Various Artists — Progressive Rock Side of Five Moons, Volume 5 (5 Lunas Producciones, 2025)
The ambitious collection of Spanish progressive rock and related genres continues with Volume 5. Progressive Rock Side of Five Moons Volume 5 is an extensive “musical archeology” project designed to present lost recordings, unreleased material or poorly promoted current acts from the past and present. This anthology aims to offer music from all corners of Spain.
Volume 5 begins with “Música después de la vida” (music after life) by Arcabuz from Santa Coloma de Gramenet in northeastern Spain. Although they are not a southern band, they perform progressive rock inspired by Andalusian rock and Camel with an emphasis on flamenco-rock guitars and vintage keyboards.
Track 2 presents “Avaritia” by Alms, an outfit from León in northwestern Spain. They sing in English and deliver a mix of pastoral and hard rock moments with theatrical male and female vocals, Baroque organ and bluesy guitar chops.
Mondo Infiel’s “Avaritia”, turns to Pink Floyd-style and blues guitar work. The Pamplona band also features superb vocals and an extended prog jam.
Track 4, “Jedraque“ by Golem, from Mollet del Vallés, introduces symphonic keyboards, Celtic flute, gentle vocals, classic hard rock passages, and Jethro Tull-inspired flute work.
“Óscar Car (Parte I & II)” highlights the work of Hysteriofunk, an instrumental band from Andorra la Vella in the Pyrenes. Their style combines skillful funk and progressive rock.
Track 6 introduces “Blue Frog” by Zrio, from Maoño in northern Spain. This is an excellent progressive jazz-rock fusion band with memorable guitar and piano work.
Next is Goio, also from northern Spain. Their sound is laid back and folk-rooted with acoustic guitar and soft vocals together with beautifully crafted vocal harmonies.
Track 8 unveils “The Acid Rain” by Badalona band Pi-2. they deliver a form of anthemic progressive rock with stellar guitar parts.
“El Marciano” (the Martian) reveals the music of El Tubo Elastico, an instrumental band with a hard edge from Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain.
The final track presents Gotic, from Barcelona, one of the finest Spanish progressive rock bands from the 1970s era. “Historia de una gota daigua” is a delightful suite with exquisite neoclassical guitars, splendid flute melodies and an epic crescendo.
Progressive Rock Side of Five Moons has released even more compilations. We’ll be reviewing additional volumes in the next weeks.
You can order the album directly form the label or Bandcamp.