Santoro
Santoro
I used to fuck people like you in prison Records

Santoro play straight-ahead stoner rock in the tradition of Kyuss and their musical heirs Queens of the Stone Age. With Spanish lyrics. Here you find songs ranging from fast-paced aggro-rock to tripped-out mellow stuff. The opening track Ya No Hay, sets the pace and tone with a nice made-for-singalong chorus (even if you don't speak Spanish!). The singer reminds me a little of Monster Magnet's Dave Wyndorf, perhaps another influence?

Other rockers follow, and the band puts on a nice display of dynamics, effortlessly taking the intensity up and down as they go along. The acoustic track Hay Market provides a nice breather, although it could certainly have been a bit longer. Over 12 tracks, Santoro overall shows a commitment to song, melody and dynamics, and they do it all with that familiar lo-fi stoner rock sound, and they do it well.

However, Santoro is certainly not the most innovative band I've ever heard. The strong influences of the grandfathers of stoner rock, Kyuss, both in songwriting and in sound, are easily spotted. But for those who never got enough of Kyuss, or think that Queens of the Stone Age are beginning to sound too clean, Santoro is a pretty good substitute.

Copyright © 2001 Kentil'zha