COSMOLOGY

4.5 stars. My only experience with this Spanish band was their 2006 release called "Omphalos" which I rated 3.5 stars, but those operatic female vocals made me decide to not bother checking out future releases. Well this summer in particular there was so much positive feedback for "Cosmology" that I decided to check out some samples and I loved what I was hearing, and best of all no soprano female vocals. If I had bothered checking out the followup to "Omphalos" I would have seen that she was no longer with the band and no they didn't replace her with another opera singer thankfully.

So yes I'll be checking out the two albums I missed after really enjoying this one. "Cosmology" is such an amazing album and for me the surprising thing was how much flute is on here and I love the style of it bringing some Krautrock bands to mind. Lots of mellotron as well which was also surprising.

"Post I Gnem" has an incredible start with some power and flute before it settles down with flute just before a minute, lots of atmosphere as well which actually brought early PORCUPINE TREE to mind believe it or not. It's building with drums, piano and more then the guitar starts to solo before 2 minutes. A calm 3 minutes in as we get atmosphere, piano, flute and electronics before it turn powerful 5 minutes in. The guitar is back soloing over top then it's the piano's turn then flute. More guitar! So good and check them out before 7 minutes. A great start!

Next up is the "Cosmology Suite" which consists of five songs and well over 30 minutes of music. "Geocentrel Universe" has a really good intro with all that atmosphere before intricate guitar and piano take over. Drums follow as it builds. Flute to the fore 2 1/2 minutes in. This is impressive a minute later. It's just so cool to really listen to all these sounds. It calms down after 5 minutes but builds again quickly. Piano is prominent then flute before the guitar starts to lead the way.

"Mechanical Universe" opens with samples of mechanical sounds before the bass kicks in and it sounds awesome. Drums and piano join in but I'm really into the bass here. Spacey synths before a full sound arrives 1 1/2 minutes in with guitar. Mellotron before 3 minutes, love those choirs. There's a Spanish vibe(shocking I know) with the guitar that follows and there's percussion, bass and more. It's fuller again after 4 1/2 minutes before the intricate sounds return a minute later. Love those melancholic synths. Another killer tune.

"Entangled Universe" opens with solemn flute like SINKADUS before intricate guitar joins in then piano before it kicks into gear. Flute comes in over top and its fairly bouncy here before the soundscape turns powerful with guitar. The flute is back as it will trade off with the guitar. It turns surprisingly like PINK FLOYD briefly after 2 minutes. This is mellow as the flute returns with mellotron and a beat with bass. The guitar then returns as the tempo picks back up. Another calm 5 minutes in as the flute, a beat and mellotron lead the way before it kicks back in with guitar. How impressive is this after 8 minutes.

"Oneness" ends the suite and it begins with melancholic piano then a full sound arrives before 1 1/2 minutes with bass, drums and mellotron. It picks up a minute later as the flute arrives. A calm before 4 minutes but it starts to build again .Love those drums after 4 1/2 minutes but there's so much going on. Nice guitar before 6 minutes. It turns powerful before ending with a calm.

"Mishima's Dream" opens with the guitar soloing beautifully as the drums and organ come and go in outbursts. Soon its all one as the organ continues. A calm before 1 1/2 minutes with drums and guitar as the atmosphere helps out. It builds to a powerful sound including organ before winding down late. "A Bao A Qu" has a dark and mysterious sound to it to start with atmosphere and piano. Guitar expressions follow then bass and drums after 1 1/2 minutes. it's picking up speed. Piano will lead then guitar before a calm arrives before 4 minutes.

"Dante's Paradiso Canto XXVIII" opens with a haunting mood before piano and mellotron join in. Powerful guitar before 1 1/2 minutes followed by a calm with mellotron only then acoustic guitar. There's more depth to the sound after 3 1/2 minutes and it will become more powerful like earlier. Love the mellotron 5 minutes in. "Paradise Lost/ Paraiso Perdido" ends the album with mostly piano and atmosphere throughout.

Man this is such a great album I can't wait to check out the two albums I'm missing before it. This is one classy recording that pushes all the right buttons for me.

Kotebel returns! And the band is tighter, more polished, more virtuosic than ever! And flutist extraordinaire Omar Acosta is back! This time the band take on a concept album with a philosophical thread using a progression of human thought capacity from Newtonian mechanical/physical to quantum/spiritual and even into world religious.

1. "Post Ignem" (8:26) Slow, lumbering NeoProg. Simple, straightforward melody riffs, which grow in complexity as congas, synths, bass and electric guitar amp it up. Still, flute is present, bass thump-thump-thumps, and then it's over: a quiet section. This song is familiar to me in a "Pentacle Suite" kind of way--like a more concise, modernized version of the 2007 release. Big tympanic rolls signal a switch back to the first verse. Small, little hints of the main melody from piano, synth, and flute flit in and out while the rhythm section presses on. The final minute uses a skeleton version before ramping up for the final crescendo. Nice song. Such fine-tuned professionals! (9/10)

2. "Geocentric Universe" (7:34) Jazz. Opens with an ALIO DIE-like walk through a sacred temple or mosque before solo flute establishes the main melody. Spanish guitar and harpsichord and then piano follow before drums, hand percussion, and bass enter! The music is so restrained--it's wonderful! And hand drums! A kind of prolonged jazz coda follows--reminding me of John Coltrane or Miles. The band rejoins establishing a jazzy, Monk-like groove with changing tempos and melodies. At 4:30 Omar Acosta shows us why he's been so missed--providing the glue to move forward and into the next more-piano-based section. You go, Adriana! Then an awesome merengue-like Latin-rhythm section follows over which Omar and Cesar fly! Wow! What a ride! A top three song for sure! (10/10)

