[rating=8.00]
Are you still hanging on to Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion in London? Are you weary about the off and on again status of Australia’s Wolfmother? And then there’s the roller coaster ride of questions that surround California’s Queens of the Stone Age. Well, if you like any or all of these bands, maybe a trip to Spain is in order. Eldorado, a break through band out of Madrid has incorporated the sounds of the aforementioned bands and mixed it with their own homegrown flair.
Their latest album, Babylonia Haze offers up a potpourri of styles and sounds that channel the heavy and softer sounds of the early days of heavy metal. Eldorado do not shy away from their influences that range from Bad Company, Zeppelin and Deep Purple – but they do it in a complementary manner. Listeners will be impressed by Jesus Trujillo’s (vox/keys/guitar) range and control, Andres Duende’s (guitar) rapid fire licks on top of his chunky rhythmic crunch, Cesar Sanchez’ (bass) solid and colorful fretwork and Christian Giardino’s (drums) thunderous and impressive skills behind the kit.
Haze features in impressive helping of in your face rockers, such as “Mad Woman”, Evil People”, and “I’ll Be Satisfied”. It also serves up a solid dose of ballads in “Breathe the Night”, “Flowers of Envy” and “Resurrection Song”. The ballads are complex and well crafted, but the band truly shines when they turn over their Hemi engine and push the pedal to the metal – as heard in the first track.
“Mad Woman” explodes with the intensity of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows” and doesn’t let go until the last cymbal crash disappears. The frantic drumming, bluesy guitar riffs and devilish wails create a wall of sound that’s been missing from mainstream rock for years. Next, cue up the second track and listen as Eldorado conjures up the sounds of Deep Purple’s iconic keyboards in “Evil People”. The prominent sound of Trujillo’s colorful work add a texture to the hard hitting, ball buster. “Goodbye And Carry On” shines as another rocker, but it’s schizophrenic with its melodic bridge and ultimately one of the more complex and interesting with Duende’s straight forward riffage and Giardino’s sonic drumming.
Babylonia Haze, produced by Richard Chycki (Rush, Mick Jagger, Dream Theater), is a colorful and eclectic album that runs the gamut of sounds and presence by taking full advantage of the band members’ talents. Whether you’re into hard rock with strong strokes of bluesy riffs, melodic folk with electric flair, or both – this album has something for everyone and is worth a listen.
