W.A.L.H.F. MORE F. (WITH A LITTLE HELL FROM MORE FRIENDS)

And the prog party continues! Anyone who has traveled to Mexico or familiar with Mexican culture will be aware that the nation is all about having a good time with one festive activity after another so it's little wonder that the Acapulco born Pablo Eduardo Ibarra Robles or better known in the prog world as GRECO BASTIÁN would make the perfect host to attract talent from around the world to craft some stellar collaborative efforts and make some unforgettably addictive avant-prog mixed with math rock, chamber prog, zeuhl and all kinds of other influences. Thoroughly impressed with his 2022 release "With A Little Hell From My Friends," i was awaiting another album in the same vein and only two years later we are treated to yet another star studded cast of hellpers on WITH A LITTLE HELL FROM MORE FRIENDS! Cramming together the influences of acts like Present, King Crimson, Koenjihyakkei, Magma, Frank Zappa and Ruins, GRECO BASTIÁN returns with even more friends than before for this avant-prog party of the year.

Partygoers include (just to name a few): Matt Hollenberg (John Zorn, Titan To Tachyons), The Mercury Tree, Markus Reuter (Stick Men, The Crimson Projekct), Marc Ducret (Tim Berne, Bobby Previte), Patrick Gauthier (Magma, Weidorje), Paolo Botta (Yugen, Ske, French TV), Bernard Falaise (Miriodor, Ensemble Supermusique), Tatsuya Yoshida (Koenjihyakkei, Ruins), Alan Benjamin (Advent, Mirthrandir), Anthony Beard (Ni, Piniol, Scherzoo), Rémi Leclerc (Miriodor, Les Projectionnistes), Emanuele Sterbini (Sterbus), Craig Walkner (Far Corner, William Kopecky), Ed RosenBerg III (Jerseyband, Kilter), Håkan Almkvist (Ensemble Nimbus, Hans Bruniusson), Ivan Rozmainsky (Roz Vitalis, Compassionizer) Vincent Sicot-Vantalon (Unit Wail, Scherzoo) Joe Lester (Intronaut, Mouth of the architect) Samo ?alamon (Quartet, Quintet...) Shawn Persinger (Boud Deun, Prester John) Steve Marek (Monobody, Loose Lips Sink Ships) Salvador Govea (Iconoclasta, Govea) Jonathan Piña-Duluc (Proyecto Piña-Duluc, El Trío) AND Juan Belda (Juan Belda Bit Band, Skalectric). Like WOW!!!

The album features eight tracks at a traditional album's playing time of 42 minutes but surprisingly not available on any physical format as of yet because GRECO BASTIÁN is still seeking a label to host his wild ride of a musical parade. Uh, Musea, Cuneiform? Why aren't you jumping on this? Delivering the same intensity and knotty crazy avant-prog excesses as the previous album, this one feels like a natural advancement with crazy complex time signatures run amok with crazy rhythmic drives and unrelenting brutal prog bombast. While complex and technically infused, the repetitive zeuhl inspired grooves offer a stabilizing force that allow adventurous riffing sessions and super energized soloing. Once again the long list of attendees offer a diverse approach to each and every track with GRECO's tight knit compositorial skills offering the tangible connective tissue as not to make the album sound like a various artists release.

While the album is similar in many ways to the last, this one is organized a bit differently and the production sounds better. Likewise the bass grooves seem more pronounced and the mixing job is supreme. The album starts and ends with the "Kobaïan Call To War" parts which pay tribute to the great Magma while the inner tracks ramble on at full speed. For those who disliked the previous album because of its unrelenting rapidity and incessantly unforgiving time signature brutality, then THIS ONE'S NOT FOR YOU!!!! This is one wild avant-prog vortex of sound that will freak your [&*!#] friggin' out! This one is for the most adventurous seekers of everything turned up to the highest prog levels possible. It's all instrumental and it's busy AF. Layers of crazy contrapuntal amass to create a frenzy of exciting intensity akin to one of those modern roller coaster rides that does an unthinkable amount of spins through tunnels and the like. This is complex prog for complexity's sake and for those who crave this, they are in for a treat.

