UMUR "Dancing into Oblivion" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Spanish, Barcelona based progressive death metal act White Stones. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in August 2021. It´s the successor to Kuarahy from 2020 and features the same core trio lineup of Martín Méndez (bass, guitars), Jordi Farré (drums), and Eloi Boucherie (vocals). João Sassetti (Nuckin' Futs), who has done live work with White Stones since 2019, guests on the album playing lead guitars (and might I add some really impressive lead work). Méndez is known as the long-standing bassist in Opeth (only Mikael Åkerfeldt has been with the band longer than Méndez), and his involvement in White Stones of course sprinkles a bit of stardust over the project, but White Stones is an act who can hold their own.

While it´s not wrong to label the material on "Dancing into Oblivion" progressive death metal, it´s actually predominantly because of the growling vocals, that such a label applies. The riffs can be heavy and brutal too and the drumming ditto, but the instrumental part of the music mostly takes its cues from other less brutal sources. I´m mainly reminded of 70s progressive rock, hard rock/heavy rock, and at times even jazz/fusion from that era, but put into a dark and heavy contemporary template. White Stones do a great job balancing the death metal brutality with mellow atmospheric moments (almost darkly psychadelic at times) and loads and loads of focus on rhythms, both in the way the riffs are constructed and played and in the way the drum patterns are composed and the drums are played. There´s such a great organic groove present throughout the album and it´s one of the cornerstones of the band´s music. The bass is placed high in the soundscape and the guitar isn´t distorted like you would usually expect on a death metal album. It´s placed lower in the mix and features a more organic tone, which again reminds me of 70s guitar sound productions.

It´s not music which is hard to follow although it´s certainly progressive, so the tracks don´t feature a million riffs, themes, and songwriting ideas (although this is hardly simple vers/chorus structured music). There are plenty of adventurous surprises along the way, but they are all incorporated seamlessly into the songs and the tracks are generally very well composed and quite accessible. The longest track on the album is "Iron Titans" which opens with a long atmospheric instrumental section. Only after 3 minutes does the death metal elements kick in and the song becomes heavier, then comes a fusion section, and the song ends on a more epic note with some effect distorted non-growling vocals. It´s just an example of the musical journey the listener is treated to on some of the tracks. It´s beyond me that Opeth has such a skilled and clever songwriter like Méndez in their ranks but haven´t ever included anything written by him in their music (as far as I´ve been able to research).

"Dancing into Oblivion" features a dark, powerful, and organic sound production, which suits the music perfectly and upon conclusion it´s a high quality sophomore album relase by White Stones, making it abundantly clear that they aren´t just a one album project. Let´s see what happens when Méndez becomes busy with Opeth again post the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, but I hope he´ll make time to record more White Stones albums in the future. There´s so much qualiy here, that it would be a crime to let it go to waste...I want more!!! A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

Nightfly Dancing Into Oblivion is the second album from White Stones, a band perhaps best known for featuring Opeth bassist Martín Méndez. I was quite impressed with their debut album, Kuarahy, an enjoyable collection of groove infused progressive death metal. Dancing Into Oblivion comes hot on its heels being released just over a year later and features the same line up, the band being completed by drummer Jordi Farré and vocalist Eloi Boucherie.

Dancing Into Oblivion treads the same ground as Kuarahy though far less pleasing as a whole. Perhaps they should have taken a bit longer as even though it’s only thirty five minutes long, it failed to keep my interest for even that. The riffs sound less inspired and mainly pale imitations of their debut though any song here wouldn’t be out of place there. Six minutes of the short running time is wasted on three far from essential instrumentals which meander aimlessly starting with the ambient La Menace. The other two are minimal guitar pieces that are pleasant enough but take up space that could have been better used. New age Of Dark kicks the album off proper and is the best track on the album, the only song that can compete with the better moments of Kuarhy. Perhaps a little too similar though with a main riff that feels very familiar. Clean by death metal standards guitar work laid over fast rolling kick drums create a groove that they have already used a few times on the debut. Iron Titans at nearly nine minutes is where they do try to do something a bit different. In four parts, the first three minutes are instrumental and have a bit of an Opeth vibe in their quieter moments. When it shifts up a couple of gears we’re back in more familiar territory followed by a strong guitar solo from guest João Sassetti who also leads the song out underpinned by some inventive drumming from Farré. Unfortunately by this point we’ve had the best from this album with four tracks still to go with only Freedom In Captivity mildly piquing my interest.

