october equus

Bio:

.. .. .. About 'Charybdis': WAYSIDE MUSIC: -...this very good Spanish band who play a very complex rock music, which I suppose fits into the 'modern R.I.O.' style, performed on guitar, keyboards, bass, drums with saxophone on half the tracks. Their first was very good, but this one is great. Highly recommended. THE LASER'S EDGE: -...this new disc goes off in a different direction entirely. The band has now moved squarely into the RIO genre but not in a wild, free style. Undercurrents of Canterbury and King Crimson creep in as well but I tend to think of a more keyboard oriented Univers Zero. One thing that is consistent from album to album is the gravitas and dark element the band seems to be fond of. This is heavy listening but clearly rewarding. As good or even better than their first - but different! Highly recommended. DISAGREEMENT: -...They combine the stylistic unpredictability of Rock in Opposition (Henry Cow, Present, Univers Zero) with the surreal grace of the lesser known Canterbury jazz rock bands (Hatfield and the North)...The way the band combines the best and most overlooked prog genres of the last few decades makes Charybdis a formally brilliant work that doesn’t sound pretentious, not even for one moment. ...Fans of the aforementioned artists will definitely get their hearts warmed by this brilliant three quarter of an hour long masterpiece. SEA OF TRANQUILITY: -...Charybdis works extremely well on so many levels. Besides the fact that each of these musicians are extremely competent and articulate players, the band has a fabulous aura of darkness embedded in their arrangements.-...-Repeated listens to Charybdis reveals something new each time and one will marvel at the amount of musical depth waiting to be uncovered within these multi-layered compositions. PROGRESSIVE EARS: -This album seems to be more daring, more bombastic in approach than its predecessor, keeping in the same path, but expanding on it, making their sound broader, fuller, richer and much more appealing even. There’s an orchestral feel in the album that was not there in the previous s/t album from 2006. With the orchestration aspect, the chamber-rock feel with the fusion elements and the use of zeuhl-ish pounding rhythms and energy, the band achieves a new level, a new construction of style and sound and make this album better than previous efforts. This album not only mixes styles wonderfully, it sounds as rich and plentiful as the number of influences it encompasses. There is terrific musicianship here, and you can clearly hear all the instruments, and make out how wonderful the play is...An excellent release, even better than their previous splendid effort, this will please fans of the aforementioned styles and bands, and music enthusiasts who like the idea of mingling those influences together to form an OE sound. LA CAJA DE MÚSICA: -Si dos años atrás la banda estableció un punto de partida donde predominaban las sonoridades robustas y los climas de talante épico enmarcados bajo un esquema general RIO a lo Present-con-Henry Cow, ahora el grupo opta por dar más espacio a las texturas y matices, haciendo que los pasajes fuertes estén casi siempre en función del desarrollo que las capas sonoras deban asumir en cada momento específico. No se trata de un disco suave, sino de un disco que reformula la fuerza sonora inherente a la propuesta musical del grupo: la línea de trabajo RIO se empapa abundantemente de cadencias y atmósferas jazzeras, e incluso explora campos de lirismo e introspección con más fruición que nunca antes. October Equus es una banda con un sonido propio y maduro. “Charybdis” es un disco fantástico de progresivo vanguardista, el cual muestra a un October Equus que afianza su propia voz musical de manera convincente a la vez que la renueva con un trabajo de texturas y ambientes distintos a los que imperaban en su homónimo disco debut. PROGRESSIVE AREA: -...Musicalement tout aussi riche, il reste avant tout un atout de poids en matière de rock in opposition. De première classe, OCTOBER EQUUS reste tout à côte d'un GUAPO, tout du moins ne s'en éloigne que très rarement mis a part l'ajout d'un saxo et ce défouloir qu'est Angel ONTALVA, à la guitare. Premier instrument mis en avant en tenant haut et fort le pavé. Le deuxième étant vous l'aurez deviné, les multiples parties aux claviers de Victor RODRIGUEZ en se prelassant sur des espaces dédiés au Melotron, au Mini Moog, Rhodes et Piano. Bref, un panel conséquent qui prouve l'étendue musicale du groupe, frappant fort avec ce "Charybdis" . Ce disque nous offre une musique à la fois mystique, froide mais aussi tempérée, aux relents jazz rock par endroit comme ce court passage très MacLaughlien sur "Fata Morgana" , titre que je considère comme la pièce de choix de cet album talentueux à souhait. Je puis cependant vous rassurer qu’OCTOBER EQUUS n'est pas destiné qu'à un public intellectuel averti. La preuve en est avec votre serviteur, simple averti non intellectuel et pourtant j'aime ! About 'October Equus': -'October Equus is a brand new instrumental prog rock band from Spain, whose debut self-titled album is a rich and complex display of serious chops and promising compositional skills. While the band makes no bones about hiding their influences-you can hear plenty of references to King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Univers Zero, Hatfield & the North, Van Der Graaf Generator, and National Health, they sure know how to create music that sounds fresh and exciting.' Pete Pardo, Sea of Tranquility -'Heavy dark and a touch of evil is how I like my prog served up and October Equus ladles it up just perfectly... ...Highly recommended.' The Laser's Edge -' New Spanish band making their debut recording here, and a really good one it is. This is dark, but not overbearingly so, and heavy all instrumental avant-progressive rock, performed on guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. I can hear touches of some of the heavier Italian 70's bands in the keyboards and overall influences from early Present, zeuhl, Pochakaite Malko and more. This is an extremely promising debut. ' Wayside Music -'Il mio impatto primario è estato per un potenziale disco dell'anno. Ho ridotto un po..le mire, ma per me resta una dei migliori dischi del 2006 senza ombra di dubbio.' Roberto Vanali, Arlequins -'...Ontalva's leads capture an intensity reserved for the best of progressive rock somewhere between Steve Vai, Roger Trigaux and Phil Miller. Keyboardist and other main composer Victor Rodríguez has worked out joint arrangements which support both intricate melodic patches as well as discordant segues that are impressive and passionate... ...The group is simply one of the best finds in the RIO space this year ...' Jeff Melton, Pregressive Land -'...un..identità propria e una maturità sorprendente per un primo episodio. Consigliato!' Marcello Marinone, Agartha -'An awesome debut album by a Spanish band that is already more than just a mere promise: October Equus revelas itself as a mature avant-garde prog force with its outstanding eponymous album. Lovers of the rockier side of RIO (Present, early 80s- Univers Zero Happy Family) and the rougher side of King Crimson should not miss this 2006 gem... ...This prog genre is not too common in Spain, but definitely, October Equus prove to be an important musical force for the preservation of radical prog rock in our current times. ' César Inca Mendoza Loyola, Progarchives

Member Since:

August 13, 2006

Members:

Ángel Ontalva guitar, Amanda Pazos Cosse bass guitar, Víctor Rodríguez Morales keyboards, Fran Mangas flute & saxes, Alfonso Muñoz saxes, Pablo Ortega cello, Vasco Trilla drums

Influences:

Record Label:

MaRaCash Records, R.A.I.G.