Release Date August 21st, 2026
Format CD
Genre Doom Metal
Origin Peru
Argul formed in Lima in 2014 by guitarist Mauricio Guerrero and drummer Jose María Venturi. Its earliest material drew from traditional metal and stoner rock, taking cues from Orange Goblin, Witchcraft, and Reverend Bizarre. Bassist Jian Holmes and drummer Alonso Guerrero later entered the lineup, steering the music toward slower tempos, heavier riffing, and a more introspective character. Before this debut, Argul had issued only one demo, although its members had spent years in Peruvian acts La Garúa, Arcada, Lightning, and Illwind.
The band shared stages with Reino Ermitaño, La Ira De Dios, King Heavy, Mortajas, Mephistofeles, Kranium, and Satánicos Marihuanos, followed by an opening appearance for Candlemass in Lima during 2016. That history led to a language of patient tempos, extended compositions, and sombre atmosphere.
After twelve years, Argul reaches its first album with traditional doom, stoner metal, progressive rock, 1960s heavy rock, and classical influence bound into one grim form.
Released through Personal Records, "Soledad & Orgullo" contains five songs with bonus song "Kamog" included. The album joins the raw stoner metal of Argul’s early period with a funereal pace, broad melodic turns, and long forms moving between crushing chords and quiet reflection. References to Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Uriah Heep, Warning, Yob, Camel, Genesis, and Stravinsky emerge through the chord choices and gradual shifts, though the combination has its own shape.
Guitars alternate between low sustained chords and heavy rock leads, as bass and drums hold a deliberate pulse beneath arrangements that rarely hurry toward resolution. The production is dark and earthy, with enough separation to follow the rhythm section, layered guitars, and vocals, while retaining the primitive character required by this type of doom. Spanish lyrics deepen the solitary and proud character suggested by the title, adding a distinct cadence to music already steeped in gloom and inevitability.
The scale grants the music an immersive pull, and subdued stretches make the returning riffs loom larger. At times, however, the album spends too long circling one chord pattern, and the eventual change is not proportionate to the buildup. "Soledad & Orgullo" has riffs worth following, not merely long runtimes, and marks Argul as a capable doom band with a distinct Peruvian voice. Loose editing and several prolonged transitions stop this sturdy debut short of becoming genuinely imposing.
|7.3
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