demons
1997

3.59 | 10 ratings
Imaginary Window
1999

2.83 | 4 ratings
Legacy
2000

3.00 | 1 ratings
Infinity
2002

3.70 | 7 ratings
Al-Bandaluz
2003

3.38 | 5 ratings
Nimbus
2004
not rated
Pyramid Of The Rain
2005

3.09 | 2 ratings
Mosaïque
2006

3.49 | 12 ratings
Com.Union
2007

4.20 | 9 ratings
Originallis
2008

CAST Live Albums (CD, Vinyl/LP, Cassette)


4.00 | 1 ratings
A Live Experience
1999

4.35 | 5 ratings
Castalia
2000

CAST Videos (DVD, Blu-ray and VHS)

CAST Boxset & Compilations (CD, Vinyl/LP, Cassette)


4.00 | 2 ratings
A View of Cast
1996

3.00 | 3 ratings
Laguna de Volcanes
2000

CAST Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, Vinyl/LP, Cassette, MP3, Digital Media Download)

CAST Music Reviews


Showing last 10
 Originallis by CAST album cover Studio Album, 2008
4.20 | 9 ratings

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Originallis
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by toroddfuglesteg

4 stars Is Cast the western hemisphere's answer to The Flower Kings ?

If their other albums sounds like this album, the answer is a definate yes to that question. This double album is very much in the Roine Stolt mould, but not a copycat.

The ninety minutes here takes us from Genesis via Yes, King Crimson, Kaipa and ELP to today's retro symphonic prog scene. Magic Pie and Flower Kings is references. The Tangent to springs to mind. In other words; this double CD is a very tasty symphonic prog smorgasboard.

I guess you will now have sniffed out the type of music we find here. Long keyboard runs over some superb melodies. Some klarinet, saxophones and flutes can also be found here as snacky details. The vocals are superb. It helps that those are sung in Spanish. A language I do not understand, but the vocals in itself is like an extra instrument. Superb stuff. The superb sound is a mix of neo-prog and old symphonic prog.

My only gripe with this album is that is may feel a bit sameness after a while. Ninety minutes is a long time and I am afraid the band may have bitten over more than they, and I, can chew/swallow. But the music is very beautiful and it seriously impresses me. I am on the search for more albums from this band. Cast is a criminally ignored band and they deserve more recognition from my fellow progheads. This album is as good as any The Flower Kings albums and it can be compared to both Retropolis and Flower Power. It is that good.

4 stars

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 Angels and Demons by CAST album cover Studio Album, 1997
3.74 | 15 ratings

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Angels and Demons
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by Rashly

3 stars Amazing cover, it really demonstrates the name of the album.

1/Initiation - very complex instrumental song lead by keyboards. Excellent, but maybe a little bit long.

2/We Don't Belong To Heaven - very haunted chord progression, vocals are good, overall it's nice song without doubt.

3/Reality Or Misanthropy? (Mix-up) - i truly enjoy music of this song, but it's a shame to say that vocals are just bad, out of melody and moaning.

4/What We See / The Increasing Sorrow Of The Earth - and again weak vocals broke good song, guitar solo in the middle is nice.

5/Angels And Demons - keyboard instrumental in baroque style with Keith Emerson kind solo in the middle of song. In my opinion this song is boring.

6/Revealing Signs Of Love - the longest song in the album contains chorus that remind me of Genesis song "Many too many", last 3 mintues of song are really good.

7/Fallen Angel - instrumental composition with orchestral arrangements in route march style. Pompous and bombastic. There are too much keyboards for my taste, this song is seems to be overproduced. Some tones sounds absolutely retro.

8/Loneliness - vocal melody remind me of Citizen Cain. I mark this song as best on "Angels And Demons". Vocals and keyboard melodies are really cool here.

9/Fire In The Sky, Fire On Earth - 4th instrumental song on this album and as usual lead by keyboards. I should critize the lenght and arrangements, washy and boring for being placed on progressive rock music record. The same chord progression repeats over and over again without changes.

10/White Lies? / Brief Story Of The Freewill - good complex composition, contains bass solo and grand finale!

Overall, it is a good album, musician skills are high, but vocals and arrangements break down songs very often. If i would be producer of this record i would reduce it 2 times.

