El Reloj - El Reloj II (Al Borde del Abismo) (1976)

Y ya que empezamos la semana con El Reloj, es un buen momento para traer de vuelta un clásico, una joyita del rock argento, reviviendo este gran álbum del hard prog sinfónico argentino. Un disco escencial para tener alguna idea de la calidad con que se cocinan las cosas por estos pagos. Si ya los conocés no hace falta hablar ni de ellos ni del disco, y si nunca los escuchaste o no lo tenés, este es un imperdible del rock latinoamericano. Una locomotora del rock sinfónico que nos dejó esta joyita pero por desgracia no registraron nada en vivo, donde se veía y mostraba el verdadero corazón de la banda. Aquí, todo un hito del rock argento en su máxima expresión. Rock hasta por el orto.

Artista: El Reloj
Álbum: El Reloj II - Al Borde del Abismo o Segundo Album
Año: 1976
Género: Heavy prog / Rock sinfónico
Nacionalidad: Argentina

Ya hace mucho tiempo que lo tenemos publicado, pero bien viene el recuerdo de todas estas maravillas que viven en el blog cabezón y muchos vagos se lo están perdiendo por no revisar todo el historial que tenemos sobre nuestras espaldas...
Mucha bola les dí hoy, así que iré copiando lo que antes escribieron otros (y mejor que yo...)

Esta banda fundamental del heavy-rock de nuestro pais fue creada en 1971 con marcadas influencias de Deep Purple. Debutaron en el cine Monumental y por sus filas pasaron varios guitarristas invitados: Osvaldo Frascino, Osvaldo Blanco y Carlos Mira. La formación original de la banda estaba integrada por Luis Valenti (teclados y voz), Willy Gardi (guitarras), Osvaldo Zabala (guitarras), Eduardo Freza (bajo) y Juan Espósito (batería).
En 1973 grabaron el primer simple: "El mandato" / "Vuelve el día a reinar", con el cual lograron vender 30.000 unidades. Continuaron presentándose en pubs y reingresaron a los estudios para el segundo simple ("Alguien más en quien confiar" / "Blues del atardecer"), que vendió 100.000 copias. El primer LP (publicado en el blog), se grabó en 1974.
En 1976, se editan los simples "El hombre y el perro / Camino al estucofen"; y "Al borde del abismo / Harto y confundido"; Omar Díaz se incorpora en guitarra por un breve periodo y posteriormente se edita su segundo disco El Reloj II, con la participación de Carlos Mira en guitarra, siendo este un trabajo más sinfónico, lo cual incrementa la popularidad de la banda, reflejo de esto fueron los dos Estadio Luna Park llenos y las extensas giras por el interior del país.
Los conflictos internos por diferencias personales y musicales ya eran evidentes en ese momento pero por cuestiones contractuales recién se separan en febrero de 1977, luego de la edición de este segundo trabajo.
En 1983 Willy Gardi decidió reflotar el nombre El Reloj para editar un nuevo trabajo, "La esencia es la misma"(disco publicado en el blog), aunque con una nueva formación. Gardi falleceria en un accidente automivilístico, en 1995, luego de la edición del album "Santos y verdugos". Actualmente El Reloj continúa presentándose en escenarios de todo el país.

pacocamorra

El primer disco de la banda, que en 1974 y se editó al año siguiente. Pero ya venían con toda una historia y un público fiel.
Para el año siguiente lanzaron otro disco, cambiando el rock pesado por una variante más sinfónica. Podríamos decir que su historia refleja también los oscuros momentos de esa Argentina y de Latinoamerica en general. Y su disolución como banda va un poco de la mano con el clima que se vivía. Dos Luna Park llenos y extensas giras por el interior produjo tensiones y diferencias que se sumaban a las tensiones que se vivía en el país con los militares en el poder, lo que los lleva a separarse en 1977, saturados por el arduo trabajo el grupo decide separarse para continuar con proyectos individuales.
Luego de muchos años (específicamente, en 1993) el grupo se reencontrará con un sonido completamente volcado al estilo metálico, razón por la cual se la conoce como una de las bandas más pesadas de rock sinfónico de Argentina.