Once again GRECO BASTIÁN seems to evoke Danny Elfman styled compositions are far as chord changes and various elements on board are concerned but the music of the myriad influences also shines through as do the idiosyncrasies of each guest musician on board. This is the type of prog party where things get so wild that the neighbors have to call the cops! This one offers no moments respite. No time for breathers. No ballads, no moments of contemplation, no way. This one is an incessant brutal speedfest from beginning to end with knotty angular rhythms, pummeling time signature changes and adrenalized performances with no chance for the musician's to catch their breath. OK a few scant moments do exist! Hardcore as hell and adrenalizing AF, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MORE FRIENDS delivers exactly what i was hoping for, namely more of the same uncompromising energetic drive and complexity of what the previous release offered. One of my favorite avant-prog artists of the 21st century so far! GRECO BASTIÁN is without a doubt the best part host prog has to offer! Completamente asombroso!

This Mexican composer can't play any instruments but loves music and knows how to create adventurous music. He only needs a first riff, and the rest comes by itself. All this with the help of 25 musicians! The music is dark and heavy, with some strong bass, fuzzy guitars, busy drums, and different keyboard sounds. There is too much instrumentation to describe here. Let's say that it provides a rich sound, showing a big influence from the avant-garde music of bands like Univers Zero, Present, and Magma. The songs are complex, and it is impossible to predict how they will evolve. The song "Cosmetology" is an amazing song that has an Anglagard influence. The music can be played at a slow pace or at a more frenetic pace, like a rollercoaster. If you enjoy the great bands of the avant-garde scene and adventurous prog rock with plenty of instruments, including xylophones, saxophones, and more, you will find this album one of the most original albums of this year.

Oh yessss!

Here I am once again happy and excited writing a review about a Mexican artist-composer-musician-alien-lunatic who works under the moniker of Greco Bastián, a truly creative mind who have just released a terrific album entitled "With A Little Hell From More Friends", a kind of sequel of its 2022 predecessor "With A Little Hell From My Friends".

This man is a mystery, and though I have spoken to him via social media and seen a (supposely) recent picture of him, I have no idea who he is; in fact, a couple of years I saw Greco Bastian's music live with a bunch of great local musicians, and one of them told me he just played Greco's music but he had never seen him. Whether that was true or false, I love that kind of mystery and how the mastermind behind this project is capable of turning the world upside-down in order to deliver top-notch music.

While reading his Bandcamp's profile bio, he openly says he has no idea of how to play an instrument, but he knows how they must sound, which is why he focuses on composition and invites musicians from around the globe to play those sounds. This obviously is reflected on the album's title, but mostly on its credits, because there is a vast list of over 30 musicians from the prog, RIO, avant-garde, zeuhl, jazz, experimental music scene who contributed to make this album happen. It is crazy, and when you read the names you might quite surprised. So a big applause to Greco Bastián for this amazing gathering.

And now, the music. This is an 8-track album that makes a total time of 42 minutes that kicks of with "Koabïan Call to War Part 1", an evident reference to zeuhl creators Magma. Chaos and power are present since the first seconds, tension is provided by guitars, and then just before reaching the first minute the song changes a bit, adding some epic-like sounds which might work for a horror film, with a great keyboard work of Scherzoo's Vincent Sicot- Vantalon.

To me is incredible to achieve another band (a band you like, of course) playing your music, and this happens in "4009, The Mezking" which freatures the three of The Mercury Tree members, along with another musicians including one of my current favorites in the name of Markus Reuter. Well, the bass notes will get your immediate attention and then while the seconds pass the rhythm and energy increases, creating countless textures and elements that are quite exciting. Heavy prog music is delivered here, but of course, zeuhl, RIO, jazz, Crimsonian and Zappa-esque winks are quite evident.

With "Extitled" there is an extraordinary keys amalgam I could have never dreamt of, because legendary Magma's Patrick Gauthier plays piano and pairs with utterly talented Mexican composer Salvador Govea who is responsible of the keyboards here. Bass, drums and guitars as well help increasing the chaotic atmosphere, and that xylophone adds a kind of Gong's Gazeuse essence on it. Greco Bastian's music is never plain and that is amazing, so you will find several changes and inifite sounds on its tracks.

