ARTESANO DE PIEDRA ~ PATERNA NUNTIUS ....... review

Strange how the mind works while preparing an intro for a review, for example Desert Psychlist started wondering, during the course of this review, if the late radio engineer Glenn Snoddy knew exactly what he was unleashing when he created the very first fuzz/distortion pedal? Did he have any idea how that little box of tricks was going to change the sound of popular music and go on to become the go-to pedal for so many guitarists within, not only rock, but also many other forms of music. Why do we mention this now, you maybe thinking, well no reason really except for the fact that it got us thinking that without Mr. Snoddy's little invention, and its various versions, albums like Mexican groovesters Artesano De Piedra's, excellent three part musical suite, "Paterna Nuntius"and many others would be very different sonic animals altogether.

Simplicity is an often overlooked commodity within music but it is a fact that some of the most enduring tunes recorded during the last fifty years have been those based around a catchy hook or riff, songs with recurring motifs that worm their way under the skin and stay there. Artesano De Piedra, Jose Maldonado (guitars, fuzz, bass, drums and vocals) and Aldape - (bass), understand this concept and although the sixteen minute plus opus that makes up "Paterna Nuntius" in no way can be described as simple it does have a basicness to its grooves that grabs you and keeps you grabbed. Now you the reader may be thinking all this talk of simplicity and basicness is a little derogatory and a veiled criticism but far from it, Artesano De Piedra use these elements to their advantage layering their ear grabbing riff's one on top of the other, moving from one to the other, and keeping the listeners interest, with a mixture of subtle and drastic time signatures and clever use of dynamics in volume, something that is particularly effective on "Levelling Stones" the instrumental movement that opens "Paterna Nuntius" . On the albums second movement, "Ancestral Message", the band add into this equation clean mellow, yet totally effective, vocals sandwiched between huge swathes of swollen dark riffage while movement three, "The Traveller", finds the duo utilising an array of guitar effects, over a backdrop of thundering percussion, to fill out the groove and frame the songs well pitched and executed vocals.

There are times while listening to "Paterna Nuntius" that Desert Psychlist was reminded of both Sleep and Black Sabbath, Sleep due to the Mexican duo's same ability to jam endlessly on a single riff, Sabbath because of the album's sudden shifts in time and use of volume as a dynamic. You, the listener, might hear something completely different but hey that's the beauty of music, no two people hear the same thing, Whatever you hear there is no denying that the fuzz is strong in this one, wonder what Glenn Snoddy would have made of it all?
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