CRUCIS

Crucis was one of the most talented 70s prog acts from Argentina, and their music brilliantly incarnated the matching of hard rock's fire and jazz-rock's clever complexity in a symphonic prog context. During their brief but intense career, they recorded two masterpiece albums (besides a single and some extra material that finally ended up in Montesano's first solo album). Crucis' stunning debut album is an overall showcase for all four musicians' technical abilities: Marrone and Kerpel master their instruments with exquisite skill, delivering flashy solos and powerful harmonic bases; meanwhile, the rhythm duo of Montesano and Farrugia proves to be capable of providing a solid foundation for each track's frame, and also manages to interact with their partners' melodic inputs due to their impressive pyrotechnics. A special mention must go to drummer Gonzalo Farrugia, whose ability to create precision and inventiveness with his instrument is simply outstanding: he does not only sustain the energetic display inflicted by his partners, but he also fuelled a big deal of extra fire with his extraordinary percussive rolls and sundry tricks. Like many other have said before me (and it's quite obvious, indeed), the prog sound by Crucis is very reminiscent of Focus and Finch, and there are also some noticeable influences from Return to Forever, and also Jeff Beck Group and Deep Purple, which seem to openly motivate the musicians to explore their rockier side. The band's stuff is mostly instrumental, and even the sung tracks do not comprise too many lyrics in them. The first two numbers state the general mood for the entire album, with 'Corto Amanecer' portraying a reduced version of the band's musical ideology (it lasts less than 3 minutes). With 'la Triste Visión del Propio Entierro' things tend to get a bit calmer, since the band rides on a more symphonic realm for this one: Kerpel's use of the Moog as some sort of electric harpsichord sets the pace for the track's further development. 'Irónico Ser' is pure hard rock with a slight prog-blues twist in the instrumental coda, while the closure 'Recluso Artista' brings back the symphonic majesty that had already been shown in track 4. In between, 'Determinados Espejos' stands out as the most accomplished gem of the album: tons of energy and skill are invested in this spectacular jam-centered piece, which also has room for some well structured motifs at places. This is my all-time fave Crucis track, and definitely, the perfect testimony of what this band was all about. "Crucis" is, to me, an undisputed masterpiece of prog, regardless of the sub-genre or country.