POSEIDOTICA: El Dilema del Origen
May 2015 Aquatalan Records
Free Listening at: https://poseidotica.bandcamp.com/album/el-dilema-del-origen
Walter Broide Drums & Percussion
Hernan Miceli: Guitar
Martin Rodriguez: Bass
Santiago Rua: Guitar
With temerity I venture with this post a bit outside the usual norm of classic, neo, and 3rd wave prog. But even as creative pop (Tears for Fears) and space psychedelia (Hawkwind) intersects on the great prog Venn diagram at times, so can some Post-Rock/Metal.
POSEIDOTICA is a four man band from Buenos Aires, Argentina and this is my first encounter with their music which they call “Rock Expansivo.” Prog Archives calls them “Heavy Prog.” They’ve been around since at least 2005 with this album, El Dilema del Origen being their fourth. It’s an 11-track affair which caught my attention by the fairly “proggy” album jacket art. It is a fine spacey affair which reminds me of Jim Starlin’s art when he was doing Warlock for Marvel back in the day (Thanos anyone?)
Though the album’s title makes me think of an early Church theologian and his own dilemma with heresy, the literal translation is “The Dilemma of Origin.” This music is what I’d refer to as post rock/post metal with prog overtones. And as much as I like doing track by track reviews, this album even with 11 tracks is not so much individual songs as an interweaving soundscape. While not rising quite to the levels of American titans ISIS and PELICAN, this is well produced shoe-gazer music that paints mood and atmosphere in a lush template of melody and power. If you like GREEN CARNATION or THE SIX PARTS SEVEN (and you should) you’ll like this disc. Yes there tends to be a sameness to much post rock/metal with the ebb & flow of loud & quiet, but that doesn’t take away from POSEIDOTICA’s clean superb musicianship or this album’s harmonic beauty. All of the tunes are instrumental and flow nicely from one to the next. The band, for the most part, not only integrates tempo and sound in each individual track but also from song to song so as to militate against monotony. From music that sounds at times almost like a science fiction score (track 1) to surging hard rocking metal (Vikings and Cowboys in space; track 4) it’s a little bit of surf reverb meets post rock meets DEEP PURPLE (track 9) sans Hammond. As my favorite all-time Band is CAMEL and their magnum opus The Snow Goose, this kind of cinematic and anthemic instrumental fare is evocative and perfect for background listening. The acoustic guitar pieces as well as the shredding and riffing are ably complemented by stirring drumming by Walter Broide.
So, if you’re looking for a breather to cleanse the palate from the best of the best (GLASS HAMMER, THE TANGENT, BIG BIG TRAIN or MARILLION) this album deserves a listen…and re-listens. I like it and will try to put in on my shelf. No, there’s nothing really new here but at around 45 minutes it does not wear out its competent and well-crafted welcome.
Is it prog? Well, close enough for my taste especially in the near Floydian vibes from track 3, Hologram.
Band web-site: http://www.poseidotica.com.ar (non-English)
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