3. "Mechanical Universe" (7:53) full out complex symphonic prog rock as only Kotebel can do it. Two main sections--or forces--playing at each other, vying for ascendance. Great lead guitar work! Break for piano and then Spanish guitar with bass and congas weave a very demanding tapestry. Piano and synths join in, then industrial sounds for percussion break before we return to one of the main themes with electric guitar screaming out its case. Divert into a more intricate stoccato weave before bass and drums are given a little showtime. All the while piano is providing the rhythmic foundation for everyone else! Final minute has the band laying it all out there with guitar-led prog rock at its finest. (9.5/10)

4. "Entangled Universe" (8:46) opening with a mischievous flute-and-synth melody line, organ and Spanish guitar and piano then take over, before Adriana and Jaime establish the main rhythmic foundation for some stellar soloing and dueling from piano, flute, and electric guitar. Pause to assess position, electric guitar and flute talking, before switch to deep, heavy, bass-led slow-down section (using same melodies). Somehow the music undiscernably speeds back up (with some awesome bass playing) while flute and electric guitar take turns shouting at each other. Synth puts in his two cents! Guitar and flute seem unfazed while piano provides the underlying manpower for everybody else. Another switch to deep, heavy, slow, this time with jazzy bass play. The melodic themes are again recapitulated by everyone while tempo speeds back up and jazzy drumming drive the show. At the end of the seventh minute a kind of dreamy piano-flute-led section takes over before chunky bass and drums rejoin. Then all hell breaks loose again with guitar and flute making their final cases over the frenzy of the rest of the ensemble. Wow! What a show! What a battle! (9/10)

5. "Oneness" (8:15) piano intro for the first 30 seconds, joined by electric guitar arpeggi, synthesizer, and flute before bass and drums join in. At 1:40 synth calliope/organ chords and flute take on the soft intro interlude before the full band crashes back in to take us on a nice ride with synth, flute, piano, and rolling bass leading the way. At 3:20 electric guitar and flute seem to take the lead, alternating turn taking. Organ and piano team with bass and drums to take us into the next dimension--a repeat of the section that they did before. Incredibly well performed intricacies--six musicians, each occupying one track, jamming together. In the seventh minute the beautiful Santana-like lead melody comes to front and center through the electric guitar with gorgeous synth wash chords backing it. The song then slowly, carefully de-escalates, taking its structure apart piece by piece. Stunning song. One of my top three on the album. (10/10)

6. "Mishima's Dream" (5:29) one of Kotebel's more adventurous, working-outside-their-box songs opens with some DEEP PURPLE/URIAH HEEP-like bombast from electric guitar and organ. The pace being set by the rhythm section is actually rather slow and plodding. Then, at the end of the second minute everything slows and softens while electric guitar performs some nice arpeggi in support of a cool, extended synth "pipe" (a la Keith Emerson) solo. Next section lets the organ and electric guitar rock it out. Disjointed guitar solo is not so classic rock as much as avant jazz. Organ's turn is more Wakeman-esque than ELP. Final 50 seconds is unusual for soft, spacey decay before rock electric guitar finger pickings bring us to the end. Cool song! So different for the Madrid masters! (9/10)

7. "A Bao a Qu" (4:30) Synths, piano, then bass-supported electric guitar take turns expressing their wonder and curiosity. At the very end of the second minute, drums, bass and rhythm guitar establish a jazzy little rhythm foundation over which synths and piano continue their conversation. Guitar joins in for a few bars before synth and piano again. Finally, at 3:20, the electric guitar can take the restraint no more--Cesar breaks out with a brilliant burst of exasperation before the band settle back into a "Court of the Crimson King"-like passage before ending with silence. (10/10)

8. "Canto XXVIII" (7:21) The third song in a row in which the band test themselves by moving into realms that are, for them, experimental: polyphonic instrumental threads moving in polyrhythmic sequences. Then acoustic guitar work (would call it classical were it not performed on steel stringed guitar) with distant piano. Staccato electric guitar chords, thick bass and drum weave, organ odd, polyrhythmic time signatures weaving in and out of cooperation. King Crimson outdone! Maybe my favorite song Kotebel has ever done. Brilliant! (10/10)

9. "Paradise Lost" (3:04) piano arpeggio, synth melody line, and piano establish a bit of a deep conversation here. It's not until the beginning of the first minute that the piano finally gives us enough music to guess at a full key signature. Father-daughter; father waning, keeping to the background while daughter wonders "aloud." (8/10)

It has taken me a very long time to review this album because it has taken me a very long time to really get to know this very dense album--dense and sophisticated, as all Kotebel albums are. That is why they are one of the premier prog bands around because they have such intricate performances and virtuosic instrumentalists (all of them). What makes this album stand above the others is the polish, the adventurousness, the courage and bravery, and the growing technical command each and every member has over their instrument and over their contributions to the overall weave of the compositions. There is not a bad or weak song on this album (there never is on a Kotebel album) and there are some that are extraordinary. If you haven't got on board with this band, you need to. One of the true masters of modern progressive rock music.

Five stars; a true masterpiece of complex symphonic progressive rock. Again I ask: Why all the love for Anglagard when there is Kotebel?!!!