By: Aaron Pickford
Album
Type:
Full-length
Release
date:
01/01/2012
Label: Self-Released
‘Within 30 seconds of listening to this album, there is an immediate
pay off and certainly you’re rewarded for purchasing this album. The
riffs on this album are used as a means of binding this album together,
like a ligature binding
your hands or feet together, making it impossible to escape or for you to press
‘stop’, and why would you want too? This album is a fantastic!’
‘Mendozza’
CD//DD track listing:
1. Ligature 5.48
2. Avahuasca 3.48
3. Spirit Horse 8.43
4. Bifrost (Instrumental) 6.10
5. The Undertaking 5:40
6. Born With A Black Tongue 2.39
7. Wishful Drinking 8.57
Mendozza is
The Judge | Bass
Masterbeater
| Drums
Deuce | Vocals & Guitar
The Review:
I first became aware of Mendozza following my exposure to their 2010 album, ‘CABRA NOCHE’, having been turned on to them due to comparisons with High on Fire and Melvins, and whether that was justified or not, I was immediately intrigued. Indeed the band described ‘CABRA NOCHE’ on their website as ‘The heaving breath of low end bass and guitars, combined with the Bina’s “laid back percussive artillery” of the drums, pound like the waves of the pacific, eroding the shoreline. Deuce’s vocals have been described “like he’s delivering his vox through a cloud of dopesmoke from beyond.”
Immediately I was hooked, and if that wasn't enough to convince me, the fact that the legendary knob twiddler Billy Anderson, (Neurosis/Eyehategod/Mr. Bungle) produced their record made me immediately buy it and I was not disappointed. The order of the day with ‘Mendozza’ (the album), are gargantuan riffs and that is the common theme throughout this album. Indeed, as soon as ‘Ligature’ begins, you’re met with a crunching riff, that knocks the breathe out of you and subtle arpeggios and trills serve to accentuate the opening track. Within 30 seconds of listening to this album, there is an immediate pay off and certainly you’re rewarded for purchasing this album. The riffs on this album are used as a means of binding this album together, like a ligature binding your hands or feet together, making it impossible to escape or for you to press ‘stop’, and why would you want too? This album is a fantastic!
What is striking about this record is that you can hear everything, the drums sound massive, with Master Beater intent on causing seismic movement and the low end of the bass, courtesy of The Judge, rumbling like a dormant volcano intent on erupting. Mendozza, which was mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis) gives the album a crisp snappy sound, and at times sounds like the Austin, Texas band, The Sword (Matt Bayles has also produced), which believe me is no band thing.
Mendozza appear to have gone for a stripped back approach to this album, producing an album that sounds like it was meant to be played live back to back. None of that pro-tools processed nonsense, just slow songs consisting of monstrous riffs and a sound that encapsulates all the best elements of sludge/doom/stoner metal. ‘Ligature’ is wholeheartedly a highlight of the album, with Deuce’s vocal style shifting from subtlety to brutality, often struggling to be heard over the tumultuous din. The barbaric onslaught of riffs is an ungodly cacophony of noise, however as I mentioned, there is subtlety there too. “Ayahuasca” is a faster song in comparison, with the tight chugging intro, followed by a series of hammer off and pull on’s to another chugging bar chord. This track is classic stoner/doom at its best and provides fans with their first taste of great solo work, with the use of wah to great effect. Despite the change of pace on this tune, Mendozza remain crushingly heavy.
“Spirit Horse” sounds monstrous, starting with a slow chord progression building into a kinda post metal sludge riff with what sounds like very minor bends offering a dark and also demonic sound to it. Think A Storm Of Light meets Melvins. At 8.43, this is the second longest track but don’t let that put you off, because just when you think it’s ending, the track strays back into a stoner metal vibe, sounding like an improvised desert session, getting louder and louder exhibiting the flair of the band, but also the wide variety of their influences. ‘Bifrost’ the only instrumental on the album, sees the band playing at an almost hypnotic pace, drawing comparisons to the tone and vibe of ‘Dopes to Infinity’ era, Monster Magnet. The track has Master Beater and The Judge keeping things at a slow pace and it left me feeling that I was being drawn into a psychedelic world. Deuce is at his best, showing off his repertoire of subtle yet effective lead work, keeping things strangely ambient, with Master Beater keeping things tight with the droning bass sound of The Judge putting you in a trance like state
Following the psychedelia, “The Undertaking” and “Born with a Black Tongue” brings back the pain and both these tracks evoke a vibe of grandeur, with yet more outstanding solo work from Deuce but characterised by a classic doom sound, the latter being more uptempo with a fantastic one two note swap and slide which makes you sick with glee. ‘Mendozza’ the album shows off the undoubted talent of this band and with the final track “Wishful Drinking” it is a wicked end to an amazing record. I wanted them to finish with a flurry however as ‘Mendozza ‘comes to it’s inevitable conclusion. My first thought is that I can’t wait for their next batch of skull crushing heaviness. Go buy it!
‘Mendozza’
is available via their bandcamp page
