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Psychic Equalizer — Prologue to Insurrection
(Bandcamp no#, 2025, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2025-09-04

Prologue to Insurrection Cover art

After four years without releasing new music, the new Psychic Equalizer album Prologue to Insurrection is definitely their most powerful release to date. Percussive metal guitar riffs, emotionally charged prog rock, and operatic vocals abound. The core band members this time are Saray Riaño (vocals), Carlos Barragán (guitars and backing vocals), Hugo Selles (band leader on piano, keyboards, e-bass, and backing vocals), and Sergio Azcona (drums). In addition, there are many contributing guest musicians:  Chus Gancedo (drums), Javier Sixto (guttural vocals on “Tremors”), Iván Salas (“Gandalf” vocals on “Centuries”), Pablo Brie (double bass on “Life Will Never Shine on Me”), a string quartet (Giorgio Abbadessa and Sokhema Di Croce – violin, Paul Bravo García – viola, and Giulia Deda – cello on the monumental “Luciana”), plus a number of backing vocalists: Lorena Sánchez, Lucía Minondo, Elsa Arce, Iván Salas, Santos Bringas, Juan Antonio Ucelay, and Ignacio Fernández. The album contains five tracks: “Centuries,” “Leaders,” “Tremors,” “Life Will Never Shine on Me,” and the final track “Luciana,” an epic 22-minute piece that pays tribute to those killed in the Reocín Mine accident on August 17, 1960 during the Torrelavega festivities when the region's worst tragedy occurred, killing the most people since the Spanish Civil War. This disaster was completely covered up by both the Spanish dictatorship and the responsible company, and today remains almost completely unknown by a large part of the local population. A quick rundown of the music starts with the raw metal prog of “Centuries” that even at 4:38 is over before you know it. “Leaders” is an aggressive gutsy song accompanied by Saray’s operatic vocals. “Tremors” continues in this vein with subliminal guttural vocals that morphs into symphonic metal prog. Then things slow down a bit with “Life Will Never Shine on Me” with its gentle piano intro, eerie slide guitar, and acoustic guitars. As mentioned, “Luciana” is a tremendous and emotional piece. Beginning with a quiet piano intro and Saray’s lovely vocals, it turns a bit aggressive for a few moments before returning to gentle music and bells. Then the music becomes eerie and rapidly builds to its emotional climax, with the band soaring to new heights, fading out to piano and bass and silence, and a guitar slowly appears for the final two minutes. Quite an impressive album and well worth the four year wait.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Hugo Selles / Psychic Equalizer

More info
http://psychicequalizer.bandcamp.com/album/prologue-to-insurrection-2

 

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