MYSTICAE VISIONES

At this early point of Kotebel's career Carlos Plaza always shook a bit the line-up of his project.For the second recording of Kotebel Plaza was helped, besides Acosta and Garcia, by Carolina Prieto on choirs and cellist Franscisco Ochando.The group had already signed a contract with the French label Musea and in 2002 ''Mysticae Visiones'' saw the light.

The compositions of Plaza become even more ambitious and daring with this work.It consists of only two tracks, the eponymous one clocking at almost 36 minutes (!), divided in twelve movements.Stylistically though not much has changed.This epic suite by Kotebel evokes the sound of THE ENID at their most Classical-inspired parts with sporadic use of guitars and flute but an extreme one of various keyboards and piano.This long structure contains tons of piano interludes, synth-driven solos and symphonic keyboards, creating both grandiose and more atmospheric soundscapes.But it is a fact that the best of it comes out when Plaza and his collaborators are in full mode, producing melodic yet demanding Symphonic Rock, while when the flutes are also in use there is even a light Canterbury flavor dominating the listening.There are also some cosmic operatic vocals by Prieto and nice cello passages here and there, while there are also moments where Kotebel's music has a slightly jazzy approach.Some long and nervous synth-drenched parts with a questionable sound are my only complaint about this composition.The second track ''The river'', about 15 minutes long, is actually more of the same, though somesort of ethnic influences are more than apparent at the opening moments.This is actually a more balanced effort by Plaza, who combines Classical, Progressive and Ethnic Music inspirations in the same track with comfort.''The River'' has a Progressive Rock feel all the way through with little references to pure Classical Music, as guitars, bass and flutes are used more often, its atmosphere is quite grandiose as expected, but the lack of some striking melodies prooves to be a rather negative factor.

No question, Plaza and Kotebel seem at this point to be the next big thing regarding the Symphonic Rock genre.Rich, atmospheric and well-composed instrumental symphonic textures are again the basic rules for ''Mysticae Visiones''.A must-have for fans of THE ENID, a good introduction to Kotebel's music for the rest.