AKRANANIA

I have been fortunate enough to have listened to a lot of great music from Chile, so when I decided to check out some Rio from this great country I had big expectations. I can say my expectations were met and then some. Man can these guys play ! The drummer, the bass player, the lead guitarist, and the two sax players not only play at an extremely high level, but the complex arrangements, and the instrumental songs they compose match their playing abilities.

"Morricoleman" opens fast and hard before some dissonant sax melodies arrive. This song has extreme tempo changes and lots of them. The rhythm section is fantastic. The sax solos run rampant. "Recurrencias" is a powerful sounding song with pounding drums, aggressive guitar, and the ever-present sax melodies of course. There is a killer section 3 1/2 minutes in with some good bass. "Fana Papal Y Monsenor Smegma Nazzi" is a short tune that is so impressive because of the interplay between these musicians.

"Survector" is my favourite track next to "Recurrencias". It opens with some ripping guitar as sax joins in this uptempo tune. The sax stops as drums, bass and guitar lead the way before the sax returns. The song changes direction with some dissonant sax as the drums and bass lay down some great lines. The guitar grinds it out for a while as the sax takes a break. The sax is back ! Nice bass solo before 6 minutes followed by a brief drum solo. Dissonant sax melodies return as the drums pound away. "Nimboestrato" features deep vocal melodies and some incredible guitar. "Soula" features double bass lines before we get a "Big Band" sound (with the sax playing together) that turns jazzy. More great bass 6 1/2 minutes in as the sax screams. "Dementa Absorbant" seems to start and stop but it still sounds good. There is an amazing melody after 2 minutes. For 7 minutes we get this music that is straight out of a horror movie. Very spooky and creepy stuff.

This was close to a five star album for me, but the last two songs knocked it down a notch. I still highly recommend this incredible album.