Despite having been in existence since the late 1970s, Cast could only afford to release the debut album in 1994. Since that time there has been a consistent stream of band and solo releases culminating in Al-bandaluz, the 19th Cast-related album. For this latest album, long-time members Alfonso Vidales and Francisco Hernández (keyboards and vocals, respectively) have been joined by new members Kiko King (drums), Carlos Humarán (guitars) and Flavio Jimenéz (bass) to produce a ten-track double album, clocking in at a fraction short of 100 minutes. Despite being familiar with the name, I had not heard any of the previous releases so I was very curious to hear just what the highly regarded Mexican prog stalwarts sounded like.

   Five of the ten tracks feature vocals, sung in Spanish, although in general the vocal sections are fairly short leaving plenty of room for the expansive instrumental swathes of what must be the finest symphonic progressive music to emanate from the southern hemisphere. Primarily centred around the highly impressive keyboard skills of Alfonso Vidales which neatly integrate complex piano and synthesiser lines in with the rest of the instrumentation. This is none more evident that on the opening track Viajero Inmóvil, which harks back to the early days of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Indeed, the Emerson influence is readily found all over this album.

   Each of the CDs contains an epic track: on the first disc it is the three-part instrumental, Encrucijada. Opening with an insistent piano riff, powerful guitar and sax (played by guest musician Pepe Torres) lines intrude helping the piece to evolve into an epic of grand proportions. Melody lines recur throughout the track taking the listener through an initially relatively calm journey before reaching an exciting climax full of chugging guitars and double bass drum attacks. Fine stuff! On the second disc we are treated to the 22 minute El Puente which slowly builds through the rather loosely arranged Vida Real, before the vocal section, El Puente pulls things together. The final two sections give the band the opportunity to demonstrate how well they gel together producing totally engaging soundscapes. The only criticism I have is that the female backing vocals, provided by Lupita Vidales, need a bit more force (possibly by double tracking or adding extra vocalists) and are rather too far down in the mix. But it is a very minor gripe!

   Of the remaining tracks Damajuana is stylistically reminiscent of Camel, particularly the way the flute (again, played by Pepe Torres) is woven around Humarán's impeccable guitar work while La Balesta has gentle piano and acoustic guitar passages which bring back memories of Banks and Hackett in all their glory. Ensamble Al-Mayá is the only track with a more Latinate feel to it, although not in the more traditional manner one would expect from a South American band. Oddly enough, it reminds me of Ozric Tentacles! Final track Ansia, Augustia, Desesperación has some determined riffing by Humarán and closes the album with a steady instrumental romp.

   All-in-all Al-bandaluz is a fine album of very good songs played by excellent musicians. That they have been able to maintain the quality of their releases considering their prodigious output over the last nine years is nothing less than remarkable.