Desolo

Band Bio

Combining sub-genres in the world of metal isn’t a new thing…At least when the extreme music scene is nearing 2010. The new thing, very well, might be not watering down riffs and impassioned lyrics with heard-it-before-by-the-hordes breakdowns and needless fret board dweetlingly. If that’s the case, then, Los Angeles’ Noriega, might be on to something. Melding the heaviest of the doom bands with licks reminiscent of pseudo-jazz as much as they combine hardcore riffing with meaningful imagery and lyrical poetry in, all in tandem with originality, Noriega should be a welcome addition to the pool of talent in the extreme metal world years after the worlds of metal and hardcore started to combine, evolve, branch, and inspire. Boasting members of underground Los Angeles genre-shakers Black Sheep Wall (who had their own brief time in the pseudo-spotlight in the most extreme of the area’s many music circles), and bringing a tooth-jarring tone to the party to boot, one might be quick to pass the band off as another tail runner on the coattails of whatever the ‘new’ cool new thing is…but then they’d be wrong.

The entrancing doom-meets-death-melds-hardcore-means-”fucking heavy in the end” band showcases relentless heaviness, intriguing riffs, drone and strategic chug-meets-passion ephemerally across Noriega’s five-track EP debut, Desolo. And it clocks just shy of the 30-minute mark, too. Feedback and drawn-out drum jams littler, albeit tastefully, the five tracks that make up Desolo, but so does the brand of heaviness previously established with Black Sheep Wall, all topped off with vocalist Trae Malone’s passionate – and collectively inspired – vocal approach, all on top of the lush imagery of Noriega and the artwork and feel of Desolo. Noriega sets out be both bold and intense, I think.” drummer Jackson Thompson says. “It’s certainly not for everyone – and I think it will be heard differently by every individual listener, but we just want to be fierce and honest, and not hold back on anything.” That ‘not holding back’ attitude may be what allows Noriega to utilize repetition and a massive musical tone to somehow, still, never delve into droning redundancy, effectively showcasing that passion precisely. Perhaps most notable on back-to-back punch of “Detriment” and “Life By Myself,” Noriega brings creativity and hands-down heaviness to the table equally — that is, until the 12-minute droning and plodding album closer “Ballacaust” rolls through, ending in feedback and screamed lyrics of angst and anger from guest vocalist Chris Lindblad.

Recorded in June 2009 at Los Angeles’ Undercity Studios with Taylor Voeltz who also mixed and mastered the effort, Noriega – including Thompson alongside vocalist Trae Malone, bassist Brandon Gillichbauer (both also Black Sheep Wall alumni), and guitarist Andrew Hulle – are happy to have a Dec. 8 release through L.A. upstart label Viable Records on the horizon. That, and bringing Lindblad of fellow Los Angeles hard-to-categorize friends Admiral Angry into the fold for two of Desolo’s tracks, even if it was a more-than-spontaneous endeavor. “We all went through Daniel’s passing,” Thompson says of the recent passing of Admiral Angry’s Daniel Kraus during the writing process of Desolo, one of the band’s collective close friends. “It’s definitely a negative energy on the album for that reason among many others. But, we don’t want it to be saying it’s hopeless. Not only with the lyrics, but also with the music, there’s definitely an awkward vibe [for the band], but we wrote these songs in context to a series of less than ideal circumstances; like you don’t relate to anyone, that you’re more alone than you will ever realize. That’s what we tried to do with these songs.” Even the the album’s title means “abandoned” in Latin, and coupled artist Oliver Cartwright’s equally-inspired imagery, Noriega rolls all that into a professional package and a desire to tour on this release — plans already underway for a full-length release. Even despite the loss the members of Noriega collectively experienced, yet became inspired from, the band continues optimistic for the future. It may not jive with the meaning of Desolo, but after all: isn’t music supposed to be an emotional outlet? Especially in the world of extreme music, it should be way to grieve, celebrate, vent, and express somehow at the same time…Right?