Cortez (US) – Sell The Future
review translated from German:
The visual design of the third CORTEZ record can lure a band debutant on the wrong musical track. In black and white, the cover features a skeleton enthroned on a chair, while the apocalyptic scene of a burning city emerges in the background. The artwork looks like an old woodcut. In this respect one would bet on Grindcore or Death Metal. The first song “No Escape” offers a completely different listening experience. Immediately the piece gallops away at a rapid pace and merges with a nice melody. In addition, the singing unfolds crystal clear and angelic.
“Sell The Future” by CORTEZ rolls through the ear canals
The shallow intro is not representative of the musical repertoire of the quintet from Boston. The title track is reminiscent of BLACK SABBATH in the 1970s in its hardness and the reduced tempo. “Look At You”, on the other hand, is modern and pleasantly arranged and flirts with fat riffs and wah-wah pedals, while the vocals embodies classic hard rock. It continues with a feverish intro riff and fuzz guitars to “Deceivers”. One quickly thinks of southern rock, which, however, is not – like other genre colleagues – geared towards a broad mass. The production is just too heavy for that and the songwriting is too old school.
Variety and fun, but little recognition value
“Sharpen The Spear” and “Vanishing Point” come like flawless NWOBHM numbers and bear witness to an era in which the “World Slavery Tour” led around the globe. CORTEZ refine their style a little more on “Sell The Future” with each song, but don’t lose themselves in musical ego trips and endless guitar tinkling. So listening to the album brings both short-term and short-term pleasure. The songs have a simple beauty that still lacks a bit of independence.
Promising appetizer for the main course soon?
With “Beyond” CORTEZ reach deep into the southern rock box and put on the pathos garb, which is densely covered with pallets. A long intro, lots of atmosphere, heavy guitars and a scratchy voice adorn the song, which even combines country and heavy metal in the second half. It actually works and reveals a glimmer of innovation. All in all, CORTEZ show themselves to be a very promising band with “Sell The Future”, who will hopefully work on their own style for their next album and take the already very good ideas to a new level.
Rating 7/10
-Oliver Di Iorio
