AKINETÓN AO VIVO

I think, at the moment is the best album of the band were you can see them improvising, they play all the first album "AKINETON RETARD" without the last song"Aquelarre Satiri Sarnaz", the most part of the second "AKRANANIA" album, a very good selection of their third album "21 CANAPES" and a new song called "CANSANCIO" wich is a master pice.

4.5 stars.The music here is taken from two live shows from 2004, one in their home country of Chile and the other in Brazil. A double cd of incredible music from start to finish.This is my favourite recording from the band and I have to say that when you mix their talent with their humour and Avant Garde style you have one heck of a live act.You can hear the audience laughing many times when one of the band members is addressing them, and at other times the crowd just erupts in applause at what they are hearing and seeing.This is music for the adventerous music fan without a doubt. I'll go through some of the highlights.

"Primogenia Satiria" is laid back with some nice bass early on.You just feel like they are going to break out any second here. Great sound 2 1/2 minutes in then it settles before kicking in with vocals,guitar and drums. Amazing ! Spoken words and cries follow.The horns are screaming after 7 minutes. "Viaje A Erlebnis" kicks in right away with horns blasting as multi vocals join in. Ripping guitar after 3 minutes. "Cansancio" sounds so good and the horns are very impressive. Angular guitar 1 1/2 minutes in when horns stop.They return after 3 minutes. "Mamut Y Miladones" has this intense rhythm with lots of horns. "Copenhaguen Schtorba" is intense as well with horns to start. Spoken vocals after a minute and some brief angular guitar before 2 minutes. Crazy vocals expressions a minute later as the bass and drums pound.The crowd is going nuts 5 1/2 minutes in. Great tune.

Disc Two opens with "Survector" and it kicks in quickly and the guitar is lighting it up. Killer sound before 3 minutes as the horns go insane. "Potenzia" sounds really cool when it settles down. Check out the sax solo around 2 minutes right to the end. "Senorita Depresion" opens with gentle guitar as a beat comes in and vocal expressions. It builds. Crazy stuff and I love it. "Cocodrilos Cod Martini" is a song that sounds incredible. "Akinitron" continues the fantastic second disc with great song after great song. Guitar and clapping to start as the drums and horns join in. "Cadoncia Urmana" has some more deranged horn excursions then it turns heavy before 2 minutes. "Hawai" is beautiful and laid back. "Gansos, Patos Y Gallinos" has vocals in it and I really like when the horns pulsate after 2 minutes.The guitar leads a minute later. Crazy vocals and drums take over at 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in with horns. Bass only 7 minutes in as the vocals join in in a GENTLE GIANT-like section where the crowd claps along. The final track "Dementia Absorbant" has some eerie vocals expressions. Freaky stuff.

This is a great place to start if you want to check these guys out. I highly recommend their first two studio albums as well.

In a country with excellent sax players, don't be afraid to face a group with two guys on this instrument. Akinetón Retard has two permanent members taking turns on tenor, baritone, soprano and alto saxophone. And these are the instruments responsible for the highpoints of this album: making catchy and memorable tunes; performing very unique and surprising rhythmic passages; and puting together many sound layers, that transit through fusion, heavy and/or symphonic prog.

It's spectacular how the instruments complement themselves. The saxophones have lots of space to perform, and there's no passages with that irritating ? IMO ? sax solos that fight to and swallow the other instruments. The solution they figured out to avoid this was to make very short solos. That applies to the other instruments. I truly dislike the works that overwhelms themselves on instrumental solos. Sounds to me as lack of inspiration to elaborate the composition(s).

Many complex and varied tempos and harmonies are present, ranging from calm to wild musicianship very quickly. It can take you some time to get used to. The vocals, very performatic, and with a generous dose of humour. The guitar player masters several techniques and arrangements, and drumming is dynamic. Vocals has a constant moderate funny feeling. Nonetheless, they can go very intense in other parts, close to prog metal sometimes, almost whispering once in a while, and/or lyric and clean.

They were very wise and smart when selecting the musics to make part of this act. Among with the wild stuff, there are some more accessible tracks. Like Blues em Re, with its pleasent and smooth mood. The others that goes more intimate and calm are Cansancio; Hawai; and Cocodrilos com Martini. Now I'll comment one particular track, Gansos, Patos y Gallinas. It starts with a delicious narration of some kind of sport, before exploring that incredible style I've mentioned. And on half of this track, remarkable sax riffs fully captures my attention. It's a great example of a style that I chose to denominate heavy jazz-prog. On this same track, the participation of the audience is vibrating. Another splendid sample of this style is the track Copenhaguen Astorba; the vocals have some brief parts when it gets almost prog metal. In other snippets vocals have a funny taste. This humorous aspect, along with the kind and spontaneous interactions between the band and the audiences, brings an incredible liveliness to the audition.

4.3 on a five-star scale.