CRUCIS

CRUCIS is my first try at Argentina's prog rock scene and I am not disappointed. They only managed two albums, but I am actually surprised how well produced their music is compared to many other Latin American prog acts (like Mexico's ICONOCLASTA who gave us great music, but suck-ass production). With the exception of vocals in Spanish, CRUCIS actually have a lot more in common with Dutch acts like FOCUS and FINCH than I could ever imagine. Meaning expect lots of Akkerman/van Nimwegen-style guitar work from Pino Marrone and various keyboards (Hammond organ, Moog, clavinet, string synth) from Anibal Kerpal, with complex passages and the occasionaly jazzy/fusion-influenced passages. The rest of the band consisted of Gustavo Montesano on bass and Gonzalo Farrugia (who was born in Uruguay) on drums. Both Montesano and Marrone handle the vocal duties.

On their debut, you might notice a little hard rock influences in the DEEP PURPLE or ATOMIC ROOSTER vein (especially on "Mes" where Anibal Kerpal played organ in the Vincent Crane/Jon Lord vein, but in a more progressive setting), and the occasional heavy progressive passage that bring to mind certain Italian prog bands. Each of these cuts demonstrate what the band could be capable of, but because none of the cuts are over seven minutes long, it really doesn't give the band the chance to really soar (exception given to "Determinados Espejos"), but they obviously solved that problem when their following album, "Los Delirios del Mariscal" featured only four cuts, two of them over 10 minutes. Regardless of the faults of their debut, it still proves that CRUCIS is one of the best Latin American prog bands I've heard so far. Your best bet is get the 2-for-1 CD deal entitled "Cronologia" (later entitled "Kronologia") which packages both of their albums on one CD. Their debut album is a worth having album, but a little short of being essential, in my book.