Hypnos 69 – The Intrigue Of Perception

É sempre complicado pra alguém falar sobre seus discos favoritos. Ainda mais quando um desses discos se trata de um trabalho de uma desconhecida banda da Bélgica. Esta banda é o Hypnos 69, e este disco se chama The Intrigue Of Perception. No quarto de seus cinco full lenghts, a banda que mistura atmosferas dignas de trabalhos do Pink Floyd, um excelente trabalho de guitarra, às vezes limpa, às vezes cheia de fuzz, uma cozinha poderosa, teclados de ótimo gosto e um saxofonista (que é um dos grandes diferenciais da banda), conseguiu fazer um trabalho de altíssima qualidade. A produção, os timbres, os solos, as letras... Está tudo ali, perfeito. A segunda faixa, Good Sinner, Bad Saint, com seus quase 10 minutos e seu viajadíssimo solo, e o baixo funcionando com o sax, remete à Money, do Pink Floyd. A belíssima Third Nature, que tem um dos solos mais bonitos que já escutei na vida é minha favorita, junto da Intrigue Of Perception I. Não espere guitarras super distorcidas, músicas para bater cabeça, e sim timbres vintage (os caras da banda só usam equipamentos antigos, não faltam guitarras SG, pedais da Electro Harmonix, amplificadores Ampeg). Esse é um disco daqueles pra se colocar no som, encostar no sofá e viajar, talvez com a ajuda de “aditivos”. No mais, recomendadíssimo!

Set: The Endless Void / Good Sinner, Bad Saint / Third Nature / Twisting The Knife / The Intrigue Of Perception I / The Intrigue Of Perception II / The Intrigue Of Perception III / Absent Friends

Download: http://lix.in/-32eefd

Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses - Perils (2005)

Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses features all 3 current members of Guapo, but for the most part they have a sound and style all of their own. Daniel O'Sullivan, who concentrates on keyboards in Guapo, is lead guitarist, while Orlando Harrison (who plays drums in Alabama 3) occupies the piano stool. They play relatively short pieces where the current incarnation of their sister band favour album long suites, and acoustic instruments are far more prominent. The overall feel of the music is dark with a slightly camp edge - their music would work well as a soundtrack to a 1970s Hammer or Amicus horror film, something along the lines of Dracula AD 1972, Dr Terror's House of Horrors or Psychomania.

The album opens with a suitably sinister piece on the harmonium before the first track to feature the full band kicks in. The Mage is the track which sounds closest to Guapo, with Dave Smith playing a drum part which recalls Black Oni part 2, although the prominence of the guitar and the other instruments establishes that this is a different band. Just how different becomes apparent on Peacock The Heretic, which transports us to a Transylvanian gypsy campfire with dark and strange rites taking place in the flickering shadows. This atmosphere is maintained for the remainder of the album, with Daniel O'Sullivan leading from the front on extremely nimble fingered guitar, Orlando Harrison switching between Dr Phibes organ and gloriously doomy piano flourishes and the pair of them sparking off Sarah Hubrich's fiendish gypsy fiddling. Dave Ledden plays more high end, melodic bass than in Guapo, while Dave Smith's drumming is as crisp and unpredictable as ever. There are moments where you can picture Gomez and Morticia Adams dancing an unspeakably lewd tango, along with moments of genuinely disturbing intensity. This is also a band that knows how to rock, which they do to thunderous effect on Asmodius Arise, and they have a keen sense of dynamics - fast and slow, loud and soft, acoustic and electric; all are contrasted with sometimes dizzying speed, and credit must be given to sound man Jamie Gonzalez Arellano for the clarity of the sound and the near perfect balance of sometimes punishingly heavy electric guitar with acoustic piano and violin.

Perils is a massively assured debut album, which draws on the individual members' diverse musical backgrounds and influences to create a uniquely enjoyable dark ambience. There's something of the atmosphere of Goblin's soundtrack work here, or perhaps Univers Zero taking a slightly less serious approach. Fans of Alamariman Vasarat and Hoyry Kone will also find much to enjoy here, as will anybody with a taste for acid fried 70s folk rock. Highly recommended.
(Chris Gleeson, ProgArchives)


Download: http://lix.in/18f1bd

Procol Harum - Procol Harum (1967)

"This is another one of those seminal proto-prog albums that is so instrumental to prog and music in general. One of those obligatory passages from sixties pop to seventies rock, along with Caravan’s debut, Soft Machine’s first two albums and the Nice’s debut. (...) Some of the tracks are silmply incredibly advanced for the times and still sound so solemnly beautiful nowadays: listen to Oustside The Gates OF Cerdes, Repent Walpurgis, and future hit Conquistador, to get a load on how great these guys were working as a unit and breaking ground with almost every track. To call this album full-blown prog is maybe a little quick, though: Kaleidoscope, Mabel and Captain Clack are tracks full of great psychedelic invention that even Floyd or the Beatles would’ve proudly called their own."
(Hugues Chantraine, ProgArchives)


Download: http://lix.in/bb8802

Anekdoten - Vemod (1993)

""Vermod" was one of albums that re-ignited the Swedish progressive rock revival. Without a question ANEKDOTEN have been heavily influenced by early 70’s KING CRIMSON with their tailored and yet controlled FRIPP-like guitar playing (Nicklas Berg) & loads of mellotron (actually is 2 different mellotron going at some places!) ANEKDOTEN understands the Crimsonic use of contrast, and Vemod is centered on contrasting tempos and dynamics. Guitarist Nicklas Berg turns in a gritty performance on both guitar and mellotron reminding the listener at many points of why one likes this type of music in the first place. The combination of pump organ, Mellotron, and a deeply bowed cello creates a rich dark sound of brooding intensity. Emotionally charged melodic lines and powerful rhythms abound. The percussion on this album is killer with some great deep chops and complex percussion. Filling in the mix is cellist/keyboardist Anna Sofi Dahlberg who works with the mellotrons to really bring forth some warm tones."
(James Unger @ http://www.progarchives.com)


Tracklist: Karelia / The Old Man & the Sea / Where Solitude Remains / Thought in Absence / The Flow / Longing / Wheel

Download: http://w12.easy-share.com/863710.html