Vamos con un poquito más de historia, para quien le interese:

El Reloj es una de las bandas más pesadas de Rock sinfónico en Argentina, enormemente influenciada por la banda británica de hard rock Deep Purple, comenzó a principios de la década del ´70, cuando Eduardo Frezza y Willy Gardi deciden buscar músicos para armar una banda, ellos se encontraban tocando juntos en una banda llamada "Lágrimas", que estaba formada por Omar Timpanaro en teclados, Osvaldo Fernandez en la Bateria y un guitarrista del grupo Rosarino "Los Ángeles Salvajes", en el grupo tocaba el bajo Eduardo Frezza; y Osvaldo "Bocón" Frascino en guitarra (quien después seria bajista de Pescado Rabioso) que había reemplazado al guitarrista del grupo cuando este decidió volverse a Rosario.
Al tiempo de estar tocando, Bocón no podía concurrir a un ensayo y le pidió a Willy Gardi que vaya en su lugar; ellos tocaban juntos en una banda llamada Kid Rodgers, y tras retirarse el Bocón, Willy se quedaría tocando en su lugar.
Posteriormente el resto de la banda debe presentarse para realizar el Servicio Militar y en ese momento comienza a formarse El Reloj con la incorporación de Juan "Locomotora" Espósito en batería, quien es uno de los primeros en usar doble bombo en Argentina; y Luis Valenti en teclados, ambos venían ya tocando juntos desde 1968 en una banda "Beat" llamada Formación 2000.
En el año 1970, ya con el nombre El Reloj, (la banda toma ese nombre debido a lo ajustado que salían los temas al tocarlos) se suma Horacio "Tucata" Suarez (actualmente reconocido Luthier) como segunda guitarra.
La banda debuta en el Cine Monumental en 1971 colmando su capacidad con 1100 personas y dejando gente afuera. Poco a poco comienzan a dar recitales y a hacerse conocidos principalmente en el Oeste; tras un corto tiempo y por diferencias con el grupo Horacio "Tucata" Suarez es reemplazado por Gregorio "Goyo" Felipes como segunda guitarra.
Continúan las presentaciones y un día antes de un recital importante en el Teatro Olimpia fallece Goyo, que es atropellado por un oficial de policía fuera de servicio y alcoholizado que huye del lugar, la banda se presenta ante 1500 personas rindiéndole un homenaje a su amigo. Tras un largo parate se incorpora Osvaldo Blanco como segunda guitarra, presentándose en el Teatro Astral y en varios lugares con gran convocatoria.
Al Tiempo tras la partida de Osvaldo Blanco se incorpora Osvaldo Zabala, que tocaba en una banda llamada "Perro Salado", como segunda guitarra de forma definitiva, presentándose en el Teatro Coliseo, Teatro Regio, en boliches y en cines, llenándolos sin material editado y sin publicidad; simplemente por el boca en boca, logrando un sonido fuerte, potente y distorsionado, realizando entre 4 o 5 shows por noche; como el show en el boliche "Los Indios de Moreno" que tocaron ante 3000 personas a las 8:00 hs. de la mañana. La popularidad del grupo produjo el interés de las compañías discográficas, y es el productor Leo Rivas quien los lleva a RCA Víctor, que los recibe de forma rara debido a su apariencia rockera.
Finalmente luego de dos años de estar tocando la Banda graba su primer simple "El mandato", "Vuelve el día a reinar" en el año 1973, que vendió 30.000 copias, ese mismo año se presentan por primera vez en televisión en Canal 7. Con la salida de su segundo simple "Alguien mas en quien confiar", "Blues del atardecer" en el año 1974 la banda alcanza su pico máximo vendiendo 100.000 copias. En sus recitales usaban sonido Cuadrofonico, 1000 wats, 250 por canal y el técnico de sonido era Teddy Goldman.
En el año 1975 se edita "El Reloj" el primer disco de la banda, con temas como "El Viejo Serafín" el primer tema de la banda, "Alguien más en quien confiar" tema que le había escrito Willy a Luis tras una serie de desencuentros; "Hijos del Sol y la Tierra" cuya letra la había escrito la madre de Willy, Mary Gardi y Willy se la había pedido para la banda, y con una tapa sustituta de ultimo momento, ya que la idea original era de poner el cuadro "Los relojes derretidos" de Dali, pero como no daba con el tiempo y el presupuesto la compañía le pidió al grupo que presente una tapa y Juan "Locomotora" Espósito realizo un dibujo de la noche a la mañana que posteriormente seria modificado por la compañía, comprimiéndolo en un recuadro chico y poniéndole las letras, como finalmente fue editado.
En 1976 se editan los simples "El hombre y el perro", "Camino al estucofen"; y "Al borde del abismo", "Harto y confundido"; Omar Díaz se incorpora en guitarra por un breve periodo, y posteriormente se edita su segundo disco "Al borde del abismo"(El Reloj 2), con la participación de Carlos Mira en guitarra , siendo este un trabajo más sinfónico lo cual incrementa la popularidad de la banda, reflejo de esto fueron los dos Luna Park llenos y las extensas giras por el interior del país lo cual produjo tensiones y diferencias en el grupo que los lleva a separarse en 1977.

