Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Atila
Atila – Reviure (1977) (@256)
13 Feb 2010
(Review from progarchives.com)
Last album by this Catalonian quartet, Reviure (reviver in Catalan) must be one of the most stunning Iberian albums around.
Unlike many of their peers, Atila avoids sounding “Italian”. Their sound is roughly based on a sound between Vanilla Fudge, King Crimson, with un unusually ever-present Moog synth in the foreground. Niebla’s guitar is excellent all around and leaves no ground uncovered that Nogue’s Moog had left unfilled. Their sinister semi-skeleton artwork sure gave them an edge on many of their peers in the shelves of record stores. .
Two tracks aside with plenty of mainly instrumental enthusiastic progressive filled of tricky time sigs and great interplay. The bass work is outstanding, getting the odd touch and oh-so-subtle of Zeuhl into a soundscape that Crimson would not disclaim. Like many of their Catalan peers, Atila made sure that their music was solid in all department including the drummer Punet (he gets a short drum solo slot in the awesome eponymous track), there is still some organ parts, namely in the album’s apex, Atila. Four excellent tracks, not a moment of rest and plenty of power.
Although all three Atila albums are vastly different from each other, all three are much worth the investigation.
Line-up:
- Eduardo Alvarez / guitar
- Juan Punet / drums
- Jean P. Gomez / bass
- Benet Nogur / keyboards
Track List:
01. Reviure – 9:56
02. Somni – 9:39
03. Atila – 12:00
04. Almati – 7:20
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Atila – Intencion (1976) (@256)
12 Feb 2010
(Review from gnosis2000.net)
With a full-time keyboardist addition, Atila takes the concept of their earlier effort a couple of steps further on this album. It’s organ driven, and often spacious, hard progressive with an international sound. There are female choirs offering up vocal melodies as well. The recording quality is drastically improved compared to their earlier album.
Side two is a rework of the debut live album, here titled in Spanish as “El Principio del Fin”. Starting with a Phantom of the Opera-like organ, the piece explodes into a Black Sabbath guitar riff before settling into an easy groove with moog, organ, and fuzz guitar jamming. Plus the requisite drum solo. A must for progressive fans who like psychedelic sounds.
Line-up:
- Eduardo A. Niebla / guitar
- Miguel A. Blasco / bass
- Juan Punet / drums
- Benet Nogue / organ, mellotron, piano, moog, voice
- Juan Vidal / sound effect
Track List:
01. Intencion – 8:50
02. Cucutila – 4:48
03. Dia Perfecto – 6:35
04. El Principio Del Fin – 15:54
05. Un Camel De Xocolata (Bonus) – 4:09
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Atila – Beginning of The End (Live 1975) (@256)
11 Feb 2010
(Review from gnosis2000.net, rockadrome.com, Expose)
Often hailed as one the hard psych masterpieces to come out from Spain in the early 70s, Atila was a trio formed in 1973.
Handed out as a promo to guests of their live shows in 1975, this debut live album consists of one very long multi-part track “Beginning of The End”, with no stops or breaks, other than to change sides, it was essentially a live recording, done on a very small budget — thus has a sub standard sound quality.
Their sound at this early stage could be described as ripping guitar-driven rock, with bits of recognizable classical pieces appearing from time to time; the organ is prominent within the mix, also handling the bottom end using bass pedals.
They ramble a bit, the soloing tends to get excessive at times, yet there are still enough changes to keep the music interesting.
Line-up:
- Eduardo Alvarez Niebla / guitar
- Paco Ortega / keyboards
- Juan Panet / drums
- Miguel Blasco / Bass
Track List:
01. Beginning of The End – 29:53
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