So one of the things that I like about prog rock are the album covers. The majority of them are very artsy and very interesting and the one to the left of me is no exception! It was one of the reasons that the band and album Vanished from Earth caught my eye this more at progstreaming.com. Of course it was the music that ultimately sealed the deal and made resulted in the album becoming the soundtrack while doing some chores this afternoon.
After listening I went to ProgArchives and found that the band hails from Argentina next door neighbor to Chile where we found Aisles yesterday. I guess that the prog rock scene is alive and well on the South American continent!! As a matter of fact Vanished From Earth made their debut at the “La Plata Prog 2011” after only a few months of rehearsal! At that event they shared the stage with some of the continents biggest acts like: Contraluz,Uranian, Fughu, Atempo, and Jinetes Negros. The followed that performance up with an appearance in their hometown at the “Close to the Edge Buenos Aires Prog Fest” at that festival they shared the stage with: William Gray, LaPlace, and Cristol. In 2012, the and released their self-titled debut album.
Fernando Refay the keyoard player and Rodrigo San Martin the guitarist formed the band, well, three months prior to that “La Plata Prog 2011 event! The two had collaborated several times before they got together formally. Refay in addition to being a keyboard player is also a composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is also well versed in playing and composing jazz and classical music. He’s also a founding member of the fusion ensemble S.O.S. and progressive rock band Silion Zelf!! He released a solo album The Paradox in the first half of 2011. The other half of the duo that founded the band Rodrigo San Martín is also a multi-instrumentalist, a composer and producer, as well as being a great guitarist. Usually, Rodrigo performs all the instruments in his albums. As a solo artist he has released two albums: “1” (April 2010), Argentina’s first 5.1 album, and “There’s No Way Out” (November 2010), On these albums he was helped out by Serbian singer Jelena Persic and United States born Craig Kerley. The last two members of the band were drummer Mike Buenaventura Lima and bassist Ignacio Gulich.
Refay and San Martin formed the band so that they could explore all their musical influences. Their music tends to mix 70s prog rock with modern progressive metal from bands like Dream Theater. In addition they blend in a little Latin music and jazz-fusion! Throughout Vanished from Earth (the album) the listener encounters long multi-themed compositions, with lots of key, tempo. and signature changes. I love the transition from the slow mellow “Intro” to the bombastic “Hydra”!
Overall, I really like this album and look forward to listening lots more to this album, in addition I look forward to exploring the solo music of Refay and San Martin as well as, those bands that appeared at those Prog Festivals!!
For now let’s listen to “Hydra” – from Vanished From Earth!
