Crucis -

Crucis was an Argentine symphonic/hard-rock band that released back-to-back albums in 1976 on RCA Victor.

Members: Gustavo Montesano (bass, guitar, vocals), José Luis Fernández (bass, 1974), Daniel Frenkel (drums, 1974-75), Daniel Oil (keyboards, 1974-5), Aníbal Kerpel (1975-77), Pino Marrone (guitar, vocals, 1975-1977), Gonzalo Farrugia (drums, percussion, 1975-77)

Background

Crucis formed in Buenos Aires in 1974 around bassist and guitarist Gustavo Montesano, a classically trained musician from Uruguay with prior experience in local rock groups. He initially teamed with keyboardist Daniel Oil and drummer Daniel Frenkel. During the group’s early rehearsals, they briefly included bassist José Luis Fernández, formerly of Color Humano and Invisible. After internal turnover, Oil cleared for Aníbal Kerpel while Montesano assumed lead vocals and bass duties. Guitarist Pino Marrone, a conservatory-trained player from La Plata, joined shortly afterward with a dual focus on lead guitar and vocals.

In early 1975, Crucis solidified its lineup with Uruguayan drummer Gonzalo Farrugia, who relocated from Montevideo after sessions with Jesús Figueroa, Juan Eduardo, and a two-album stint with Psiglo. The five-piece cultivated their sound across venues in greater Buenos Aires and secured a deal with RCA Victor following favorable reception at regional festivals.

Crucis

Crucis released their self-titled debut album in January 1976 on RCA Victor.

The album combines tight ensemble interplay with long-form instrumental passages shaped around fluid shifts in tempo and texture. Guitarist Pino Marrone and keyboardist Aníbal Kerpel trade lead passages with measured restraint and harmonic coordination, often phrasing in parallel or offsetting layers. Bassist and vocalist Gustavo Montesano underpins the group’s changing dynamics with flexible yet grounded motion, locking tightly with drummer Gonzalo Farrugia, whose kitwork pivots between sharp cadences and spacious suspension across extended instrumental breaks.

Crucis opens with sharply contoured arrangements and elastic rhythmic exchanges that remain tightly bound even as they pivot between contrasting sections. “Todo Tiempo Posible” moves from pulsing organ figures to full-band motion within seconds, interspersing subdued vocal passages with denser instrumental surges shaped by guitarist Pino Marrone’s tonal control and Gonzalo Farrugia’s quick-reacting fills. “Mes” stretches the form further, interlacing atmospheric tension with sudden speed shifts, highlighting syncopated breaks and staggered solos that blur lead and accompaniment. “Corto Amanecer,” under three minutes, compresses that complexity into a cycle of short thematic bursts—flashes of riff, voice, and tempo that destabilize continuity by design.

“La Triste Visión del Entierro Propio” grounds its early progression in harpsichord-like keys and low-end sustain before unfolding into layered phrases that pull vocals across moody instrumental terrain. “Irónico Ser” rides a faster pulse and deeper distortion, veering briefly into blues-based soloing under a heavy rhythmic lid. “Determinados Espejos” sustains a high-velocity push from the outset, pitting synth runs and organ figures against brisk cymbal-work and rapid lead guitar that stretches across the second half without letting up. “Recluso Artista” bookends the set with shifting textures, opening in staggered rhythm before rotating through symphonic motifs, overlapping keyboard strata, and mid-tempo resets that serve as fulcrums for new instrumental pairings.

A1. “Todo Tiempo Posible” [All Possible Time] (4:33) – Montesano
A2. “Mes” [Month] (4:54) – Montesano
A3. “Corto Amanecer” [Brief Dawn] (2:55) – Montesano
A4. “La Triste Visión del Entierro Propio” [The Sad Vision of One’s Own Burial] (5:00) – Montesano

B1. “Irónico Ser” [Ironic Being] (4:06) – Montesano
B2. “Determinados Espejos” [Certain Mirrors] (6:54) – Crucis
B3. “Recluso Artista” [Imprisoned Artist] (6:45) – Montesano

Crucis recorded the album in Buenos Aires under producer Jorge Álvarez, with sound supervision and Moog programming by Charly García. The band handled the final mix themselves.

