Rating: 7.7

Country: Peru

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. Intro: La Morte
2. Curandero De Una Realídad Incierta
3. Vorágine
4. Elipses
5. Alajpacha
6. Crepuscular
7. El Fauno
8. Hoy, La Tarde
9. Oráculo
10. Rosas De Revés
11. Oceánía
12. Magdalena Del Mar

Band Website: Reino Ermitano

Reino Ermitano - Brujas Del Mar

Tania Duarte- Vocals
Julio Almeida- Drums
Henry Guevara- Guitars
Marcos Coifman- Bass

I plead ignorance with this band's prior, self-titled debut, but if it is along the lines of this recording, I am not averse to the idea of seeking it out. The foundational bedrock of Reíno Ermitaño's sound is familiar to most geologists of the doom persuasion- hefty amounts of Peaceville Pentagram are thrown into a simmering cauldron with 'Born Too Late' Saint Vitus and 'Master Of Reality' Sabbath, though Reíno Ermitaño distinguish themselves from similar-minded kin by juxtaposing despondent, demonic minor-chord excursions with a wistful, bucolic folk edge that suggests an unhealthy fixation with 'Songs From The Wood' and 'Surrealistic Pillow'. Exotic, quixotic and hypnotic, this album whiffs of the same otherworldly, distinctively South American ambrosia that surrounds everything from Los Dug Dug's to Pappo's Blues to Pescado Rabioso to Dragonauta (another contemporary aesthetic parallel that I can draw here).

Granted, your enjoyment of this album will hinge largely on your stance towards dramatic, assertively individualistic vocals- I cannot help but be reminded of Chile's unsung Aguaturbia (a depraved late ‘60s HEAVY psychedelic troupe dedicated to reinterpreting bebop and bluegrass staples at MINDFRYING volume) when I hear Tania's voice, and her bewitching, impassioned, NEFARIOUS delivery adds considerable character to Reíno Ermitaño's sound. Aesthetically, the madcap approach of the band can, on occasion, make for frustratingly inconsistent results- the album is a tad longer than it should be, and the band's inclinations towards ponderous, sinister sounding Sabbathine chords (contrasted, of course, by eloquent blues-scale solos and soporific medieval folk sections) mean that some of the tracks do tend to bleed into one another, but when it all comes together, the music is positively GORGEOUS. “Elipses” boasts a dismal, disorienting main riff that positively OOZES with insidious creepiness, and the serpentine, bilious atmosphere is heightened by an inspired vocal turn by Tania, while “Oceánia” brims to the fore with its impossibly spooky acoustic intro, propulsive horror-doom riff and unsettling multi-tracked banshee coos.

While I maintain that some of the transitions on this record can be a bit awkward and arbitrary, the dynamism and textural depth of this album is astonishing for a band that is only on its sophomore release, and one can only expect that the next record will exhibit marked improvements in all departments. Unquestionably, the band already have a firm grasp on the importance of ATMOSPHERE and SPACE on a doom record, and everything here is natural, spontaneous, spirited and HONEST. There is also little question in my mind that when this record gets going, there are few recordings in recent memory that rival it in originality and eeriness…as an avid aficionado of all things macabre, ethereal and WEIRD, I award this with my hearty recommendations. Dark, cerebral and enchanting progressive doom with incredible promise.

September 25th, 2006