Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Agora, Crusader Records 2023.
I have brought you music from artists spread across the four corners of the globe over the years I’ve been writing these reviews but to the best of my knowledge this is the first Mexican band I’ve reviewed.
Agora is a heavy rock outfit that play an impressive prog/metal/hard rock that has a distinct ‘80s-‘90s retro feel.
They have successfully inculcated all the heavy metal tropes from bands north of the border and have made them their own.
The influence of prog heroes such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The Moody Blues, and even Rick Wakeman is mixed with the guitar shredding of Aerosmith, Guns and Roses, and many other heavy metal/rock bands to produce an enticing prog rock that has allowed the band to develop their own niche in popular music.
Agora formed in 1996 and after many line-up changes they released their first studio album, Segundo Pasado, in 2001.
That album was well received and helped the band develop a large and enthusiastic fanbase in their own country.
The band’s ensuing releases built upon this impressive start sparking interest, and eventually recognition, internationally.
Agora have released six albums to date and many of them have received glowing reviews.
Infinity is the third single they have released this year and I suspect that a new album is in the offing. The other singles have been In The Name Of Destruction and Empire.
While Prog metal/rock devotees long ago discovered Agora the band has begun to cross-over and receive recognition in the main-stream charts.
The Agora albums that have consistently been cited by critics are their debut Segundo Pasado (2001), Zona De Silencio (2005), and Regresa Al Vertigo (2011).
I’m partial to some prog rock and I enjoyed the latest single.
It’s encouraged me to hunt out some of their earlier work.
