Exposé Online banner

October Equus — October Equus
(Ma.Ra.Cash Records MRC 007, 2005, CD)

by Jon Davis, 2007-03-01:

October Equus Cover art While there are bits and pieces of many recognizable influences in the palette of this Spanish band, I keep coming back to Museo Rosenbach. This is very much the same kind of dark, heavy progressive rock at which the classic Italian band excelled. And also like Museo, the quality is high enough to bode well for its staying power – not that I’m saying October Equus is quite in that exalted realm, since only time will tell how it ages, but it’s good stuff. The other main comparison is Änglagård, and Mellotron has something to do with that, as well as the fondness for minor keys and the fact that it’s entirely instrumental. In fact, October Equus is more relentlessly minor and even dissonant than either of the bands mentioned, into the territory of King Crimson, Present, or Univers Zero. But what this band has going for them over Crimson is more variety in tone colors. In addition to the ‘Tron, the keyboards feature good work on organ, piano, and the kind of Clavinet/harpsichord sounds that Kerry Minnear used to use with Gentle Giant. And the rhythms are less repetitive than Present – one thing about this album is that it’s constantly changing. It’s pretty dense stuff, but you weren’t looking for party music anyway, were you?

by Henry Schneider, 2007-03-01:

October Equus is a new progressive quartet from Spain comprised of Victor Rodriguez on keyboards, Amanda Pazos on bass guitar, Txema Fernandes on drums, and Ángel Ontalva on guitars. On their self-titled debut release they play finely crafted instrumental music with roots in some of the Twentieth Century’s finest classical and progressive music composers from Bartok and Stravinsky to Robert Fripp and Univers Zero. The album opens with “Lupus in Fabula,” that immediately sets the tone for the remainder of the disc. This is strong, powerful music with Victor’s organ chops paying homage to Le Orme’s Felona e Serona. The remainder of the disc is the monumental six-part “October Equus Suite,” “Reliqua Tempora,” “Minus Nihilo,” and “Hydra.” October Equus are accomplished musicians and it is obvious that these compositions are not thrown together through improvisation but instead are well constructed and orchestrated. Never boring, October Equus extends intelligent chamber rock and creates a new masterpiece that demands your attention and concentration. This is one truly outstanding record that is a joy to experience.

Filed under: New releases , Issue 34 , 2005 releases

Related artist(s): October Equus, Ángel Ontalva

More info
http://www.maracash.com

Latest news

2019-08-20
Alex's Hand Seeks Spa Treatment – American / European band Alex's Hand has a new album in the works called Hungarian Spa, which looks to be their biggest and best yet, featuring a large roster of guest musicians. They're seeking funding to take the project on the road, and are looking for help from the crowd of wisdom. » Read more

2019-06-05
Legendary Co-Founder of The 13th Floor Elevators Passes Away at Age 71 – Sadly, Roky Erickson passed away on May 31, 2019. Known as the father of psychedelic music and co-founder of the ground breaking 13th Floor Elevators, Roky had a profound influence on music from the 60s to today. Plagued by his own personal demons, Roky had a difficult life and is now free of these burdens. » Read more

2019-04-24
Help MoonJune Bring Great Music to Life – Like many music lovers around the world, we’ve been thrilled and amazed to hear the recordings that have been released by MoonJune from sessions at La Casa Murada in Spain. Such label stalwarts as Mark Wingfield, Markus Reuter, Asaf Sirkis, Tony Levin, Dusan Jevtovic, Vasil Hadzimanov, and many more have gathered in various combinations at the studio to produce some of the most creative music in recent years. Now, label head Leonardo Pavkovic is offering a compilation, La Casa Murada - MoonJune Sessions, Volume One, as a fundraiser for upcoming sessions. » Read more

2019-04-10
The Pineapple Thief to Tour North America – November and December of 2019 will see The Pineapple Thief bringing their music to Canada, Mexico, and the US, and famed drummer Gavin Harrison will be on board. The band has been touring extensively in Europe, but North America will be new territory for them. » Read more

2019-03-25
Scott Walker RIP – Noel Scott Engel, better known as Scott Walker, was one of the most intriguing and enigmatic musical figures in the second half of the 20th Century. His strange career started with The Walker Brothers, an American pop group that featured no one named Walker and no brothers. After moving to England in 1965, they had a series of hit singles. Scott's solo work started with Scott in 1967. Starting in the 80s, his work took an increasingly avant-garde turn. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Plus - The Seven Deadly Sins – One look at the cover and it should be clear that producers Simon Napier Bell and Ray Singer (who also penned about six of the tracks here) were trying to capitalize on the look and feel of Jesus...  (2001) » Read more

Pentagram - Sub-Basement – Dis’ some heavy stuff, man. Pentagram is basically the duo of Joe Hasselvander (all instruments) and Bobby Liebling (all vocals), churning out a heavy, fuzzed-out, brutal-assault-on-all-fronts...  (2002) » Read more

Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel's Mouth (Deluxe Edition) – Back in the day I was a huge Genesis and Steve Hackett fan, but I lost interest in Steve with his 1980 release Defector. Fast forward 30 years and it looks like either I have been missing out on some...  (2011) » Read more

Mushroom - Alive and in Full Bloom – "Krautrock, psychedelic and Jazz influences” or so it states in a large orange label on the CD cover. I saw this band open for Kevin Ayers in San Francisco so I was already familiar with...  (1999) » Read more

Jacky Maestracci Symphonia - Kosen-Rufu – As evidenced by the unusual (for Musea) catalog number, this release is not part of the primary offering (FGBG) series from Musea. When you hear it, you'll know why. This aptly-titled release...  (1997) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

If You're Going to Bedfordshire, Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair

More recommendations
Paul Sears - Angels & Demons That Play book

Print issues