BORRACHO ‘Atacama’ Album Review.

Words El Jefe.

Lumbering, fuzzed-out doom with road-rash vocals is something I love. The riff! All those bastard spawn of Sabbath. And I know in my bones that the power-trio Borracho have the same unwavering love for it that I have. Launching from Washington DC, (right next door to Maryland, and we know the level of STONER/DOOM that Maryland has delivered!) Borracho can really deliver on all fronts when it’s time to bring the heavy too. Atacama is the third full length LP they’ve unleashed, and fine evidence that the party ain’t nearly over yet.

‘Descent’ lurches into the blackest of Sabbath’s with a guitar tone that could rattle ya teeth outta ya head, but it’s also a surprisingly tender instrumental. Bells, some lysergic emanations throbbing in the background and easily serves to set the scene for the rest of the album.

‘Drifted Away From The Sun’ as a slow, gentle start but soon sees them drop the clutch and power out in a way that isn’t too far from Orange Goblin territory. There may just be a shadow of Ben Ward’s rusted iron vocal cords in there.

Plenty of meat on the bone here too. Riff after monster riff, churning buzztone bass and some on-point drumming as the band heave out a dark moodiness and relentless grit. Heavy, with some healthy doses of melody that smooth out the landscape and serve to emphasise the heavy.

The use of violin on ‘Flower’ is a sweet little touch too, on what is a pretty fucking cool tune.

The acoustic-y ballad ‘Last Song’ adds some spookiness to the record. It’s a slow, meandering song, with a metromonic tom beat, bongo’s and some weird atmospherics add to the weight of this song. The vocals are kept to a gentle roar as well.

‘Lost In Time’ is dirty road-trip blast, with both the fuzz and the amps cranked to 11. ‘Overload’ too, is another lumbering behemoth, and clocks in at 10 plus as well.

Borracho have delivered three excellent albums in a row now. No mean feat in itself, but seems to me to be a good indicator of the level of commitment the trio have to their music. Heavy powerhouse tunes and mood-altering interludes all add to build an excellent album that would easily slot in with the likes of Clutch and The Melvins.

Borracho’s Atacama is OUT NOW through Kozmik Artifactz HERE.

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