TODO.S LOS COLORES DEL

I've been meaning to review this album for quite some time since being given a copy by the band themselves, but I've somehow for forgotten. Time to make amends. Also, those who know me know that I am not a metal reviewer at all, but I'll give my best shot anyway.

So, with a name like Random, I'd have expected this band to sound... Random. But, nope, this is very well structured progressive metal with huge leanings into the alternative metal sound. I can't easily compare the sound of this band with other progressive metal bands, but I can compare their sound with bands such as Slipknot, Mudvayne, Nothingface, or a few other bands that you probably don't like. But make no mistake, this is not a nu-metal band; this is simply very heavy, groovy, progressive metal that would be easily accessible to fans of the aforementioned bands.

Todo.s Los Colores Del, though being heavy and groovy, throws in a few interesting instrumental quirks that make this album a bit more progressive than it would've been otherwise, without sounding too random. The first example of this would be the track "Tururu" which incorporates a type of dance riff that reminds me of Astor Piazzolla or the infamous song "Aquarela do Brasil", padded by moments of crushingly heavy groove riffs, and later develops into considerable moodiness before returning to crunchy Boris-like doom riffing - this is also the longest song on the album. The rest of the album is similar, adhering to crushing riffs that alternate between slow doom-metal sounding to jump-da-f***-up alt-metal grooves while also incorporating lighter moods, very catchy (and rather manly) vocal melodies, and skillful/ interesting drumming.

I'm not usually so satisfied with metal, and when I do listen to metal it's usually either Atheist, Cynic, Sadist, Pestilence, or any of my handful of nu-metal albums. Todo.s Los Colores Del, being a more progressive and wholly more interesting version of my (inexplicably) beloved alternative/nu-metal genre, has risen to the very top of favorite metal releases of 2011, and probably also my top metal releases over the past few years as well.