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 Beyond Reality by CAST album cover Studio Album, 1996
3.50 | 13 ratings

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Beyond Reality
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by maryes

5 stars I agree with prog veteran last review. I don't understand why CAST is so under estimate, maybe the reason be the low record quality in some of your work (perhaps Four Aces is the bigger example). However, this problem is easy to solve with good equalizer. Return to the main object of this review, the sound of Cast is in the most accurate sense of the word; Magnificent !!! In Beyond Reality you can feel cleary this magnificence as soon as the music start, first track grow in a upward curve lead the audience in a symphonic prog in the vein of the masters of 70"s (YES,GENESIS. E.L & P etc...). The sound acquire a new approach with the use of new technology of istruments. From this point in front a mix of keyboards and guitars textures and a vigorous rythm section building a wall of sounds wich shows in a moment a children choir who remindsme angels !!! The music follow in great style in all of tracks. Due this appreciation my evaluation is a 5 stars record !

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 Beyond Reality by CAST album cover Studio Album, 1996
3.50 | 13 ratings

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Beyond Reality
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by Prog_Veteran

5 stars Why CAST is not so recognized like the F. K. ? One answer is studio sonic and engineering limitations to capture and record such grandiose CAST outputs. I'll dream : " oh, if CAST had a Swedish studio and Mr. Alan Parsons to be the director band, producing, cutting excesses, retaining only the most grabbing material making shorter and less CD's". Remind part of Pink Floyd "Dark side of the moon" huge success is attributed to Alan Parsons production.

Once musicianship is stellar, I want to believe if the above dream was materialized, CAST would be considered as one of the best CD era bands. So few reviews for CAST brings me to mind the 3rd track refrain from TEMPUS FUGIT "Chessboard" cd : "We live in an unfair world?..". Ah-ah; oh no, the Murphy law has no fun.

My CAST discovery history in curious. Around 1996 I was in RARITY store (yes, the one that reissued BACAMARTE "depois do fim") My Brazilian friends told me CAST was great; on RARITY shelf among lots of prog Cd's and vinyls, there were 5 CAST cd's. I had to risk on one, randomly I picked up "Four Aces". I see it gets in P.A. the lower rating (today is 15/08/2009) among more than 16 CAST cds ;-) ! But I consider "Four Aces" a cool record (***), principally if you consider that in 1995 it didn't exist nowadays 70's professional cloners enormous number of records.

The some neo prog that appeared in "Four Aces" had gone in my next purchase "Beyond Reality". At the time, 1996, my prog head friends in general considered this record as a masterpiece; in P.A. it gets 11 ratings with 3.25 stars (in 15/08/2009). "Beyond Reality" demonstrates CAST feeling very proud to put out an ambitious, conceptual, symphonic, epic, emotional driven, bombastic, complex music. The music could be described shortly as a PFM (latin richness prog)/Genesis/own style formula. The Rescue runs in total 21:20 divided in 3 parts : 1. introduction ? Massive instrumental ala PFM/Genesis/own style; 2.to the 7th house ? fantastic polyphonic vocals, wonderful melodies from heaven beauty; 3. the rescue ? too much symphonic emotions.

The track "The North" runs almost 14 minutes including track 4 ? surprise this is also majestic with a bit of Mexican troubadours going to typical CAST powerful prog; track 5 the same PFM/Genesis/own style massive attack. Track 6 a medieval with Mexican flavor sympho rest moment.

"Beyond Reality" already till track 6 with 40 minutes ran, perhaps could finish here (hum, ok plus track 8) as I feel blown away. But there's more : track 7 is great but I feel tired of the massive formula; track 8 is beautiful good to relax; the last Camel cover track is dispensable. I'll keep 5 stars to "Beyond Reality" as some CAST cd's are underrated and only the most recent work "originalis" gets the more than 4 stars status in P.A. so far. My highest honor to ALFONSO VIDALES (composer) and friends.

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 Landing In A Serious Mind by CAST album cover Studio Album, 1994
3.03 | 6 ratings

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Landing In A Serious Mind
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by Ivan_Melgar_M
Special Collaborator Symphonic Prog Specialist

4 stars When I read some reviews about CAST'S debut album, I thought that it was mediocre at the best, but still by insistence of a Mexican friend, dared to buy a copy of "Landing on a Serious Mind", something I will never regret, because the album is delightful, the vocals are good, but the instrumental breaks are outstanding.

The excellent interplay between the talented Luis Alfonso Vidales on the keyboards and Francisco Hernández Reyes on the guitars is elaborated with undeniable skills and technique. The Mexican elements in the music and the acoustic guitars with Flamenco reminiscences are delicate and introduced in the right moments avoiding abuse, in other words composition and arrangements are absolutely capable.

The album starts with "The Magic is gone" something that I believe is a contradiction with the opener, because the magic is just starting. After a delicate and very original introduction based mostly on keyboards and piano Dario Carlos Brassea in the vocals and Francisco Hernández Reyes add a passage clearly reminiscent of PENDRAGON'S "The Masquerade Overture" (Between Paintbox and The Shadow), but then evolves in something different and absolutely fluid, as the song advances, the vocals keep getting better and better and the aggressive guitar makes a perfect complement.

