Songs which were included in the "Jugando Con La Muerte" were indeed composed by the band during the period from 2005 to 2009, and the album was recorded in few sessions in the studio of Pablo Navarrete, bassist of Chilean stoner / metal team Hielo Negro (year of foundation - 1996), and Pablo is obviously not newbie to this, so he brought the stuff to a decent world standards, and this is known to be an important factor contributing to digest this album well. So what is in our menu today? There’s "electric blues rock" as Jorge names it, the core of which is actually a solid stoner and proto doom riffs with branded psychedelic sound of the 70th.
That is interesting – the sound of El Gran Temor isn’t limited with vague and overloaded riffs or acid arrangement, although the first and second ones turn equally convincing. Jorge - as guitarist and author of almost all music – names a lot of veterans of rock scene as his teachers; and there’re not only the pillars of modern stoner, doom rock or gurus like Jimi Hendrix, here he also mentions bossa nova musicians (a mix of Brazilian music and cool jazz), and the original Latin music artists such as Joao Gilberto, Argentine rocker Luis Spinetta, Chilean folk singer Eduardo "Gato" Alkvinta, blues guitarist Papp and poet and singer Victor Jara. It's too difficult, right? Okay then just believe me that the album featured eight quiet diverse tracks, which absorbed spirit of psychedelic rock from 70th and drive of a good, heavy stoner, keep it in mind until you put your arms upon "Jugando Con La Muerte".
The first song "Infortunio" just attracts attention with successful combination of the elements of mentioned before genres, and one of it’s features is also first-class clear vocal lines. All texts on this album is into Spanish and I always appreciate bands which vocalists sing in their native language, in the case of El Gran Temor this choice is doubly justified – vocals sound really good and it’s performance in the Spanish sound very attractive. The album's lyrics is a kind of diary, revealing the different manifestations of the "joys and sorrows" of human life. The bluesy track "Jugando con la Muerte" was inspired by the famous “gothic” TV-serial of 70th "Dark Shadows" as loudly "La Niebla" is dedicated to author’s hometown - Temuco. Homesickness has resulted in a heavy track with frequently changing tempo and overloaded leading motive. "Estrella" ("Star") is a kind of tribute to old hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad and along to one girl from the south of Chile; obviously Jose associated good memories with that and another because the track sounds bright, emotional and positive, and such experience is highly intensive due to the song’s fruitiness and lighter and faster pace than other songs have. I would put astonishing romantic song "Noctambula” in one line with "Estrella" for there’s a shock lead stoner-theme and a fantastic space rock passage that ends powerful, memorable chorus. I’ve mentioned bossa nova influences among the main ones, and it can be heard in a lengthy blues instrumentals "Solitaria" ("Solitude"). Advanced psychedelic trip "Alturas" sounds on the eve of the last song album "El Tiuke", it’s fighting spirit is explained because the song was written in support of the Mapuche, "people of the land", the only tribe in South America, which was not conquer nor by Incas or by Spaniards . So do not be surprised when you hear tribal drums in the second half of the song - it is a tribute to ancestors.
El Gran Temor phenomenon is hardly unique to the South American stoner scene, but the songs of "Jugando Con La Muerte" absorbed well both so called "local color" and the influence of "Western" culture. The result has been the material of which the musicians themselves are very well said that: "We play music that could not be written in Chile in the 70th years." Why not ... Less attempts to expose these songs dry analysis, in the end, I want to draw your attention to the fact that the album has some really cool songs that can give odds to more famous bands, but in the end you can define it by yourself. And I hope that in the near future, Jorge finally will pick a new crew and new songs for El Gran Temor, but for now his plan is to re-release "Jugando Con La Muerte" on vinyl with a bonus track, so stay tuned! This band is worth of attention.
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Words: Aleks
