VESANIA

Vesãnia is a one-shoot band from Brazil that in 1999 released an eponymous album full of somber moods, electrifying power and robust moods. Most of the motifs are quite Spartan, with a compositional basis more focused on harmony than on melody. There is also a recurrence in the roles filled by the guitar and the keyboards: the latter is in charge of the featured riffs and most of the leads, while the latter are almost exclusively focused on background orchestrations and ornaments. The rhythm duo is the most frontally aggressive source of sound in the band, making an undisputed hint to Vesãnia's metal past (before it became a prog rock band). The overall sound is sustained on a combination of prog metal, 90s Crimsonian ambiences, 70s Rush, thrash metal and Gothic within a solid heavy prog frame. The musical ideas are usually not that complex, but the sophistication is patently there, working on the arrangements that link the various motifs contained in each track. Coincidences can be traced with Italian band A Piedi Nudi and Frech act Taal. The opening track 'Freiráticos' states a peculiar combination of strength and pomposity through the development of the successive motifs. 'Nebulosa' goes to a wider variety of places, since it comprises an energetic exercise on rock- fusion for its interlude: the fusion element is inspired by Carioca folklore. The final section feels like a mixture of late Sepultura and "Hemispheres"-era Rush. 'Bardos' takes the listener by surprise with its funky-based introductory theme, but soon enough things get in a metallish KC tone, including some weird dissonant layers that lean closer to Present than to Dream Theater or Fates Warning (for instance). The last 2 minutes are occupied by a Flamenco-tinged symphonic motif whose majesty is conveniently reconstructed via Vesãnia's signature metal sound. 'Tetraghamaton' is actually very Gothic: Manieri delivers some of his finest guitar solos in the album, while Ricardo Bonzatto makes his keyboards take a prominent location (something not too recurrent in this album). After a first half that prioritizes cosmic ambiences, the second half shifts to a creepy atmosphere, solidly sustained over a languid tribal rhythmic structure. The climax is very much a-la Black Sabbath through an "Awake"-era DT filter. 'Sesgo' bears a similar mood to those displayed in tracks 1 and 2, with an extra touch of space-oriented psychedelia, and even an extended jazzy guitar lead. When things return to a heavy stance, the climax feels vibrant. 'Zenus labó' is in no position of adding anything new to the sonic spectrum so far delivered in the album, but it certainly has a special appeal in its motifs and tempos. The solemnity of the last motif reminds of the closing portion of 'Bardos', slightly Arabic indeed. 'Prolegômenos' fills the album's last 6 ½ minutes, being the least aggressive piece: being as tough as it is, its main sonorities are dominantly traced by Gothic sources and spacey textures. It contains enough motif and tempo variations as to keep a progressive interest, but mostly, it states a powerful farewell without reaching for the dramatic. I suspect that this band doesn't exist anymore, so I have to say that Vesãnia is a band to be remembered.