ALBUM REVIEW: Kuarahy – White Stones

Although it’s been almost a decade now since OPETH’s shift from death metal, for bassist Martin Mendez this extreme form of the metal genre still finds a special place in his musical career. To confirm that, Mendez formed a death metal project-turned-band WHITE STONES a few years ago and started writing songs during the break OPETH took after the Sorceress touring cycle. March 13th marks the release of of Kuarahy, a 10-track release launched via Nuclear Blast Records.With Mendez handling both bass and rhythm guitar in the studio, the core line-up was completed with singer Eloi Boucherie and drummer Jordi Farre, and his OPETH bandmate Fredrik Akesson has tackled all of the guitar solos throughout the record except for one track which features former KATATONIA and BLOODBATH guitarist Per “Sodomizer” Eriksson.

Loosely described as a death metal release, Kuarahy is much more than that. It is not to be expected that WHITE STONES is a continuation of death metal OPETH, and that was never the intention according to Mendez. The album is a very personal venture for the musician who—although has been living in Sweden and now Spain for a number of years—is still deeply connected with his home country of Uruguay. Drawing inspiration from complex rhythmic and musical influences, Mendez pays a tribute to the place he grew up by refining death metal without any fear of delving into experimentation. Up close, Kuarahy is a bewildering exhibition of finely tweaked gears and switches falling into place. Kuarahy’s elements blend into a focused image, unveiling meticulous brushstrokes, colossal peaks and obscure, primitive lows.

Kuarahy fearlessly demonstrates its grandeur: riveting melodies emerge from nowhere and combine with more substantial structures which unfurl uniformly between the opening title track and closing number Jasy. The warmth of Mendez’ bass contrasts guitar work and vocals without sounding discordant. Instrumentally, WHITE STONES have penned a fiesta of arcane glees: each song on Kuarahy is a presentation of variety. The album features an abundance of ideas, but everything is placed in a compact and effective framework. Songs present no riddles, but instead they connect in an artistic way which doesn’t influence you until after extensive analysis.

So where does Kuarahy stand in the grand scheme of things? It’s quite an accomplishment in terms of how it builds over the extremity of death metal and proves that the genre is exploitable and expandable. WHITE STONES have created something truly admirable; the question that arises is: where will it lead the band in the years to come?

Rating: 9/10

Kuarahy is set for release March 13th via Nuclear Blast.

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