Odd-time-signature is also a constant concept in this album's music and we can tell it by listening to "Retitled", who also shows-off the skills of its featured artists such as Dominican sax master Jonathan Piña-Luduc or American crazymind and guitarist Matt Hollenberg. I love how there is always a tense atmosphere but instead of making us swith off, it produces a magical addiction so it is impossible to separate even one second from the headphones.

This feeling continues with the amazing "Baclamán, the Bad One", which features once again saxophone and xylophone, increasind the color palette on the sounds the musicians create. To compose music like this is quite a job, I don't really know how many days, months, years took Greco Bastián to devise these tracks, but it is clear his talent is beyond comprehension.

Believe it or not, the fire and adrenaline slows down in "Cosmetology", the craziness is still present, however, we can take a deep breath and relax a little bit. This track leads to a fantastic journey not only of sounds, but also of visual atmospheres, and that is something I appreciate a lot, because good music always modifies your senses and emotions. The guilty crew this time is linked to amazing bands like Miriodor and Yugen.

"Clownnecticut" is another gem with an exquisite mixture of textures, nuances and musical genres, its cathartic sound is really exciting, you won't stop moving your body as the music's rhythms, but also you will be persuaded by any of its instruments, because all of them add crucial notes or figures that clearly exemplifies what richness of sounds is.

And finally they give us "Kobaïan Call to War (Part 2)" which has the colorful touch of Roz Vitalis' Ivan Rozmainsky on keyboards, along with a superstar line-up that includes three guitarists playing three different solos.

I'd like to congratulate all the people involved in this release, mainly the fellow Mexican guys including my friend Miguel Saenger who played drums in three tracks and designed the amazing artwork.

After listening to this gem I think we all need a little bit of hell and friends to boost that hidden artistic and creative side we surely have. I hope this album generates interest among prog loves, because this is really amazing and I don't think we can witness a line-up like this one playing these crazy but outstanding compositions.

The name of Greco Bastián may not be the most nominated title in the modern day of avant-prog, but this year definitely crowned him king of the genre with his newest offering of With a Little Hell From More Friends.

This is a sequel of sorts towards With a Little Hell From My Friends, which was released 2 years ago in 2022. I had known of Greco due to seeing that record around in ProgArchives from time to time, and it was intriguing, but not enough for me to listen to it. However, this year I did check it out, and I just thought it was pretty good. So imagine my surprise when the real Greco Bastián, yes really, offered a free download for his new escapade that he and his friends have created. Safe to say, curiosity got the better of me, and let's just say I am a dead cat, murdered by amazing music!

Like the title suggests, there are now more musicians here than before, with 34 in total, most of which come from more avant-prog acts. We have such names like Tatsuya Yoshida, Matt Hollenberg, Patrick Gauthier, and the most intriguing being the entirety of Mercury Tree. The list continues on from there, but you get the picture. With this eclectic set of hands, the album would sound like a nightmare, surely right? Well, yes, but also not in a bad way. With each set of musicians being set into an individual track, they are able to put their all into the recordings without it feeling too overbearing.

The musicians work flawlessly together. None of them feel like they really overshadow the other, which I think is great. A lot of collaborated projects like this oftentimes make one act in a large collective shine above the rest, but none of them have that here. Sure, some definitely seem to have a bit more stage presence with some showing back up in later songs, but even still the dynamic remains pure. It is honestly magical.

Musically it is magical too! This record bends the more classical styles of RIO, the jazziness of zeuhl, and the noisy brutal prog to its whims, and in doing so creates a mix of something that feels passionate and haunting. Kobaïan Call to War (Part 1) and Clownnecticut legitimately gives me chills by how creepy they sound, and the rest of the album too has this almost perverse air that I cannot get enough of. There is so much music jammed into each track that the more I listen, the more I see each track for the masterpiece they are! Really, there are no bad scores here. Some tracks I do prefer over others, but what is on here is still extremely well made.

Also the production value is honestly superb. With a Little Hell From My Friends has good mixings too, but this one is just amazing. I honestly never expected a self release like this, especially from a solo act could end up sounding so great! It's noisy, but in a way that suits the music. It's intense, but not in a way that makes things too hard. It's raw, but not unfiltered. It is a perfect blend of strength and clarity that really gives it magic.