"Rest in Your Nest" starts more or less in Waltz tempo, but as the track advances keeps getting closer to some sort of Pompous Symphonic with echoes of Europe, with Brassea sounding very close (in vocal range and despite the strong accent) to Nick Barrett. Another solid number.

"I Just Wanna Be" brings us back into Neo territory again close to PENDRAGON, but this time to their softer side with sudden and surprising vocal explosions, the drumming by José Antonio Bringas collisions with the heavy guitar by the bassist Rodolfo Gonzalez Quiroz and Latin styled keyboards, not as solid as the previous two tracks, but still very good.

"At Last Alone" is a radical change, begins pompous and melancholic simultaneously, the acoustic guitar on the background playing in the vein of Flamenco musicians adds a wonderful touch. After a few seconds the song turns into a powerful ballad with elements borrowed from "A Trick of the Tail", just to change again into an "ALAN PARSONS PROJECT" inspired piece of music with more complexity.. "At Last Alone" changes over and over proving us that this guys know what Progressive Rock means, specially each time Luis Alfonso Vidales uses the Moog with great dexterity.

"Not Sleeping" presents us a different sound, this time they irrupt into Jazz/Fusion territory with some elements of "JEAN LUC PONTY" but with a Latin touch, the drumming by José Antonio Bringas is simply spectacular, a frantic violin (probably synthesized because it's not credited) blends perfectly.

"Just Another Way" the longest song in the album, is a pure Symphonic piece of music in which Luis Alfonso Vidales plays an extremely beautiful piano, that blends perfectly with the vocals creating a dramatic and melancholic song with some ELP reminiscences and a lot of CAST make of this song a real pleasure to listen.

"Do What you Like", "Athens", "Reunion" and "Chris de Col" have a lot in common, a clear Symphonic sound. with huge Classical influence and a touch of King Crimson, four tracks that seem taken from another album, to the point that I believe are from a different era of the band, being that CAST story begins in 1978, but this album was only released in 1994, an excellent way to close "Landing on a Serious Mind".

Most reviews I read, describe CAST'S debut as a mediocre album, something with what I totally disagree, maybe their later albums are even better, but "Landing on a Serious Mind" is a strong album from start to end with no weak moments, and that in my opinion deserves no less than four very solid stars.

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 Originallis by CAST album cover Studio Album, 2008
4.20 | 9 ratings

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Originallis
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by BRIAN STEFFENSEN

5 stars I can not understand why this band is not huge. They are the The Flower Kings of the western hemisphere. There sheer output is breathtaking, especially when there are if ever any bad tracks on any of their albums. They really should be considered one of the premier progressive rock bands of the last quarter century. Anyone who likes Swedish/Italian/Classic British Symphonic rock should definately get their hands on as much of their output as possible, you will not be disappointed. This album is amongst album. A double concept album, comparable with any of the greatest. One complaint, I would love to see an english translation of the lyrics. That goes double for their web site which is entirely in Spanish.

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 Originallis by CAST album cover Studio Album, 2008
4.20 | 9 ratings

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Originallis
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by robbob

4 stars As it s name say very Originallis

This is one of the best Cast albums.

Very complex, it shows in all its splendour the virtuosity of all their musicians.

I think that with this album they show they are completely alive .

Cast is the symphonic rock band of these days. The new Emerson,Lake and Palmer because of the virtuosity of their musicians and the complexity of their music, but also and of course in the music issue the Genesis,Yes and Pink Floyd influences are clear.

I have alwyas,nevertheless, miss good vocals and i think is the weakest thing in Cast.

With the incorporation of Mexican folk influences ,this album is very pleasant to hear.

4 afforded stars

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 Com.Union by CAST album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.49 | 12 ratings

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Com.Union
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Very interesting release by this prolific mexican band. I heard they played a kind of neo prog sound and I looked for their CDs. I got a couple of them and to be really fair I just didn´t like them. They played neo prog, alright, but the songs were rather ragged and disjoined, so I didn´t even bother to review them. But I could not believe a band with so many CDs was bad all the way, so after some time I decided to take chances with their latter material. that´s when I bought Com.Union. And I was rewarded. But they sound did change a lot.