I feel a bit short changed with this one as if you remove the three instrumentals you’re only left with around twenty five minutes of music and around half of that is average at best. I wouldn’t write them off yet though as their debut showed they’re very capable but I’ll pass on this one for now. Disappointing.

UMUR "Kuarahy" is the debut full-length studio album by Spanish, Barcelona based progressive death metal act White Stones. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in March 2020. White Stones formed in 2019 and is a side project for Opeth bassist Martín Méndez. Méndez plays bass and guitars on the album and the lineup is completed by drummer Jordi Farré and lead vocalist Eloi Boucherie. Guest musicians Fredrik Åkesson (Méndez bandmate from Opeth) and Per Eriksson (Bloodbath, Katatonia) perform additional lead guitars (the former plays most leads on the album).

Stylistically the material on "Kuarahy" is a heavy, groove based, and organic type of progressive death metal. While the growling vocals are certainly brutal enough, "Kuarahy" isn´t the most death metal oriented death metal release out there. The organic, pleasant, and warm sound production is relatively subdued and it´s obvious the band aren´t out to pummel the listener with a loud abrasive sound. This is a much more sophisticated, laid back, and thoughtful approach to writing and playing death metal. The tracks aren´t overtly complex and the progressive ideas only emerge once in a while, so "Kuarahy" is generally an accessible release, which isn´t hard to get into, although it´s certainly intriguing enough and not simple in any way either.

One of the great assets of the band´s music is the irresistible laid back groove. I´m often reminded of 70s hard rock/stoner rock but just as often I hear similarities to the more complex rhythmic riffs of Tool (there´s even the rare semi-jazzy touch). The drums often pedal away with double bass hits, but not in an aggressive fashion and the drumming is perfectly complimenting the intricate riffs. The guitar solos and the atmosphere enhancing guitar leads bring variation to the music and they are generally very well played and are another great asset to the album. The growling vocals are probably the least interesting feature on the album. They are not badly performed and they suit the music fine, but I would have preferred them a little more intelligible and maybe also a bit more varied and intense. They simply leave me a bit indifferent.

"Kuarahy" was not an album, which won me over the first time I listened to it, but it planted a seed of curiosity in me, and with each successive listen I have been won over more and more, to the point of me greatly enjoying the album and finding it a very unique listen. It´s a well written and varied album featuring many different stylistic elements combined into a consistent whole. There are several standout tracks on the album, but if I´d have to mention a couple of highlights it would be "Worms", "The One", "Guyra", and "Infected Soul".

So the million dollar question that almost anyone reading a review of "Kuarahy" will ask is of course if this sounds anything like Opeth...and while both acts are in some way progressive death metal (Opeth not so much anymore), there are as many differences as there are similarities. They are definitely kindred spirits, but White Stones are ultimately a very different sounding act and anyone coming to "Kuarahy" expecting it to sound like Opeth won´t get their money´s worth. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved for this little perl of an album.

Nightfly White Stones are a new band that will no doubt be most talked about because it features Opeth bassist Martín Méndez. More of a Méndez solo project than a band? Quite possibly and as he wrote all the music and nearly all the lyrics he’s clearly in charge here. As well as bass duties Méndez also supplies a lot of the guitar. He is joined by Jordi Farré on drums and vocalist Eloi Boucherie. There’s also guest appearances from guitarist Per Ericsson and his Opeth Bandmate Fredrik Akesson who plays the guitar solos on six of the tracks.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on Kuarahy, their debut album, despite hearing rumours that it was nearer to the sound of old style Opeth than recent Opeth albums are. To be honest it doesn’t really sound much like Opeth to me though not surprisingly occasional influences can be heard. Musically White Stones play progressive metal that also leans towards death metal. The vocals certainly fit death metal but a lot of the guitar parts are quite clean sounding for that particular sub-genre. The album largely has a similar vibe throughout with guitar riffs often cleanly picked, at least by death metal standards, though they dirty things up a bit with some welcome dissonance at times. Much of the material locks into a mid-paced groove with fast rolling double kick drums underpinning it all, though a more syncopated approach is used at times. The standard of musicianship is not surprisingly high and many of the songs have infectious hooks that on the face of it sound fairly simple but repeated plays reveal there’s more going on here than on initial inspection. The album is bookended by a couple of short non-essential instrumental tracks but other than that the quality of the material is strong though I find myself leaning more in favour of the groove laden stuff.

Hats off to Martin Méndez for his selection of sympathetic musicians and producing an original sounding album that doesn’t really sound like anyone else I can think of off the top of my head. Whether this turns out to be a one off project or not I don’t know, but I’d certainly be more than happy to have the opportunity to hear more from this interesting band.