This love letter to the avant-prog scene is now permanently in my heart, as I see it, like many others, as a purebred masterpiece. Where Mannequin offered a masterpiece in the more lush world of prog pop, and Charcoal Grace made a masterpiece in the progressive metal landscapes, With a Little Hell From More Friends showed an avant- prog experience worth remembering. With how good modern day avant-garde music has been, it seems like we are in a new renaissance for some juicy opposing rocks.

Best tracks: Extitled, Kobaïan Call to War (Part 2)

Worst tracks: n/a

Greco Bastián, the composer with two left feet, is back, enticing another All-World list of collaborator musicians to render his sometimes-challenging compositions unto audio/digital tape.

1. "Kobaïan Call to War (Part 1)" (2:39) easy on the brain due to its straightforward pacing and long-held keyboard chords, but the sound palette is cacophonous, as one would expect. (4.5/5)

2. "4009, The Mezking" (6:12) a whole bunch of instruments playing this angular melody together (unless they're all MIDI-ed). I don't like the uncharacteristically murky sound quality: it's as if all of the high ends have been dimmed or muted and the low end (bass) magnified. Weird. I've heard experimental sound before, but is this intentional or just bad engineering choices? Time and stylistic shifts at the three-minute mark and again at 3:25 followed by a total clearing out at the end of the fourth minute for an electric piano, but then everybody kicks back in, including the carnival band, calliope, and kitchen sink. There is a lot to laugh at here, as there is also a lot that would make people with enochlophobia or coulraphobia run screaming (or collapse into catatonias). (8.875/10)

3. "Extitled" (7:20) this song opens with a mathematical problem being played out by the full band, first together, then in separated, from different angles, always coming back together to discuss their individual findings before venturing off again. In the second half of the third minute it would appear that the slide guitarist is on to something as he is left to go alone for a bit before everyone else rejoins--perhaps egging him on or rejoicing in his success. But then, a minute later, everyone is slogging along as if mired or depressed. At the end of the fifth minute another electric guitar, and then the bass player and pianist, are the centers of attention as everyone else looks on with bated breath. The Mellotron voice is particularly indicative of the solo minors' progresses, respectively, though the xylophone player is equally fixated. And then it just ends! To what end? What was the result? (13.25/15)

4. "Retitled" (4:21) some heavy, Crimsonian angular melody-making that, when woven together like this, make for an interesting The open-room drum sound (particularly the military-style snare) is particularly interesting as he is probably the only musician operating with any sort of freedoms, the others all restricted or constricted by rather proscribed pathways. It reminds me of watching mice running mazes. But then there is the fact that I hate this kind of drum pattern. Interesting and admirable as a composition but not very enjoyable to me. As much as I appreciate the hyper-dsiciplined approach to composition and performance that Robert Fripp and King Crimson have remained so affixed, it is not the kind of music that I would ever enjoy playing, nor that I listen to repeatedly for my own enjoyment. (8.75/10)

5. "Blacamán, the Bad One" (5:38) now here is someone expressing themselves like humans who live by the illusion that they have freedom: guitarist Samo Salamon! The others are creating mosaics and molecules of angular forms and ruled connections (and doing it quite well, I might add!). (9/10)

6. "Cosmetology" (7:37) Samo is loose again! And the piano and others are on the trail like bloodhounds and a police posse. The spaciousness of this one is appreciated for the way it allows my puny little brain the time to negotiate and appreciate the convoluted pathways, subways, tunnels, and airtubes that the other instruments are zombie-walking in order to try to find and catch Samo. The pursuants are pretty relentless though they do take a break every here and then (as does Samo: resting, hiding, watching, assessing the next best route to take in order to avoid capture). Occasionally a Greco song reminds me of something. The voices here remind me of any creepy Danny Elfmann-like horror film music. A tempo and motif switch in the seventh minute moves everybody into run and chase mode-- including Samo, as the dogs are hot on his heels. One last ditch effort in the bogs and swamps outside of town but then he is caught! At least I had fun with this one! (Too bad for our 1984 hero, Samo). (9/10)