First of all they are much more symphonic and jazz rock oriented now than anything I´ve heard. The inclusion of Pepe Flores on wind instruments certainly helped to give the album a certain King Crimson flavour here and there, but the structures of the songs are also different. The album is quite varied with bombastic moments followed by some quiter passages. Some are even a bit chaotic (hence some KC connections again), but not very often. They also included much more latin rhythms on the mixture. The result is a highly enjoyable, creative music. Most of the time it works. But on a 70 minute CD it would be surprising not to find some flaws. Amazingly they are few.

The band also decided not to sing in english anymore. And I think this was a right move, for the spanish languague sounds very well on this kind of music. Dino Brassea´s voice is not very outstanding but it fits just right. Besides, the addition of a female singer (Lupita Vidales) on some tracks did improved the vocal department a lot. The tracks that have both singers are the best ones.

Conclusion: a very strong release. I believe the band found its personality and very own sound. I liked it very much and I´m looking forward to hear Com.Union´s follow ups. Although not perfect in any way, I thought it was unfair not to give the CD less than 3,5. So something between that and 4 stars is more adequate. Recommended.

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 Landing In A Serious Mind by CAST album cover Studio Album, 1994
3.03 | 6 ratings

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Landing In A Serious Mind
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by psarros

1 stars CAST are a mexican band and maybe the most creative one as they have released so far 16 studio albums in fourteen years (!!!) between 1994 and 2008...Creative?Well,listening to the their debut I doubt if this is the right word...It's like a band which wants to play prog but don't know how...The only things that worth in this album is the instrumental ''Athens'' (don't get excited,just an average symphonic prog instrumental track) and a couple of interesting guitar solos and keyboard/piano passages...As for the rest of the album,this is full of cheesy and dull ballad-like tracks and too weak vocals very much in the pop/AOR vein,that I can't listen to them over 3 times...

It's obvious that the band is influenced among others by GENESIS and neo prog in general but they don't know how to create symphonic arrangements...A couple of keyboard or guitar solos mean nothing to me,that ain't prog...Apart from the pop/rock sound this album suffers from really horrible production that makes the whole listening even more painful!...I really can't recommend this album to anyone,even for collectors of the band,as this one has little to do with progressive rock,should be categorized perfectly as a AOR/melodic rock album...1 star only...

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 Originallis by CAST album cover Studio Album, 2008
4.20 | 9 ratings

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Originallis
Cast Symphonic Prog

Review by avestin
Special Collaborator

4 stars I have heard of Cast before and got curious about them, but never heard more than snippets of their music. I read a few favourable reviews of their previous album, Com.Union but didn't pick it up. So, Originallis is my first proper listen to the music of Cast, this long-time active Mexican band.

And what and album it is!

A double album, this 2008 release is over 90 minutes long, filled with lovely symphonic rock moments, embracing keyboards, powerful lead guitar playing and delightful playing of other instruments such as saxophone, flute and clarinet.

The songs flow into each other naturally, connected and seem to not end. The music changes mood and pace from a relaxed opening song named after the title of the album to the highly energetic, fun and enthralling instrumental piece that is Pulsar. It is a fantastic piece, emotional and powerful, shifting from a slightly melancholic state to an optimistic and positive mood, always on the move, not giving the listener any rest, but not in an exhausting kind of way; simply it just goes on and on, evolving as it goes on, adding structures and changing instruments as it develops. The sax solo, the use of the female vocalizations, and the rest of this expanded lineup take this track one notch up than it would have been, showing the importance of knowing how to not only construct your song but also how to orchestrate it, "paint" it with ingredients that will take it further on.

There are wonderful melodic lines, filled with passion and which sound powerful thanks to the enhanced lineup and the female vocalization. The balance between the melodic and the complex and dynamic is at a good position, as the switching occurs seamlessly and the result can proudly stand in line with other current great lineups of progressive rock bands. The male vocals by Alejandro Tornero are delicate and soft, matching the music and melodies and do not overshadow the rich sound of the band and the full gamut of instruments played upon. The female vocals and vocalization adds another magical layer to the already thrilling basis and fit very well.

I have also to mention the wonderful artwork of the album, magnificent drawings that are a delight to look at while listening to the music.

As said above, this is a long album, but for some reason I could get into it quite quickly and surprisingly for an album of this length, already from the second listen. While the music can be complex at times, it is quite accessible and bears a charm hard for me to resist. You may want to use the natural division of the two cd's to have separate listens and make it easier to grasp. If you like current and 90's Italian symphonic prog bands you might recognize some similarities in the style.

The album mixes very well the wonderful symphonic-prog sound with lush keyboards alongside heavy, almost metal-like guitar solos. If you like symphonic-prog that travels between the soft and heavy the tender and powerful, this is a very worthwhile album to get. A fantastic album.

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Thanks to Ivan_Melgar_M for the artist addition.

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