Flor De Loto -
Medusa: En Vivo En Buenos Aires


(CD/DVD 2015, 70:57/ 100 min, Azafran Media AP 1526)

The tracks:
DVD:
  1- La Fortaleza(3:42)
  2- Nuevo Mesias(4:29)
  3- Mosoj Pacha - Nuevo Mundo(5:07)
  4- Sombras En La Oscuridad(3:27)
  5- Espejo Del Alma(5:29)
  6- En Otro Lugar(6:38)
  7- Volver A Nacer(5:33)
  8- Hipnotizame(7:06)
  9- Desapareciendo(5:09)
10- Medusa(7:15)
11- Imperio De Cristal(6:18)
12- Hasta El Final(10:44)
Bonus features
13- Espejo Del Alma (Video clip)
14- En Otro Lugar (Video clip)
15- Rumbo A La Eternidad (Live)
16- Nuevo Mesias (Live)
17- Espejo Del Alma (Live)
18- Flor De Loto Arequipa 2015 (Documentary)
CD:
  1- 12 - The same tracks as on DVD

Website      facebook      Azafran Media
X


In 2014 I reviewed the latest studio album of Flor De Loto. A band from Peru that made with Nuevo Mesias (see review) a very original sounding album. At the time I wrote that it contained refined progressive rock which was mixed with elements taken from progmetal and Latin influences. Furthermore I stated that this release is one of the most magnificent albums from South American of the last couple of years! So I only could end my review by saying; “Long live Inca rock!”. Now one year later the band comes with a live release, named Medusa: En Vivo En Buenos Aires.

November 2014 the band left their country to do some concerts in Argentina. The one they did at the Acatraz in Buenos Aires on that night of November 8 was recorded for a release on CD and DVD. On the first disc you have the audio of the show. You can hear the very inspired musicians Ignacio Flores (guitar, backing vocals), Alonso Herrera (vocals, guitars), Junior Pacora (traverse flute, quena, charango, backing vocals), David Lopez Gutierrez (synthesizer), Agustina Gonzalez lead vocals on Desapareciendo, backing vocals), Alejandro Jarrin (bass) and Alvaro Escobar (drums) performing songs from their back catalogue. It is obvious that the pieces taken from their sixth album Nuevo Mesias were recognisable for me. So honestly songs such as Espejo Del Alma and En Otro Lugar can be considered as my favourites. However it didn't mean the rest of the material was less enjoyable. No way! Take, for example, the excellent Mosoj Pacha - Nuevo Mundo, which has a beautiful synthesizer solo that did not exist in the original studio version. Also you can hear that the final pieces on the album are real classic Flor De Loto tracks. Imperio De Cristal and Hasta El Final are real audience favourites and were therefore played towards the end of the show.

The second disc contains the images of the same concert you can hear on the first disc. It has to be said that the quality of footage isn't of the level which Western bands have on their DVD release most of the time. However it doesn't mean it is less enjoyable. Right from the start you go along with the excitement the band expresses on stage, playing their songs with a lot of passion and power in front of a live audience. An audience which you strangely enough hardly see during the seventy minutes of their performance. That didn't really matter to me. As long as the music is done well and the people on stage make sure you are not bored during the concert, it's fine by me. As a sort of bonus the DVD contains six videos. Two of them are video clips to promote Nuevo Mesias and include the two songs of the album I mentioned earlier. Furthermore you can enjoy two live videos plus a short documentary. All of a very good quality!

After hearing and seeing the band playing music of most of their album releases, I got a good look at how they bring their music to their fans. They succeeded with flying colours reproducing their sometimes complex studio tracks into excellent sounding live versions. Highly recommended to everybody who enjoys a mix of music inspired by Jethro Tull, music of the Andes and progmetal. So once again I can only say 'long live Inca rock!'.

**** Henri Strik (edited by Astrid de Ronde)

Where to buy?




All Rights Reserved Background Magazine 2016