Un disco fundamental del rock argentino, todo un histórico que no puede faltar en tu colección, ni en la tuya ni en la de nadie...
Y si bien muchos no conocen este trabaj ni aún en Argentina, el mismo dió que hablar a muchos en todo el mundo, aquí van algunos comentarios en inglés para que vean que no miento.

The iconic Argentinean band EL RELOJ had been playing for over 5 years, they already had personnel changes, one dead member and were only able to release one previous album called "El Reloj". Despite this circumstances they managed to get a very large fan base not only in Argentina but also in all South America and mainly in Perú, something I witnessed.
This fan base was mostly interested in a Hard Rock approach close to a blend between Deep Purple and Uriah Heep with a slight touch of the Symphonic Argentinean personality and their debut album was a compilation of all this years recordings.
But it was time for a change, but not of name because their second release had exactly the same name as the previous "El Reloj", that's why it's known as "II", "Al Borde del Abismo" or "Segundo Album", but the style surely changed, they became a heavy Symphonic band, keeping the influence of the first release that gained so many fans but at the same time they went for a more challenging sound with a certain approach to King Crimson's first two albums and a bit of Italian Symphonic School.
They took the risk of loosing all the popularity they earned through the years so they kept alive the original rough atmosphere and the result was excellent for the band, they became more popular than ever, I would dare to say that "El Reloj II" is probably the grandfather of Latin American Prog Metal and at the same time a Symphonic album.
The songs that describe best this collision of styles are:
"Al Borde del Abismo" (The album is also known by the name of this song which was a successful single prior to the LP Release), still with a clear Purple influence but this time with dramatic changes all along the track, making clear reference to King Crimson, the guitar tandem of Willy Gardi and Osvaldo Zabala is simply outstanding specially for the rhythm guitar often powered by a strong rhythm section and David Byron influenced vocals.
"La Ciudad Desconocida": A dramatic Symphonic Power Ballad very close to Italian School but still with some remembrances to Deep Purple, the vocals sound better than ever showing some similarities with songs like "July Morning" or even "Stairway to Heaven"
Another single "Harto y Confundido" also made it's path to the LP but two other excellent ones "Camino al Estucofen" and "El Hombre y el Perro" released after the first LP were not included in the original release for reasons I ignore, mistake that has been repaired in the remastered edition.
If you love Latin American Prog and want to know the evolution from Heavy Rock to Symphonic Prog in one album, you must get El Reloj II ( "Al Borde del Abismo" "Second Album" or however you want to call it) because it's a great addition for any Proghead and essential for any Argentinean Prog fan.
Four solid stars for a very solid album.

Iván Melgar

One of South America's better groups, El Reloj had an all too brief recording 70's career and just two albums, their debut being in a much harder rock vein in the Purple line. This one is much proggier and is in my top ten South American records. Just like its predecessor's reissue, the album starts out with bonus tracks (which I always found rather unsettling and non-respectful of the album itself. Fortunately this occurrence is rare enough in prog (I can only think of Germany's Parzival with an even stranger set up where bonus tracks bookend the album tracks.
Nevertheless these bonus tracks are worthy of the album's quality even if they do not sound like they came from the album session, but this is minor and they actually extent the disc length to acceptable duration. And this album is rather unlike a lot of other Argentinean prog album, which have a tendency to sound Italian Symphonic-like prog rock. It is rather more in the line of Bubu's superb sole album, with plenty of power, demented music a bit of a cross between Crimson and ELP, but without Emo's doodlings. The line-up is your standard prog quartet with an added guitarist/violinist, but unfortunately, the violin is not used enough, but the group does not really need it to sound original and unique.
While over half the tracks are sung, the vocals are not overly present and plenty of space is given to the music. If most tracks are rather short (except for an 11-min slightly flawed epic) remaining around the 4-min mark, the album is a very even affair with all tracks being eventful and energetic, if not frantic. In this light, it is rather hard to find one track that is a highlight, so if I must risk myself, it'll be a trio: Tema Triste, Harto Y Confundido and Egolatrio. A real must if you want to check out what Latinos can do in prog, but it is not really representative of their country's output. Nothing wrong with that , on the contrary. Rounded to the upper unit.