RCA issued the LP in a single sleeve with illustrations by Juan Oreste Gatti and photography by Eduardo Martí.

Between the album’s completion and release, Farrugia and Marrone played on PorSuiGieco, a folk super-project headed by García, who also employed Marrone during production of Humanos, the 1976 third album by Pastoral.

Los Delirios del Mariscal

Crucis released their second album, Los Delirios del Mariscal, in December 1976 on RCA Victor.

The album expands the group’s instrumental framework with more extended compositions and layered interplay. Guitarist Pino Marrone and keyboardist Aníbal Kerpel exchange lead statements across longer thematic arcs, balancing linear development with sudden sectional shifts. Bassist and vocalist Gustavo Montesano anchors the harmonic direction while drummer Gonzalo Farrugia adapts his phrasing to support the group’s widened dynamic span and alternating densities.

Los Delirios del Mariscal stretches Crucis’ instrumental range across longer forms and layered transitions. “No Me Separen de Mí” opens in reflective pulse with subdued vocals over soft-edged synth and guitar phrasing, then escalates through rhythmic pivots into denser ensemble motion. “Los Delirios del Mariscal” builds from sparse percussion and ambient textures into a rising progression shaped by overlapping lines—synth sustain, lyrical guitar, and syncopated bass converge beneath the midpoint before a shift toward punctuated accents and sharpened pacing.

“Pollo Frito” opens on unaccompanied drums and moves through alternating frames: compact riffs yield to looser jazz-oriented figures where guitar and keys take turns over restless time shifts. “Abismo Terrenal” unfolds in stages, beginning with sparse kitwork and suspended tones, then opening into flowing modal stretches, extended lead lines, and unaccompanied solos that rotate spotlight across guitar, bass, and drums before the full theme re-emerges in the final minute.

A1. “No Me Separen de Mí” [Don’t Separate Me From Myself] (6:08) – Montesano
A2. “Los Delirios del Mariscal” [The Marshal’s Deliriums] (10:13) – Kerpel

B1. “Pollo Frito” [Fried Chicken] (5:45) – Marrone
B2. “Abismo Terrenal” [Earthly Abyss] (12:30) – Crucis

Crucis recorded the album in October 1976 at RCA Studios in Buenos Aires with producer Jorge Álvarez. Jack Adams mixed and cut the lacquer at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami. The band arranged all four tracks and commissioned new artwork from Juan O. Gatti, with photography by Ada Moreno.

Postlude

Crucis disbanded in early 1977 after the release of Los Delirios del Mariscal. Gustavo Montesano issued a solo album, Homenaje, that same year on RCA Victor with support from Gonzalo Farrugia, Pino Marrone, and Aníbal Kerpel. In 1980, he cut an album in Merlin, a rock duo with Pastoral’s Alejandro De Michele. After his 1982 second solo album, El Pasillo, Montesano moved to Spain and joined Olé Olé, which morphed from synthpop to Latin dance-pop across their nine-year existence.

Marrone played on Ubalé, the long-delayed 1981 second album by Gabriela, whom he later married. He also teamed with Daniel Goldberg for the 1983 instrumental LP Metropolis, released on Interdisc.

Aníbal Kerpel also appears on Ubalé and played keyboards on León Gieco’s Pensar en Nada (1981). He soon moved to Los Angeles and co-founded Wet Picnic with Gustavo Santaolalla, formerly of Arco Iris. The group recorded the 1982 EP Balls Up and appeared on New Wave Theater, hosted by Peter Ivers. That same year, Kerpel contributed to Better Luck, the second album by Chicano punk band The Plugz, whose Spanish-language track “El Clavo y la Cruz” later appeared on the 1984 Repo Man soundtrack.

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