We at
Desert Psychlist were a little surprised when it was announced that
Borracho,
Steve Fisher (guitar/vocals);
Tim Martin (bass,/'backing vocals) and
Mario Trubiano (drums), were releasing a new album, to us it only seemed like five minutes ago we were lauding praise on their previous release "
Blurring The Lines of Reality", however we soon realised that the reason we still thought of their last album as fairly recent was because it has been a staple on our playlist at
Stonerking Towers ever since its release two years ago. This is the beauty of
Borracho, they make albums that do not date and stay ever fresh in the memory, we've said it before and we'll say it again...these guys don't make bad albums. New album "
Ouroboros" (
Ripple Music) is no different, this is an album that will blow your mind on day one and will be continuing to blow your mind many years down the line.
Borracho come out of the starting gate ripped and ready to rumble with opening number "
Vegas Baby" the song kicking off with chugging riffage interspersed with cool ear-catching guitar motifs and fills, the songs groove really starting to spark when the drums join in but then ferociously catching fire when the vocals enter,
Fisher waxing lyrical on the draws and dangers to be found in
America's gambling capital. Next we have "
Succubus", things here start a little dissonant and swirly only then to proceed to get a little jagged and off-centred as the song progresses, there is nothing straightforward to be found here
Martin's bass lines are a mix of spacious and growly,
Trubiano's drumming often borders on tribal and
Fisher's guitar work is a mixture of slurred power chords and dark off centred lead work, the vocals, an exquisite mix of throaty lead and grainy harmonies, are powerfully delivered and also share a similar element of slurriness. "
Lord of Suffering" like its predecessor begins left of centre but then settles down into a groove that can only be described as throbbing and
LOUD, vocally the song is a trade off of lead singing and backing shouts, musically the song is smorgasbord of thundering bass and guitar riffage driven by
Bonham-esque drumming. Fourth song "
Vale of Tears" sees
Borracho mixing into their unique blending of riff heavy
rock'n'roll and distortion drenched
stonerized metal smatterings of
bluesiness, shades of
doominosity and essences of
heavy psych while "
Machine is the Master" finds the band going full tilt metallic but metallic with just a hint of
alt-rock colouring. "
Freakshow", meanwhile, finds
Borracho in a playful mood with vocals delivered in the style of a fairground barker over a backdrop of gnarled groove that carries
Clutch-like musical similarities, the vocals and lyrical content maybe playful here but the music kicks serious ass!
Borracho bring "
Ouroboros" to a close with "
Broken Man" a song that blends together elements of
stoner rock with elements of its close musical cousin
southern metal and inserts into that blend swirling keyboard textures and off-the -grid lead work, a feisty finish to a damn feisty album.
Being consistent and pleasing your fans while also trying to progress musically is no easy task but Borracho seem to have found a way to balance the needs of their fanbase with their own need to progress musically. Each Borracho album released is a level up on the previous one and when you consider that each and every one of the bands albums is essential listening then that is some feat. "Ouroboros" is the bands best album to date but if they don't suddenly decide to call it a day and they carry on improving the way they have been up until this point you can guarantee it won't be their best album ever!
Check 'em out ....
© 2025 Frazer Jones
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