Sean Trane

Wild fire from Argentina
I can't believe that it has been 5 years since the last review of this little thing. Man you've got a powerful album coming your way, if you choose to acquire El Reloj's second outing. Of the few Argentinean albums in my collection, I rank this magnificent album along with Bubu's Anabelas, Pescado Rabioso's Artaud and Luis Alberto Spinetta's debut as my absolute faves. Though different in textures and feel - I would say that the vocals of El Reloj sound a lot like Spinetta, if the guy had chosen to walk the progressive hard rock path. To those of you who are unfamiliar with either one of these artists, then imagine a sweeter and slightly more sensuous South American version of Robert Plant.
To start off, I'd like to recapture a bit about El Reloj's rather bumpy start into the musical lands. Already early on in their career these guys faced what very easily could have been the end of the band, as guitarist Gregorio Felipes were killed en route to a concert back in 1970 at the Olimpia Theater. The terrible accident involved a car crash and a drunk police officer, who managed to steer clear from any subsequent accusations. Incredibly the band pulled through and did the gig in front of 1500 people the same night. The reason why I mention this is not because I wish to induce a series of misty eyed reactions and the following empathic buy. No it has infinitely more to do with me trying to convey what I truly feel must be one of the main engines behind this band. I feel a turbulent, jagged and hectic energy associated with El Reloj. Maybe more like a sonic guided rage that shows itself in every piece of the puzzle, whether that is the furiously pumping drums, those sensuous yet highly manic vocals or the eruptive masses of shredding guitars - it's always there, this rage.
The sound of these guys as a whole is not that far from other hard rocking proggers of the time, such as Uriah Heep and Atomic Rooster, although El Reloj sound completely different. I realize the contradiction of this sentence, but I still claim there to be what I'd personally call "influences"(although I'm using the term loosely here) from the aforementioned bands - yet you'll find a distinctive nerve - a melodic sense and flow to this band which feels totally original and endemic to the South American peninsula. What comes closest in terms of reference to the European progster is perhaps the melodic feel of the early and more gritty RPI acts. There's something there that rings a bell - most definitely yes, and if you are sitting out there with a huge boner on for that particular scene, then you should be placing your order of this magnificent album as soon as possible.
This second outing is packed full of steaming hard rock with a boot full of progressive tendencies - in fact a truck load more prog than many of the British bands of said genre were conjuring up around the same time, -which again leads me to one of this album's greatest attributes: Chops. Man oh man do these guys know their way around their instruments. The drummer is easily one of the best and most intricate I have ever heard. He plays everything with ease, like a regular jazz nut - yet what he hits he hits with the force of a small sumo wrestler, and to top it all off - he plays like all of my fave drummers, which means that he is all over the kit - using the toms like it was second nature. Even when the natural structure of the track craves for a steady beat, he is all over the place with wonderful results, whilst still being astonishingly tight. Tight as a rooster's anus - just like the rest of the band actually...
Then we've got the guitars which are played with the virtuosity of a male figure skater using his hands to pirouette around the ice. Jagged, fluent and everything in between - coming very close to the perfect hybrid of Fripp and Page with a teeny tiny twist of spicy salsa thrown in. It's rock n' roll with an infinite amount of melodic twists and turns.
All in all El Reloj's ll boasts a powerful series of hard hitting, virtuosi and at times slightly symphonic tunes that are as prone to melodies as they are to letting the music run wild in a sea of democratically performed musical rides that get my juices flowing like an adolescent labrador pup mounting a teddy bear. 3.5/5 stars.

