Cortez Deliver Epic Anthems On Commanding Rawk Opus Sell The Future
20 OCTOBER 2020 BY JESSE
Cortez’s latest is a ripper from start to finish and you should’ve already pre-ordered your copy. That’s it. That’s the review. If it only it were that simple, right?
But I digress.
Recorded by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios, Cortez is back with a third heaping helping of all things RAWK with Sell The Future. Setting the bar beyond our earthly atmosphere on their latest, the Boston-based quintet head for the stars on a record that’s beautiful, boisterous, and bold.
“No Escape” immediately sets the tone as this massive mammer jammer of a Rawk anthem lays it all on the line, jumpin’ and jivin’ and eliciting uncontrollable booty shakin’ thanks to the dual shreddin’ from Alasdair Swan and Scott O’Dowd as Jay Furlo’s bass and Alexei Rodriguez’s drums providing rhythmic fortitude with Matt Harrington’s croon acting like the cherry on top of this sonic sundae.
“Sell the Future” is a six and a half minute stomper that’s like Corrosion Of Conformity (Circa Blind) bombast mixed with Alice In Chains moodiness while “Faulty Authors” is trippy, treading between a heady mindtrip and a masterful riff monster.
“Look At You” celebrates all things RAWK and is an ode to so many Desert Rawk legends that came before (Outings by a variety of John Garcia-fronted outfits come to mind) with Rodriguez’s drumming spectacularly bringing the song to another level with bombastic backbeats setting a heavy tone throughout as O’Dowd and Swan just rip.
“Deceivers” gallantly gallops along with Harrington lettin’ loose vocally and bringing a gripping Soul to his enthusiastic delivery backed by the unholy power of Swan and O’Dowd. Changing the pace ever so slightly, “Sharpen The Spear” is soaked in Sabbathian and Maiden-esque beauty (Think the Dio years mixed with Number of the Beast) as Cortez conjure up yet another unforgettable anthem on album number three.
“Vanishing Point” is just guitar-fueled heaven. Remember how Kyuss used to present these gargantuan walls of sound on their records where you could barely discern Josh Homme’s guitars from Nick Oliveri or Scott Reeder’s bass? That’s “Vanishing Point” in a nutshell. Wrapping it all up with the behemothian “Beyond”, Cortez enlist Set Fire’s Jess Collins for some ethereal back up vox before the track goes off the rails for one final showdown to showcase the Rawk!
Sell The Future is out on October 23rd through Ripple Music (With Salt of the Earth handling CD’s). Get your vinyl here, your CD’s here, and your digital/streaming by clicking here. For the latest on Cortez, head to their fine social media sites by clicking here, here, or here.
