Noriega: Desolo
Released: December 08, 2009
Label: Viable Records
Band Website: myspace.com/noriegaband

Review by Justin Tharp

Vocals: Trae Malone
Guitar: Andrew Hulle
Bass: Brandon Gillichbauer
Drums: Jackson Thompson

Over the last several years I have found myself being bored with new music much more often than any feelings of thrill or intrigue occur. Whether it is a new album from a band that has been around for a while or it is newcomers, there just tends to be a sheer lack of originality. I can tell you that is definitely not the case with this release. Not only is this the debut EP for Noriega, but it is also the debut release for the Viable Records label and a step in the right direction for them with something so original.

This is 22 minutes of agonistic and nihilistic doom taking a brutal assault on your ear drums. It very well fits into doom metal classification with the low-tuned riffs and often a slow, dragging tempo but remaining super heavy at all times. There is a bit of metalcore influence recognizable with the varying tempos throughout and the growled / strained vocals that are lent to the sound that could lead a person to potentially associate this band into the sub-sub genre of sludge doom.

The first track, "You Are God Songs", opens with a very slow beat and downtuned chords that hang in the air for the first minute and 20 seconds before hammering out a sudden quick-paced riff with double beats to exemplify they are not just another stoner doom band. The tempo varies slightly for the next minute and a half into the last 30 seconds which brings the roller coaster cart back to the straight track it started on. The next track is pretty much solid gut-wrenching and leads in well to the third track "Detriment" which, for me, was the stand-out song from the five tracks. It has the most intricate guitar work of any of the tracks and makes solid transitions between tempos along with great chord progressions not heard in the remainder of the album. The fourth track does include some riffs that are not low tuned but they stick out like a sore thumb as more of a pseudo-jazz improvisation versus melding in with the track as a whole. The release concludes with the 12 plus minute-long "Ballocaust" which encompasses all of the sounds already heard in previous tracks but has the most comprehensible vocals which are very sullen and agonizing.

There are very few bands that I can even think to compare Noriega to. The foremost would be Eyehategod, whom Noriega will be opening for in an upcoming gig very fittingly and fortunately for the band to gain some exposure to just the right crowd. Their music is far from something for the masses and that is the perfect exposure. Other bands that come to mind are Iron Monkey, though Noriega is much heavier, and perhaps Cult of Luna, minus the ethereal breaks that Cult of Luna’s tracks tend to have.

A part of me also wants to compare and contrast them with Blood Has Been Shed (originating band for Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones), but that admittedly may be strongly due to the ‘profiling’ of the band. However, one thing that sets Noriega apart from other metal bands that happen to have a black vocalist would be the complete absence of melodic vocals. Howard Jones, Byron Davis (God Forbid) and Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust) being among the most notable, all use their lungs to sooth your ears at least part of the time (or all the time in the case of Lajon who leaves the occasional screaming up to drummer Morgan Rose). Trae Malone, however, takes the route of providing 100% brutality in the lyrics.

The EP is being released December 8th in a digipak CD format along with, interestingly enough, a cassette tape format option as well. The media can be obtained from the label’s website and they have been gracious enough to allow those interested to be able to stream the release in its entirety as part of an e-card to decide if they want to shell out the bucks for it and the e-card can be found here

Visit Noriega's official website: myspace.com/noriegaband