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Thread: Cast-worth investigation?

  1. #1

    Cast-worth investigation?

    Have been listening to some tracks by the Mexican band Cast,and they sound v.good.Anybody else got any thoughts on them? Best albums?etc.Really like listening to them in their native language too!

  2. #2
    I like them. After a while I find their singer to be a bit tiresome but in small doses (a few songs at a time) they are worth checking out. Neoprog with the ability to combine some nice classical-inspired passages among their harder rock. My favorite of theirs is Angels and Demons, seemingly a concept album. Beyond Reality is my second next favorite which has several lengthy multi-part tracks. I believe both of these albums are sung entirely or nearly entirely in English though. Some of their more recent releases look like they have at least some songs in Spanish.

  3. #3
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    ^ yeah, listened to Angels and Dons recently and it's a pretty nice one. To me it doesn't matter if they sing in English or Spanish - the lyrics don't stand out either way.

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    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    I recommend Originalis First, Al Bandaluz second, and Com.Union third. These albums are sung in Spanish, except the last song on Originalis.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    My advice: start from the most recent album and work your way backwards. At a certain point the attempts to sounds like Genesis circa Wind & Wuthering will become too much to bear, but when they embraced being a band with Latin roots they became more Italo-prog and were pretty damn good IMO.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

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    Member Yanks2014's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    I recommend Originalis First, Al Bandaluz second, and Com.Union third. These albums are sung in Spanish, except the last song on Originalis.
    Originalis is one of their very best, quite an intense slab of symphonic prog, and the best of the recent albums. Castart is quite good too. I'm lukeward to Com.Union, though it has some good songs. From the earlier incarnation of the band, I totally agree about Angels and Demons, a great starting point.

    Other favorites of mine include Beyond Reality, Imaginary Window, Legacy and Endless Signs. Some of the early releases are spotty as they are a mix of older recording from the 80's and contemporary 90's recording, and the production isn't so good. That being said, Cast have quite the impressive catalog, one of the more consistant and prolific acts around.

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    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Love the double Al Bandaluz. Beyond Reality suffers from the two problems the earlier works I've heard (including the live "View of Cast") have--poor production and meandering arrangements.

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    Cast were one of the first bands I got into when I discovered the prog underground in the late 90’s. I have all of their albums up through “Angles And Demons”. Those albums are very Genesis influenced and some of them are not recorded very well which takes away from the material a bit. My favorites would probably be “Angles And Demons” and “Beyond Reality”. I do not have anything more recent than those. I have been able to see the band live 3 times and one thing that I can say is that they really put their hearts into every performance. You almost can’t help but like them live as they always perform with a lot of passion. I really should explore some of their more recent stuff.

  9. #9
    I bought Endless Signs back in the 90s, after seeing them at Progday. I liked it well enough, and have enjoyed most of what I've heard from them since then, but never felt a great need to purchase anything more. Definitely a band I have a lot of respect for, however.

  10. #10
    Holy cow they put out a lot of albums... Newest first, working backwards is always good advice!
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

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    Quote Originally Posted by dpt3 View Post
    I bought Endless Signs back in the 90s, after seeing them at Progday. I liked it well enough, and have enjoyed most of what I've heard from them since then, but never felt a great need to purchase anything more. Definitely a band I have a lot of respect for, however.
    I truly could have written this post because I did the exact same thing except for seeing them at Progday.

  12. #12
    Member Since: 3/27/2002 MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER's Avatar
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    I don't own an album because they have too many vocals for my taste BUT I have seen them 4 times and this last time (3 weeks ago) was the best they have ever been. They are quite good when the singers have their mouths shut.
    Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?

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    Get their last, "Arsis", is very much instrumental.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Progchuy View Post
    Get their last, "Arsis", is very much instrumental.
    I don't see that title on Progarchives, is it a studio album? I also know nothing of Pyramid Of The Rain. I'm wondering if it's actually a comp. Same with Mosaïque. I have every other studio effort.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yanks2014 View Post
    I don't see that title on Progarchives, is it a studio album? I also know nothing of Pyramid Of The Rain. I'm wondering if it's actually a comp. Same with Mosaïque. I have every other studio effort.
    I do see Arsis on their site - first I've heard of it. Released this month.

    Pyramid of the Rain as I understand it is a CDR only instrumental release, and Alfonso was once nice enough to send me a copy.

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    Member Since: 3/27/2002 MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER's Avatar
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    I asked Alphonso if Cast had an instrumental album and he said no... but he also said "perhaps we should do one... with Grupo GNU" and I said GREAT!
    Last edited by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER; 04-28-2014 at 01:38 AM.
    Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Rand Kelly View Post
    I truly could have written this post because I did the exact same thing except for seeing them at Progday.

    Which Progday? I saw them at Progday too. I had never even heard of them. By the time there set was done, Al Bandaluz was in my hand. A great album. Nice guys too. I got to meet a couple of them after their set. They also had the hottest girlfriends.

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    and a fake beard plastered on her brow.

  18. #18
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER View Post
    I asked Alphonso if Cast had an instrumental album and he said no... but he also said "perhaps we should do one... with Grupo GNU" and I said GREAT!
    Maybe it's not instrumental. Maybe it's all done by Alphonzo. Well, I forget

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    Quote Originally Posted by Adm.Kirk View Post
    Which Progday? I saw them at Progday too. I had never even heard of them. By the time there set was done, Al Bandaluz was in my hand. A great album. Nice guys too. I got to meet a couple of them after their set. They also had the hottest girlfriends.

    Bill
    Cast has actually played the festival 3 times. 1996, 1998, and 2003. It was the 1998 show that turned me on to them, but they were good in 2003 as well with a slightly different lineup.

  20. #20
    I saw them in '96. I remember thinking at the time that they seemed to enjoy as much being part of the audience as being performers at the festival.

  21. #21
    I saw the 2003 show. They were quite excellent.

    Bill
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    With a fish head and a harpoon
    and a fake beard plastered on her brow.

  22. #22
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    CAST have a new release for 2017.

    Entire album is available for listening here: https://castoficial.bandcamp.com/alb...er-and-outcome


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    Member Kanukisbrave's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paulrus View Post
    My advice: start from the most recent album and work your way backwards. At a certain point the attempts to sounds like Genesis circa Wind & Wuthering will become too much to bear, but when they embraced being a band with Latin roots they became more Italo-prog and were pretty damn good IMO.
    agree here.... The new stuff (last 15 years or so) is the way to go... the earlier stuff has its moments, but feels like they're trying too hard to emulate their heroes.. ( mainly Genesis W&W era)

    "Angels die, redemption rages
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  24. #24
    They're playing Progtoberfest this year!

  25. #25
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Roth View Post
    CAST have a new release for 2017.

    Entire album is available for listening here: https://castoficial.bandcamp.com/alb...er-and-outcome
    And while you're there, you simply must get their last album, Vida. It's absolutely fantastic...a major leap forward in prog composition.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

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