Guldbamsen

I can't get over how much better this album is over their debut. They are still a hard rocking band but the songs are much more interesting, in fact i'd say they've improved in every area.
"Al Borde Del Abismo" gets things started and it hits the ground running. Vocals before a minute and they come and go. I like when it settles 2 minutes in then builds. "Tema Triste" is a top three. There's something dark and powerful about this one that is so appealing. A calm with vocal melodies before 3 minutes. Such a great track. "La Ciudad Desconocida" is the longest track at over 10 1/2 minutes and also a top three for me. Violin early in this one as the organ floats in. A change around 2 1/2 minutes with intricate guitar and drums taking over. Vocals a minute later. Excellent stuff. It turns heavy then picks up 7 1/2 minutes in. Nice. The organ helps out late. "Aquel Triangulo" has a good heavy intro then the organ joins in. Ripping vocals 2 minutes in.
The vocals come in quickly on "Harto Y Confundido". Love how this sounds. Guitar to the fore after 2 minutes then the vocals return a minute later. It settles late. "Tema De Todas Las Epocas" is a short tune with acoustic guitar throughout. Back to the fire and brimstone on "Aquella Dulce Victoria". The guitar is strummed before 1 1/2 minutes then it picks back up some with the electric guitar returning. "Egolatria" is my other top three. This is an uptempo rocker. Nasty guitar here. The organ and drums lead after 2 1/2 minutes. Great sound.
If you like hard rocking music with a Latin flavour then you need to hear this.

John Davie

Technically the second album by EL RELOJ is the second eponymous release but is more often referred to as EL RELOJ II and also known as "Al Borde Del Abismo (On The Edge Of The Abyss)" after the first track. While the debut album showed the band with some serious hard and heavy rock with progressive chops, it is this second album that turns up the creative nature of the band even more without sacrificing any of the brilliance that made the debut so enjoyable. The heaviness is still here, the melodies are abundant but where the band really went to town is in the eclectic progressiveness department. There is just a lot more ideas and creative outbursts finding their way into every nook and cranny.
The song structures have become more complex than ever where individual instruments are assigned much larger roles in fleshing out new territories and moods. The keyboards aren't as pronounced as on the debut leaving behind the Deep Purple similarities but they still have their moments where they burst onto the scene and dazzle the senses. On this one we get a lot more mood swings with frenetic rocking segments trading off with sensual mellow ones. This kind of reminds me of the Mr Bungle approach at times which i can't think of any other 70s acts who tried it but the stylistic trade offs aren't nearly as extreme and the focus is still on maintaining a strong melodic flow even if the melody itself is ridiculously complex in nature. At times i am reminded of the heavier proggy side of Rush mixed with some avant-garde leanings of King Crimson but the Italian prog influences of the heavier side of PFM, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso and especially "Palepoli" era Osanna are the most pronounced.
Willy Gardi and Osvaldo Zabala have mastered their twin guitar assault leaving bands like Wishbone Ash and The Allman Brothers in the dust. The energetic outbursts are furious enough to pass for 80s metal while Luis Alberto Valenti's organ delivery points more to the early part of the 70s bringing all those proto-prog sounds into play. The harmonizing vocals of four of the five members have been perfected creating an impressive command of blending with the complexities on display here. Ah, this was love at first listen and has just gotten better. All the ingredients for early symphonic heavy proggy metal are here and i can't seem to get enough of this one.
Generally speaking if you're more into the early metal aspects of EL RELOJ you will like the first album better whereas if you have strong prog fetish then this second album will more than scratch that itch. This album tends to leave less of an impression upon first listen but rewards in repeated listens which are needed to collect all the frantic ideas into a cohesive understanding. I, for one, love both albums but the overall sophistication of this one blows me away while still delivering more than enough heavy bombast to satisfy my headbangin' needs. EL RELOJ is a really cool band that i have been getting way into. I wish i woulda been around in 1970s Argentina to see these guys play, they REALLY know how to deliver on the goods. After this album the band wouldn't release anything new for several years and then toned their progressiveness down a whole bunch to conform with the 80s. This album remains the crown jewel in their musical career and what a sparkling jewel it is.

siLLy puPPy

Lista de Temas:
1. El Hombre Y El Perro
2. Camino Al Estucofen
3. Al Borde Del Abismo
4. Tema Triste
5. La Ciudad Desconocida
6. Aquel Triangulo
7. Harto Y Confundido
8. Tema De Todas Las Epocas
9. Aquella Dulce Victoria
10. Egolatria

Alineación:
- Juan Esposito / batería, voz
- Eduardo Frezza / bajo, voz
- Willy Gardi / guitarra líder, voz
- Luis Alberto Valenti / teclados, voz
- Osvaldo Zabala / guitarras