7. "Clownnecticut" (5:25) this one starts out as one of the more tame, avant compositions on the album, with a fairly- simple, nearly-Japanese-Zeuhlish polyrhythmic ("Discipline"-like) structural weave (this despite the fact that there are no Japanese musicians present on this song). Even with the back-and-forth shifts into a second, slightly different, slightly more angular motif, the music remains fairly tame Zeuhlousness. At 2:45 there is one more series of shifts into a Zeuhlish style that is even more-closely aligned with the Japanese traditions of the 1990s and 2000s--and yet there also pops up the Danny ELFMANN melody and sounds in the synth horn banks toward the end. A likable song--if more due to its accessibility. (9/10)

8. "Kobaïan Call to War (Part 2)" (2:57) screaming, wailing, modern cinematic Zeuhl. Got any movies you need scored, Tim Burton? (9/10)

Total Time 42:09

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of remarkably-accessible though quirkily-engineered, sometimes Zeuhlish, avant- garde/RIO--this one often sounding a little more human and a little less computer-generated than his previous "Friends" effort.

Greco Bastian returns with his second fully formed album. While he had been active for a number of years his debut album, With A Little Hell From My Friends realized his dream of enrolling full time musicians to perform his compositions. The cast list from that album was a who's who of the stars of the prog rock scene. For this second album Greco has assembled a similarly impressive list of musicians to contribute, too many to list individually in this review but key bands performers are drawn from include Miriodor, Mercury Tree, Yugen, Heldon & Far Corner! The album is dark and brooding with the major influences appearing to be Univers Zero, Magma and Present. How all these disparate elements come together to produce such a coherent album is amazing. Congratulations Greco, I'm looking forward with anticipation to the next installment, highly recommended.

Greco Bastián is somewhat unusual in that while he is a composer he does not actually play any instruments and instead relies on others to complete his vision. In 2022 he released his fifth album, 'With A Little Hell From My Friends', and now he has released his sixth in a similar vein, called 'With A Little Hell From More Friends'. This is quite a list, but is definitely worth including to show just who enjoys his vision: Matt Hollenberg (John Zorn, Titan To Tachyons), Markus Reuter (Stick Men, The Crimson Projekct), Patrick Gauthier (Magma, Weidorje), Marc Ducret (Tim Berne, Bobby Previte), Bernard Falaise (Miriodor, Ensemble Supermusique), Alan Benjamin (Advent, Pekka Pohjola), Paolo Botta (Yugen, Ske, French TV), Rémi Leclerc (Miriodor, Les Projectionnistes), Vincent Sicot-Vantalon (Unit Wail, Scherzoo), Anthony Beard (Ni, Piniol, Scherzoo), The Mercury Tree (Ben Spees, Oliver Campbell, Connor Reilly), Sterbus, Craig Walkner (Far Corner, William Kopecky), Ed Rosenberg III (Jerseyband, Kilter), Juan Belda (Juan Belda Bit Band, Skalectric), Steve Marek (Monobody, Loose Lips Sink Ships), Hakan Almkvist (Ensemble Nimbus, Hans Bruniusson), Jonathan Piña-Duluc Proyecto Piña-Duluc, El Trío), Samo Salamon (Quartet, Quintet), Ivan Rozmainsky (Roz Vitalis, Compassionizer), Salvador Govea (Salvador Govea), and The Villagers of the Legendary Town of San Jamás de los Jamases.

I mean, anyone would be pleased to get Markus Reuter involved, or anyone from French TV, or Ivan, or Alan, or Craig, or Anthony, or Jonathan (all of whom I have reviewed, multiple times) let alone all the above. Also, bear in mind that this is truly a worldwide project with the Mexican bringing together people from America, Europe, South America and Russia. Why Greco is unsigned is just beyond me as here we have a RIO/eclectic/experimental album which is off the wall and probably off the map. Anyone who enjoys this style of music will already know the names of many of those involved, and it is no surprise that we get an album which sounds as if it has been released by Cuneiform or Dur & Doux with influences from Present, King Crimson, Ni, Magma, Frank Zappa and more. It is experimental, it is fascinating, yet while there are different musicians and line-ups on every track there is also a consistency throughout which makes this very special indeed.

I do find it strange Greco has yet to be signed to a forward-thinking label as this is a work of some import which anyone with adventurous musical tastes will get a great deal from. I note that on his Bandcamp site he is offering his complete digital discography for just $18 USD. A bargain not to be missed.